Part 247

"History will assign to Gouverneur Morris the merit of first suggesting a direct and continuous communication from Lake Erie to the Hudson. In 1800, he announced this idea from the shore of the Niagara river to a friend in Europe. … The praise awarded to Gouverneur Morris must be qualified by the fact, that the scheme he conceived was that of a canal with a uniform declination, and without locks, from Lake Erie to the Hudson. Morris communicated his project to Simeon De Witt in 1803, by whom it was made known to James Geddes in 1804. It afterward became the subject of conversation between Mr. Geddes and Jesse Hawley, and this communication is supposed to have given rise to the series of essays written by Mr. Hawley, under the signature of 'Hercules,' in the 'Genesee Messenger,' continued from October, 1807, until March, 1808, which first brought the public mind into familiarity with the subject. These essays, written in a jail, were the grateful return, by a patriot, to a country which punished him with imprisonment for being unable to pay debts owed to another citizen, and displayed deep research, with singular vigor and comprehensiveness of thought, and traced with prophetic accuracy a large portion of the outline of the Erie canal. In 1807, Albert Gallatin, then secretary of the treasury, in pursuance of a recommendation made by Thomas Jefferson, president of the United States, reported a plan for appropriating all the surplus revenues of the general government to the construction of canals and turnpike roads; and it embraced in one grand and comprehensive view, nearly without exception, all the works which have since been executed or attempted by the several states in the Union. … {2342} In 1808, Joshua Forman, a representative in the assembly from Onondaga county, submitted his memorable resolution," referring to the recommendation made by President Jefferson to the federal congress, and directing that "'a joint committee be appointed to take into consideration the propriety of exploring and causing an accurate survey to be made of the most eligible and direct route for a canal, to open a communication between the tide waters of the Hudson river and Lake Erie, to the end that Congress may be enabled to appropriate such sums as may be necessary to the accomplishment of that great national object.'" The committee was appointed, its report was favorable, and the survey was directed to be made. "There was then no civil engineer in the state. James Geddes, a land surveyor, who afterward became one of our most distinguished engineers, by the force of native genius and application in mature years, levelled and surveyed, under instructions from the surveyor-general," several routes to Lake Ontario and to Lake Erie. "Mr. Geddes' report showed that a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson was practicable, and could be made without serious difficulty. In 1810, on motion of Jonas Platt, of the senate, who was distinguished throughout a pure and well-spent life by his zealous efforts to promote this great undertaking, Gouverneur Morris, De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Simeon De Witt, William North, Thomas Eddy, and Peter B. Porter, were appointed commissioners 'to explore the whole route for inland navigation from the Hudson river to Lake Ontario and to Lake Erie.' Cadwallader D. Colden, a contemporary historian, himself one of the earliest and ablest advocates of the canals, awards to Thomas Eddy the merit of having suggested this motion to Mr. Platt, and to both these gentlemen that of engaging De Witt Clinton's support, he being at that time a member of the senate. … The commissioners in March, 1811, submitted their report written by Gouverneur Morris, in which they showed the practicability and advantages of a continuous canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson, and stated their estimate of the cost at $5,000,000. … On the presentation of this report, De Witt Clinton introduced a bill, which became a law on the 8th of April, 1811, under the title of 'An act to provide for the improvement of the internal navigation of this state.' … The act added Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton to the board of commissioners, and authorized them to consider all matters relating to such inland navigation, with powers to make application in behalf of the state to Congress, or to any state or territory, to cooperate and aid in the undertaking. … Two of the commissioners, Mr. Morris and Mr. Clinton, repaired to the federal capital, and submitted the subject to the consideration of the President (Mr. Madison) and of Congress. In 1812, the commissioners reported that, although it was uncertain whether the national government would do anything, it certainly would do nothing which would afford immediate aid to the enterprise. … The commissioners then submitted that, having offered the canal to the national government, and that offer having virtually been declined, the state was now at liberty to consult and pursue the maxims of policy, and these seemed to demand imperatively that the canal should be made by herself, and for her own account, as soon as the circumstances would permit. … On the 19th of June, 1812, a law was enacted, reappointing the commissioners and authorizing them to borrow money and deposite it in the treasury, and to take cessions of land, but prohibiting any measures to construct the canals. … From 1812 to 1815, the country suffered the calamities of war, and projects of internal improvement necessarily gave place to the patriotic efforts required to maintain the national security and honor." But after peace had returned, the advocates of the enterprise prevailed with considerable difficulty over its opponents, and "ground was broken for the construction of the Erie canal on the 4th day of July, 1817, at Rome, with ceremonies marking the public estimation of that great event. De Witt Clinton, having just before been elected to the chief magistracy of the state, and being president of the board of canal commissioners, enjoyed the high satisfaction of attending, with his associates, on the auspicious occasion. … On the 26th of October, 1825, the Erie canal was in a navigable condition throughout its entire length, affording an uninterrupted passage from Lake Erie to tidewater in the Hudson. … This auspicious consummation was celebrated by a telegraphic discharge of cannon, commencing at Lake Erie [at Buffalo], and continued along the banks of the canal and of the Hudson, announcing to the city of New York the entrance on the bosom of the canal of the first barge [bearing Governor Clinton and his coadjutors] that was to arrive at the commercial emporium from the American Mediterraneans."

