New York

G

Early Political Conflicts

Two political parties vied for power in early New York State. The Federalist Party, led by Hamilton, favored a strong federal government that would be controlled mostly by wealthy commercial interests. The Federalists held power in New York from 1795 to 1800, while John Jay served as governor. Then their power dwindled, and by 1815 they were no longer a major party.

After 1800 leadership of the state passed to the quarreling factions of the Anti-Federalists. They considered themselves followers of Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party, which advocated states’ and individual rights and appealed to the nation’s farmers. They were led by four men who each had a popular following and high ambitions: George Clinton, his nephew De Witt Clinton, Daniel D. Tompkins, and Aaron Burr. Of the four, all but Burr served terms as governor, and George Clinton, Tompkins, and Burr all served as vice presidents of the United States.

In 1798 Burr gained control of the patriotic and charitable organization called the Tammany Society, organizing it as a personal political machine that helped elect Jefferson president and Burr vice president in 1800. But Burr failed to win renomination as vice president in 1804 and also failed to win the governorship because of forceful opposition by Hamilton, his bitter rival. Burr’s political career came to an end in 1804, when he challenged and killed Hamilton in a duel.

While the other Anti-Federalist leaders served in national offices, De Witt Clinton became the most important man in state politics. From 1803 to 1815, except for two years, he was mayor of New York City. In 1812 he ran unsuccessfully for president, although he carried many Northern states. From 1817 to 1828, except for one term, he was governor of the state and won fame for promoting construction of the Erie Canal.

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H

War of 1812

Much of the War of 1812 (1812-1815) between the United States and Britain was fought along New York’s frontiers with Canada. During the war, which was fought over the maritime rights of neutral nations, the British navy blockaded U.S. ports. Many New York merchants opposed the war because the blockade interfered with trade.

Attempts by the United States to invade British territory in Canada were unsuccessful, and in 1814 the British launched an offensive against Niagara and Lake Champlain. In a decisive naval battle, Americans under Captain Thomas Macdonough defeated the British near Plattsburgh, on Lake Champlain, thwarting the British invasion of the northern United States.

I

Growth of the State

In the last years of the 18th century large tracts of land in central and western New York had been opened for settlement. An area extending from just below Ithaca to Lake Ontario, called the Military Tract, was reserved for veterans of the American Revolution. Lands west of Seneca Lake that had formerly been owned by Massachusetts were turned over to New York and sold to business leaders and speculators. After the revolution, New England’s farmers, discouraged by stony soil and high taxes, moved west into New York. In 1820 half the state’s inhabitants were New Englanders or their descendants. Central and western New York were quickly settled, but the north country remained a sparsely populated wilderness for many years.

From the 1820s to 1860, New York State and especially New York City were transformed by a flood of immigrants and unprecedented urban growth. The United States experienced a wave of immigration from Europe, starting in 1820 and reaching a peak in 1845. For most immigrants, their point of entry was New York City, and huge numbers of them stayed there. By 1860 New York was the nation’s largest city, with a population of 1 million, and nearly half of those residents were foreign-born. New York State’s population also exploded during this period, from 340,120 people in 1790 to more than 3.8 million in 1860. Nearly one-fifth of those residents were foreign-born. In contrast to colonial times, when most New Yorkers lived on farms, by 1860 about half of them lived in cities and towns.

The largest group of immigrants was the Irish, especially after a devastating potato famine struck their homeland in the 1840s. Many settled in New York City, while German immigrants tended to settle upstate, especially in Buffalo and Rochester. This influx of people included skilled European craftsmen and a huge pool of low-wage laborers that enabled New York to develop diverse industries. But low wages, long hours, and harsh working conditions made life difficult for many industrial workers. To try to improve their conditions, many skilled artisans and factory workers, who were mostly women and children, joined labor unions. With such rapid population growth, New York City and other urban areas faced problems of inadequate water supplies, sanitation and housing.

By 1830 New York ranked first among the states in population, manufacturing, trade, commerce, and transportation. New York City emerged as the primary center for textile manufacturing and ready-made clothing, banking, imports, insurance, and the stock exchange. From 1825 to the late 1850s the Genesee Valley was a national center for growing wheat. Other important products included livestock, corn, barley, oats, and hops. When the Midwest became the major source of grain, New York’s farmers turned to dairy products, fruits and vegetables. They supplied great quantities of milk, butter, cheese, and other perishable goods to the growing cities.

J

Growth of Transportation

Inexpensive transportation and a strategic location were vital elements in New York’s growth. Canals, railroads and new types of ships were developed, enabling the state’s manufactured products to reach a vast market throughout the nation. All trade from New England to the West and South had to pass through New York State, and the Mohawk Valley was the best route for westward migration.

