USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol II > Part 37
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conflict between Federalists and Republicans as it was with the feuds of the Clintons, the Livingstons, Hamilton, Burr, Jay and others.
Because George Clinton was somewhat out of step with the domi- nant Federalism of the Washington administration there was bound to be a political reaction against him. In 1792 he managed to stay in office "by the skin of his teeth," defeating John Jay by the astonishing total of eight votes, although there was a doubt over even this slen- der majority, since the vote of three counties giving a majority of four hundred to Jay was not counted on the ground of irregularities. It is interesting to note that one of these three Jay strongholds was Clinton County. This disputed election merely delayed Federalist control of the State, however, for Jay won without question in 1795 and 1798. Adams won the New York electoral vote in 1796.
At the end of the century, Federalism began to wane here as in Vermont. In 1800 the national election was close, but the Jefferson ticket was victorious primarily because of the "adroit political manipu- lation" of Aaron Burr. In 1801, George Clinton was able to turn the tables on Jay. In 1804, when Clinton succeeded to the Vice- Presidency, the Republicans won the State's electoral votes, while the anti-Burr factions united to elect Morgan Lewis as Governor. From 1807 to 1817, the destinies of New York State were in the hands of a Republican: Daniel D. Tompkins. The national election of 1808 was featured by constant jockeying for position by the various politi- cal factions, with the result that New York's vote was practically thrown away.
The political history of the two states at the time of the War of 1812 was also quite tangled. Here, as elsewhere, the Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts produced economic hardship. The people of the Champlain Valley were hard hit, but were very much divided in their attitude toward war. They were also situated on a probable highway of British invasion. The war was bound to affect them in more ways than one.
In the first place there was a trend toward Federalism. Although Governor Tompkins, of New York, an ardent supporter of the national administration, remained in office throughout this period, the State's electoral vote in 1812 went to DeWitt Clinton, who led the attack on Madison. Although Vermont was the only New Eng- land State voting for Madison, in 1813 it elected as its Governor Mar-
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tin Chittenden, who was to order Vermont militia home from Platts- burgh, in the face of an alien invasion, on the plea of self-protection and strict constitutionalism. Not only was there widespread smug- gling, but some of the citizens of both Vermont and New York com- mitted treason during actual invasion by selling the produce of their farms to the enemy, which threatened the existence of our country. Later, at the time of the Hartford Convention, the secession move- ment had support in both states.
On the other hand, there is a more pleasant side to the picture. De Witt Clinton was a political opportunist, but he certainly was not one to undermine national defense. After his defeat for the presi- dency in 1812, he supported the war vigorously as mayor of New York City. Neither is it fair to catalogue Martin Chittenden as the friend of invading England. His outlook appears narrow in this day, but his motives certainly were not tinctured with treason. When the British invasion began, the men of the Champlain Valley, regard- less of political creed or views on the embargo, marched resolutely toward Plattsburgh. What our New Yorkers and Vermonters achieved there was equal to our other glorious traditions. The few who trea- sonably sold food to the enemy were but a trickle as compared to the river of loyal Americans that chastened the invader. The bulk of the Federalists of these two states felt that what they called "Mr. Madi- son's War" was needless and also conducted for the interests of sec- tionalism; but at the same time they remained but lukewarm toward the zealous party members from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island who met at Hartford. In New York State, Aaron Burr made use of the Federalists to further his own political ambi- tions and flirted with the proponents of secession. Exactly how far he would, or could, have led his State into a new confederacy we will never know, but it would not have been an easy task. In Vermont the Federalists possessed only a slender majority and the populace was enthused over the victory at Plattsburgh. In view of these factors it would have been political suicide for the Vermont partisans to take an active part in such an extremist project. As a result this State was not represented at Hartford except by one county delegate.