_W. H. Seward, Notes on New York (Works, volume 2), pages 88-117._

ALSO IN: _D. Hosack, Memoir of De Witt Clinton, pages 82-119 and 245-504._

_J. Renwick, Life of De Witt Clinton, chapters 10-19._

_C. D. Colden, Memoir: Celebration of the Completion of the New York Canals._

_M. S. Hawley, Origin of the Erie Canal._

NEW YORK: A. D. 1821. Revision of the Constitution.

"The Constitution did not meet the expectations of its framers. The cumbrous machinery by which it was sought to insure the control of the People, through the supremacy of the Assembly, had only resulted in fortifying power practically beyond their reach. The Council of Revision was objected to because it had exercised the veto power contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, which was in harmony with the traditions of the Colony from the earliest conflict with the executive power; and because the officers who thus interposed their objections to the will of the Legislature, holding office for good behavior (except the Governor), were beyond the reach of the People. It was seen that this power was a dangerous one, in a Council so constituted; but it was thought that it could be safely intrusted to the Governor alone, as he was directly responsible to the People. The Council of Appointment, although not vested with any judicial authority, and in fact disclaiming it, nevertheless at an early day summoned its appointees before it, for the purpose of hearing accusations against them, and proving their truth or falsity. At a later day, more summary proceedings were resorted to. The office thus became very unpopular. Nearly every civil, military, and judicial officer of the commonwealth was appointed by this Council. {2343} In 1821, 8,287 military and 6,663 civil officers held their commissions from it, and this vast system of centralized power was naturally very obnoxious. The Legislature, in 1820, passed 'an act recommending a Convention of the People of this State,' which came up for action in the Council of Revision, on November 20th of the same year; present, Governor Clinton, Chancellor Kent, Chief Justice Spencer, and Justices Yates and Woodworth, on which day the Council, by the casting vote of the Governor, adopted two objections to it; first, because it did not provide for taking the sense of the People on the question; and second, because it submitted the new Constitution to the People in toto, instead of by sections. These objections were referred to a select committee, Michael Ulshoeffer, chairman, who submitted their report January 9, 1821, in opposition to the opinion of the Council, which was adopted by the Assembly. The bill, however, failed to pass, not receiving a two-third vote. Immediately thereupon a committee was appointed to draft a new bill. The committee subsequently introduced a bill for submitting the question to the people, which passed both Houses; received the sanction of the Council of Revision on the 13th of March, and was subsequently amended, the amendments receiving the sanction of the Council on the third of April. The popular vote on holding the Convention was had in April, and resulted as follows: 'For Convention' 109,346. 'For No Convention' 34,901. The Convention assembled in Albany, August 28, and adjourned November 10, 1821. The Council of Revision was abolished, and its powers transferred to the Governor. The Council of Appointment was abolished without a dissenting voice. The principal department officers were directed to be appointed on an open separate nomination by the two Houses, and subsequent joint ballot. Of the remaining officers not made elective, the power of appointment was conferred upon the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In 1846, two hundred and eighty-nine offices were thus filled. The elective franchise was extended. The Constitution was adopted at an election held in February, 1822, by the following vote: Constitution—For, 74,732: Against, 41,402. … The People took to themselves a large portion of the power they had felt it necessary, in the exercise of a natural conservatism, to intrust to the Assembly. They had learned that an elective Governor and an elective Senate are equally their agents, and interests which they thought ought to be conserved, they intrusted to them, subject to their responsibility to the People. The entire Senate were substituted in the place of the members who chanced to be the favorites with a majority in the Assembly, as a Council to the Governor, and thus the People of all the State were given a voice in appointments. The Supreme Judicial Tribunal remained the same. The direct sovereignty of the People was thus rendered far more effective, and popular government took the place of parliamentary administration."