Before 1860 the state’s system of natural waterways, with outlets to the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, was the most important means of transporting goods and passengers. Soon after inventor Robert Fulton successfully tested the first efficient steamboat on the Hudson River in 1807, steamboats were operating on lakes Champlain, Ontario, and Erie; on Long Island Sound; and on the Hudson River. Shipbuilders on the East River in New York City built clipper ships that carried goods to the West Coast of the continent and to Asia. New York City was the center of all trade between Europe and the United States; even cotton from the South passed through the city on its way to England.

The Erie Canal, built between 1817 and 1825, was the state’s most important water route. The 584-km (363-mi) canal linked the Great Lakes with the Hudson River, making New York City the marketing outlet for agricultural and industrial products from upstate New York and the Great Lakes regions. It also carried immigrants from New York City to settle on the newly opened farmland of the Midwest. By 1857 nearly 1,450 km (900 mi) of secondary canals linked such places as Binghamton and Oswego with the Erie Canal. The Champlain Canal connected Lake Champlain to the Hudson River and was an important factor in spurring the development of the lumber industry in the Adirondack region.

In 1831 New York’s first railroad began operations between Albany and Schenectady. Within ten years, lines were running from Albany to Buffalo. In 1851 the Erie Railroad was completed, connecting the counties of southern New York with Lake Erie and the Hudson River. It was an important factor in the economic development of the region.

The state also chartered many turnpike companies to build toll roads between important points. By 1825 more than 6,400 km (4,000 mi) of turnpike roads were in use. Although these early roads were crude, they greatly helped farmers move their produce to market. It was not until the development of the automobile that roads became as important to New York as water and rails.

K

Politics (1820-1860)

From 1820 to 1860, a growing number of Americans participated in government affairs, as many states extended the right to vote and established more direct elections for governor and president. In 1821 New York gave almost all white men of legal age the right to vote, eliminating a requirement that voters be property owners. A property requirement continued to apply to free blacks until 1874, limiting the number who could vote. During this period a new two-party political system emerged in the United States. The parties became important forces in organizing voters to support candidates and issues. New York played a crucial part in this process.

The ruling Democratic-Republican Party in New York State had two factions. The Clintonians, led by Governor De Witt Clinton, tended to advocate a strong government led by wealthy commercial interests and favored internal improvements to aid the growth of business. Opposing the Clintonians was the Albany Regency, led by lawyer and legislator Martin Van Buren. It favored states’ rights and had the general support of the farmers, mechanics, and small business owners. The regency supported the presidential campaign of war hero Andrew Jackson, who claimed to be the champion of the common people. In elections in 1828, Van Buren won the New York governor’s race and Jackson was elected president. Their party, known from that point as the Democratic Party, pioneered the use of many political techniques: massive rallies and parades, campaign workers to get out the vote, newspaper publicity, and buttons and hats with the candidate’s name and face on them. Van Buren became vice president under Jackson in 1832 and in 1836 was the first New Yorker to be elected president of the United States.

In New York City, the regency had the support of the Tammany Society, the local political machine. The society, founded as a charitable and patriotic group, gained more and more influence as immigrants settled in the city. Tammany Society politicians helped the newcomers adjust to American life, become naturalized citizens, and often get city jobs. In return, Tammany received their loyalty and their votes.

New York also gave rise to the Anti-Masonic Party, which formed to oppose the influence of Freemasons, a fraternal group, in politics. It claimed the Freemasons, whose members took an oath of secrecy and practiced mysterious rituals, were antidemocratic. Opposition to the Freemasons began after William Morgan, a Freemason who was about to reveal the secrets of the order, disappeared in 1826 in western New York and was widely believed to have been kidnapped and murdered by fellow Freemasons. The party developed a national following but dissolved about 1834 to become part of the Whig Party, a conservative, business-oriented group. Whigs in New York, under the leadership of Thurlow Weed, held many state offices in the 1840s.

By 1850 both the Whigs and the Democrats had split into factions over the issue of slavery. Two former Whig leaders, New York City newspaper editor Horace Greeley and former New York Governor William Seward, played roles in organizing the national Republican Party, a coalition of groups that opposed slavery.

Another change in the political makeup of New York occurred in the 1840s with the end of the manorial system, one of the last remnants of colonial New York. In 1839 the Antirent War broke out when farmers on the Van Rensselaer estate in the Albany region refused to pay back rent. The rebellion spread to farmers on neighboring estates and won the support of many politicians. As a result, in 1846 the state constitution was amended to break up the holdings of the landed aristocracy, and small farmers were able to own their own farms.

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