After the War of 1812, partisan politics became less bitter and the people concentrated on expansion and material development. De Witt Clinton and the Erie Canal were typical of the 1820's. Both states
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voted for Monroe in 1816, and repeated in 1820. In 1824 and 1828 Vermont cast her ballot for John Quincy Adams. New York was far from being so definite in its decision, dividing its vote among four candidates in 1824, with Adams the chief beneficiary; and again in 1828 splitting its vote, with Jackson having a majority. This division was due in large measure to the constant jockeying of political factions as Clinton, Van Buren, Weed and others sought personal power.
In 1826 the internal politics of both states was shaken by the murder of William Morgan, of Batavia, New York. He was a mem- ber of the Masonic order and is supposed to have written a book exposing the secrets of Freemasons. He suddenly disappeared and it was hotly charged that he had been drowned by Masons in retalia- tion. The members of this fraternal order were equally insistent that Morgan had been murdered by anti-Masons and that they were being "framed." The affair was never solved, but it produced such a revul- sion against Masonry in New York and Vermont that it not only shook that order to its foundations here but shaped the political destinies of the two States for several years. It happened that DeWitt Clin- ton was, at the time, one of the highest officers in the Masonic order. He died before the anti-Masonic movement reached its climax, but his friends felt its undertow. Van Buren was forced to unusual meas- ures to obtain a majority of New York's electoral vote in 1828 for Jackson, who was a Mason. It turned out to be a highly important election so far as the State was concerned, for, because of his political wizardry, Van Buren won complete control of New York politics for himself and the Albany Regency for years.
Although the anti-Masonic movement was jockeyed out of suprem- acy in New York, it swept all before it in Vermont. Masons were treated as criminals and were excluded from town offices and juries. Clergymen belonging to the order were driven from their churches, and families and neighborhood friendships were broken up. An anti- Masonic political party was formally organized here in 1829. Two years later it was strong enough to sweep William A. Palmer into the gubernatorial chair, where it kept him four years. Although New York cast her electoral vote for Jackson in 1832, Vermont favored the anti-Masonic presidential candidate, William Wirt. The Green Mountain State was the only one in the entire Union to be carried by this third party candidate. Just why the major reaction to a mur-
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der in western New York should occur in Vermont is an illustration of the vagaries of politics. In any case, before the fury of anti- Masonry subsided many Masons withdrew from their fraternal order in self-protection, and in certain counties their lodges ceased to exist altogether. There was not one county in our entire eleven but was seriously affected. Several years were to elapse before the Masonic order recovered its former eminence.
In the period from 1836 to 1852, inclusive, Vermont showed con- sistency by voting for Whigs on five consecutive occasions. In New York, as usual, factional rivalry continued. In 1836 it supported its favorite son, Van Buren. Four years later it was caught in the Whig landslide which elected Harrison and Tyler. In 1844 it became the Democrats' turn, and Polk won a plurality in the State over Henry Clay. In this case the decisive factor was the growth of anti-slavery sentiment, with the result that Whigs who would have voted for Clay, cast their ballots for the Liberty party instead. In 1848 Van Buren was the candidate for another anti-slavery group known as the "Free-Soil Party." He took so many votes away from Cass that the State and the President's chair were handed to Taylor and the Whigs. In 1852 again the Democrats had their turn and won with Pierce, New York being so angry over the Compromise of 1850 that no Whig had a chance.
In the 1850s anti-slavery sentiment became very bitter and wide- spread in both New York and Vermont. When the Republican party was founded both states took up its standard and voted futilely for Frémont in 1856. Since then Vermont has ever remained Republican, even casting its electoral votes for Taft in 1912. Here again New York could not match the consistency of its neighbor. Although it has been Republican two-thirds of the time, it voted for Seymour against Grant in 1868, Tilden against Hayes in 1876, Cleveland against Blaine in 1884, Cleveland against Harrison in 1892, Wilson against Theodore Roosevelt and Taft in 1912, and for Franklin D. Roosevelt against Hoover and Landon, respectively, in 1932 and 1936. Because of its large electoral vote (at present forty-seven ) and because of its doubtful party status, New York has played an extremely important part in national elections. The major parties have on numerous occasions selected one of their standard-bearers from this State, because it increased their chances of carrying the State and
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winning its electoral votes. Often New York has been the pivotal State, with the power of throwing the election either way, as in 1884 when Cleveland's majority of but 1, 149 votes out of 1, 127, 169 was enough to win the presidency. Since the organization of the Republi- can party in the 1850s, the party polling a majority of New York's vote has won the national election with but three exceptions. In each of these three cases, New Yorkers stood behind favorite sons: Sey- mour in 1868, Tilden in 1876, and Hughes in 1916.