_E. A. Werner, Civil List and Constitutional History of New York, 1887, pages 126-128._

NEW YORK: A. D. 1823. The rise of the Albany Regency.

"The adoption of the new constitution in 1822 placed the political power of the State in the hands of Mr. Van Buren, the recognized representative leader of the Democratic party. Governor Clinton, as the end of his term of service approached, became as powerless as he was in 1816. … William L. Marcy was then State Comptroller, Samuel L. Talcott, Attorney-General; Benjamin Knower, Treasurer; and Edwin Crosswell, editor of the 'Argus' and state printer. These gentlemen, with Mr. Van Buren as their chief, constituted the nucleus of what became the Albany Regency. After adding Silas Wright, Azariah C. Flagg, John A. Dix, James Porter, Thomas W. Olcott, and Charles E. Dudley to their number, I do not believe that a stronger political combination ever existed at any state capital. … Their influence and power for nearly twenty years was almost as potential in national as in state politics."

_T. Weed, Autobiography, volume 1, chapter 11._

"Even to our own day, the Albany Regency has been a strong and generally a sagacious influence in its party. John A. Dix, Horatio Seymour, Dean Richmond and Samuel J. Tilden long directed its policy, and from the chief seat in its councils the late secretary of the treasury, Daniel Manning, was chosen in 1885."

_E. M. Shepard, Martin Van Buren, page 96._

NEW YORK: A. D. 1826-1832. Anti-Masonic excitement. The abduction of Morgan.

"The society of free-masons included a large number of the foremost citizens in all walks of life, and the belief existed that they used their secret ties to advance their ambitions. … This belief was used to create prejudice among those who were not members, and it added fuel to the fires of faction. At this juncture, September 11, 1826, William Morgan, of Batavia, a free-mason, who had announced his intention to print a pamphlet exposing the secrets of masonry, was arrested on a charge of larceny, made by the master of a masonic lodge, but found not guilty, and then arrested for debt, and imprisoned in jail at Canandaigua. He was taken secretly from that jail and conveyed to Fort Niagara, where he was kept until September, when he disappeared. The masons were charged with his abduction, and a body found in the Niagara River was produced as proof that he was drowned to put him out of the way. Thurlow Weed, then an editor in Rochester, was aggressive in charging that Morgan was murdered by the masons, and as late as 1882 he published an affidavit rehearsing a confession made to him by John Whitney, that the drowning was in fact perpetrated by himself and four other persons whom he named, after a conference in a masonic lodge. In 1827, Weed, who was active in identifying the drowned body, was charged with mutilating it, to make it resemble Morgan, and the imputation was often repeated; and the abduction and murder were in turn laid at the door of the anti-masons. The disappearance became the chief topic of partisan discussion. De Witt Clinton was one of the highest officers in the masonic order, and it was alleged that he commanded that Morgan's book should be 'suppressed at all hazards,' thus instigating the murder; but the slander was soon exposed. The state was flooded with volumes portraying masonry as a monstrous conspiracy, and the literature of the period was as harrowing as a series of sensational novels."