Much of our discussion thus far has dealt with our two states as units. Such a procedure is more justified in Vermont than in New York, for the six Green Mountain State counties included in this research have retained their importance in the political affairs of that Commonwealth; whereas our five New York counties, being included in a much larger State unit, are necessarily less typical of this State as a whole. This contrast is as true of cities as of counties, Burling- ton and Rutland playing a much larger part in the affairs of Vermont than Glens Falls, Plattsburgh and Saratoga Springs can possibly play in New York politics. In the Empire State, the urban centers at New York City, Buffalo and so forth have experienced a growth so great that the rural areas have proportionately decreased in voting impor- tance, up-state Republican majorities being consistently swamped under metropolitan tidal waves.
One peculiar twist of fate is that the five New York counties in this area comprise a staunch Republican stronghold in a State that has recently been Democratic; while the six Vermont counties in this section include the strongest Democratic strongholds in a rock-ribbed Republican State.
Since the rise of the Whigs in 1840, three of our New York coun- ties (Saratoga, Washington and Essex) have never once voted Demo- cratic in a presidential election. For some reason, which to me is a mystery, Warren County voted Democratic in 1840, 1844, 1848 and 1852, even though its neighbors were Whig, and even though Polk in 1 844 stood for the annexation of slaveholding Texas and later led us into the Mexican War. Since the formation of the Republican party, however, Warren County has never wavered. The most Democratic of the counties comprising this Republican stronghold is Clinton, vot- ing for Cass in 1848, Pierce in 1852, McClellan against Lincoln in 1864, Smith in 1928, and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936.
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In the last national election (1936) the vote was very close: Platts- burgh's Roosevelt majority of seven hundred making possible a Demo- cratic county majority of three hundred. In the thrilling three-cornered race of 1912, all five counties gave Taft a plurality and in each case Theodore Roosevelt ran third, behind Wilson.
In Vermont in 1912 there was much variation among the coun- ties. Chittenden was the only one to follow the New York formula of Taft, Wilson and Roosevelt. In Addison, Bennington and Rut- land there were pluralities for Taft, but Roosevelt's vote exceeded Wilson's. In Franklin County, Roosevelt won, with Taft second and Wilson third; while in Grand Isle Wilson won, with Roosevelt second and Taft third. In the matter of party allegiance, our six Vermont counties are split between north and south. In 1936 the only coun- ties in the State carried by Franklin D. Roosevelt were Grand Isle, Franklin and Chittenden, while four years earlier they also favored him over Hoover. In the vote on the Green Mountain Parkway, which was defeated, five counties in the State voted in favor. These included our three on the northwest. In the gubernatorial election of 1936, the Democratic candidate carried but two counties, but these were Chittenden and Franklin. Two years later George D. Aiken, the Republican candidate, carried every county in the State, but in Chittenden the majority was extremely small. Of our six Vermont counties the most ardent in its Republican sentiments is Addison. Rut- land and Bennington are also Republican, but the political picture here is not quite so one-sided.
Both sides of the Champlain Valley have contributed generously to national leadership. In the small Vermont village of Brandon was born Stephen A. Douglas, author of the idea of popular sovereignty and the Kansas-Nebraska Act; he was Lincoln's opponent in debate, originator of the Freeport Doctrine, and Democratic candidate for the presidency in 1860. During the hectic days of the Civil War he subordinated party politics to patriotism of the highest order. Farther north, in the Franklin County town of Fairfield, was born Chester A. Arthur, the first Vermonter to be elected Vice-President and later to hold the presidency itself. Until that day when he was to hold the reins on his country's destiny he was very much the politician. When he found himself in the highest office in the land, however, he cast intrigue and personal interest behind him and gave the Nation an
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efficient and progressive administration. He insisted on fairness in dealing with the Chinese in 1882, he fought legislative extravagance as exemplified by "pork-barrel politics," he favored a liberal tariff, he laid the foundation for our modern iron-clad navy, but of supreme importance was his signing of the Pendleton Act which, to a certain extent, replaced the spoils system with civil service. Levi P. Morton was born in Shoreham, Addison County. He was elected Vice- President on the Republican ticket with Harrison in 1888. In 1895 and 1896 he was Governor of New York State.
The greatest national character ever born in these eleven counties, however, is probably the present Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Charles Evans Hughes. Born at Glens Falls, in Warren County, he first won fame as attorney for a legislative com- mittee, investigating life insurance companies having headquarters in New York State. In 1906 he was elected Governor on the Republi- can ticket. His administration was characterized by an unceasing fight for reform. Throughout this period he was bitterly opposed by reactionaries in the Legislature who, for their own interests or for the interests of corporate friends, much preferred the status quo. He was defeated on occasion, but ultimately most of his program became enacted into law, although in certain cases years were to elapse. In 1910, President Taft summoned Hughes to the bench of the Supreme Court, where he served until nominated for the presi- dency in 1916. On this occasion the political conflict was very close. It appeared at first that he had won, but in the end Wilson prevailed. From 1921 to 1925 he served as Secretary of State under Harding and Coolidge, being particularly associated with the Washington Con- ference on the reduction of naval armament. He was appointed to the Supreme Court a second time, becoming Chief Justice in 1930. The highly interesting story of his part in the conflict over the New Deal ·policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt is not yet ended and is best left for the future to chronicle. On the whole, Hughes seems to have been consistent with the ideas and ideals of a lifetime. He has remained a liberal and in general has sided with, and sometimes led, that group of judges who would interpret human rights broadly. His decisions have the ring of sincerity and he has undoubtedly weighed the merits of each case. Neither has he vehemently opposed every New Deal measure out of prejudice nor has he given blanket approval
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to Roosevelt's policies. He has served as a balance wheel, piloting the Supreme Court through troubled seas. In the battle over the reor- ganization of the Supreme Court he apparently played a major part.
Although one of the greatest Americans of the present day was born in Warren County, no United States Senator has ever been elected from any one of the five New York counties. This exemplifies once more the dominance of the metropolitan area in the politics of this State. Nathaniel Pitcher, of Sandy Hill (Hudson Falls), Washing- ton County, was Acting Governor in 1828, however, while John A. Dix, who was Governor from 1911-13, was born in Glens Falls.
In Vermont, the number of governors from the Champlain Val- ley counties is too extended to be chronicled here. In the United States Senate this State has played a part out of proportion to its size. It was Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, who obtained national aid that led directly, through the Morrill Act, to the establishment of our present State-supported agricultural, scientific and industrial schools of college rank. He served a total of forty-four continuous years in Washington as Representative and Senator, and by virtue of his length of service won several fine legislative positions, including leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee, and the chair- manship of the Senate Committee on Finance. Another great legisla- tor, George Franklin Edmunds, was born in the Chittenden County town of Richmond. He was active in the settlement of the Hayes- Tilden election of 1876 by the Electoral Commission, he was the author of the Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882, and he also was prominent in the framing of anti-trust legislation. Rutland County gave us another great character, Redfield Proctor, whose achievements in the industrial world we have already saluted. He was Governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880, entered President Harrison's cabinet as Secretary of War, and served as Senator from 1891, succeeding Edmunds, until his death in 1908. He was in favor of American. intervention in Cuba in the 1890s and is supposed to have influenced McKinley in that direction.
Vermont's present senior Senator, Warren R. Austin, has also won a national reputation. Although not long in the Washington arena, having been first elected to fill a vacancy in 1931 and then reëlected in 1934, by virtue of his demonstrated ability, added to the defeats of older party colleagues in the Democratic avalanches of the
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1930s, he has risen to the top of the Republican ranks of the Sen- ate. He was born in Highgate Center, Franklin County, in 1877. He attended the University of Vermont and was admitted to the bar in 1902. By 1908 he was chairman of a Republican State conven- tion, while in 1909 he was elected mayor of St. Albans. In 1923 he became president of the Vermont Bar Association. He now resides in Burlington. During the last regular session of Congress he was one of the outstanding strategists in the coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats that repeatedly defeated measures sponsored by the administration. He handled this difficult assignment with tact and efficiency, succeeding in keeping this combination running smoothly above the heat and uselessness of bitter partisanship. Republicans of northern New York tend to think of him as their Senator as well, so much do they have in common with their Vermont brethren and so little do they favor the policies of New York's two Democratic Senators, Mead and Wagner, whose main strongholds and political interests are in the urban centers.
Vermont's junior Senator is Ernest Willard Gibson, who was elected to fill a vacancy in 1934, and reelected in 1938. He lives in Brattleboro, however, outside the limits of this research and his achievements do not belong here. Vermont's sole Representative in Congress is Charles Albert Plumley. He lives in Northfield, which is also outside the Champlain Valley sector. From 1912 to 1915 he was Speaker of the Vermont House. He was first elected to the National Congress in 1934 and has remained there since that time. Naturally, he is Republican. Our five New York counties are represented by two Congressmen, both Republican. Warren, Saratoga and Washington counties, combined with most of Rensselaer County, constitute the Twenty-ninth Congressional District. This is at present represented by E. Harold Cluett, a Troy manufacturer. He was unsuccessful in 1934 as a candidate for the United States Senate, but was elected Congressman, succeeding James Parker, of Salem, in 1936. Clin- ton and Essex counties are included in the Thirty-first Congressional District. It was represented for years by Bertrand Snell, of Potsdam, who was Republican leader of the National House when he retired in 1938. In that year he was succeeded by a Republican from Keese- ville, the late Wallace E. Pierce, who showed considerable promise in his brief career in Congress. Among the State legislators, Benjamin
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Feinberg, of Plattsburgh, stands out. He has been a member of the Senate from the Thirty-third District (comprising Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties) since 1932. In addition he was chairman of the Republican State Convention in 1936, a delegate-at- large to the Constitutional Convention in 1938, and has been seriously considered for the State ticket.
The only United States Judge residing in the Champlain Valley is Harland Bradley Howe, Democrat, of Burlington. He is a native of Vermont and became a district judge in 1915. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont also is a resident of Burlington. His name is Sherman Roberts Moulton, a Republican. Born in New York City, he came to live in Randolph in 1890. He was appointed Superior Judge in 1919, Chief Superior Judge in 1926, Associate Jus- tice of the Supreme Court also in 1926, and Chief Justice in 1938. Three of the four associate judges also live in western Vermont. They include: John S. Buttles, of Brandon, first elected in 1937; Allen Sturtevant, of Middlebury, appointed in 1938; and Olin M. Jeffords, of Rutland. No member of the New York State Court of Appeals lives in the Champlain Valley area. Our five New York counties, however, are included in the Fourth Judicial District of the Supreme Court. Two of the six judges, O. Byron Brewster, of Eliza- bethtown, and Erskine C. Rogers, of Hudson Falls, reside in this section. Both have made enviable records on the bench.
Socially, great changes have taken place in the Champlain Val- ley, as elsewhere. In some respects Vermont and northern New York have not swung so far from their ancient moorings as other sections of the Nation, but the transition has been extremely fundamental, nevertheless. In this section agriculture nearly always has been, and still is, the dominant economic interest. There is no particular advan- tage to be gained from yearning for those so-called "good old days," neither should we make the mistake of looking at the past through rose-colored glasses. On the other hand no one can dispute the statement that even in prosperous times agriculture is depressed; neither should we forget that in days gone by the average farmer was a happy and fairly prosperous individual. The decline of agri- cultural prosperity has been explained elsewhere, special reference being made to it here solely because this change has profoundly influ- enced the social life of the people living here in rural areas. As the
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