_E. H. Roberts, New York, volume 2, chapter 33._

{2344}

"A party soon grew up in Western New York pledged to oppose the election of any Free Mason to public office. The Anti-Masonic Party acquired influence in other States, and began to claim rank as a national political party. On most points its principles were those of the National Republicans. But Clay, as well as Jackson, was a Free Mason, and consequently to be opposed by this party. … In 1832 it even nominated a Presidential ticket of its own, but, having no national principle of controlling importance, it soon after declined."

_A. Johnston, History of American Politics, chapter 12, section 3, with foot-note._

ALSO IN: _T. Weed, Autobiography, chapters 20-30, 36, and 40._

NEW YORK: A. D. 1827. The last of Slavery in the state.

"On the 28th of January, 1817, the governor sent a message to the legislature recommending the entire abolition of slavery in the State of New York, to take place on the fourth day of July, 1827. By an act passed some years before, all persons born of parents who were slaves after July 1799, were to be free; males at twenty-eight and females at twenty-five years of age. The present legislature adopted the recommendation of the governor. This great measure in behalf of human rights, which was to obliterate forever the black and foul stain of slavery from the escutcheon of our own favored state, was produced by the energetic action of Cadwallader D. Colden, Peter A. Jay, William Jay, Daniel D. Tompkins and other distinguished philanthropists, chiefly residing in the city of New York. The Society of Friends, who never slumber when the principles of benevolence and a just regard to equal rights call for their action, were zealously engaged in this great enterprise."

_J. D. Hammond, History of Political Parties in the State of New York, volume 1, chapter 22._

ALSO IN: _E. H. Roberts, New York, volume 2, page 565._

NEW YORK: A. D. 1835-1837. The Loco-focos.

"The Van Buren party began to be called the Loco-focos, in derision of the fancied extravagance of their financial doctrines. The Loco-foco or Equal Rights party proper was originally a division of the Democrats, strongly anti-monopolist in their opinions, and especially hostile to banks,—not only government banks but all banks,—which enjoyed the privileges then long conferred by special and exclusive charters. In the fall of 1835 some of the Democratic candidates in New York were especially obnoxious to the anti-monopolists of the party. When the meeting to regularly confirm the nominations made in committee was called at Tammany Hall, the anti-monopolist Democrats sought to capture the meeting by a rush up the main stairs. The regulars, however, showed themselves worthy of their regularity by reaching the room up the back stairs. In a general scrimmage the gas was put out. The anti-monopolists, perhaps used to the devices to prevent meetings which might be hostile, were ready with candles and loco-foco matches. The hall was quickly illuminated; and the anti-monopolists claimed that they had defeated the nominations. The regulars were successful, however, at the election; and they and the Whigs dubbed the anti-monopolists the Loco-foco men. … The hatred which Van Buren after his message of September, 1837, received from the banks commended him to the Loco-focos; and in October, 1837, Tammany Hall witnessed their reconciliation with the regular Democrats upon a moderate declaration for equal rights."

_E. M. Shepard, Martin Van Buren, pages 293-295._

NEW YORK: A. D. 1838. Passage of the Free Banking Act.

See MONEY AND BANKING: A. D. 1838.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1839-1846. The Anti-rent disturbances.

See LIVINGSTON MANOR.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1840-1841. The McLeod Case.

See CANADA: A. D. 1840-1841.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1845-1846. Schism in the Democratic party over Slavery extension. Hunkers and Barnburners.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1845-1846.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1846. Constitutional revision.

During the twenty-five years of the existence of the constitution of 1821, "ten different proposals for amendments were submitted to the electors, who decided against choosing presidential electors by districts, but in favor of extending the franchise, in favor of electing mayors by the people, and in 1846 for no license except in the city of New York. The commonwealth grew not only in population, but in all the elements of progress and prosperity and power, and by the census of 1845 was shown to contain 2,604,495 inhabitants. Legislation had tended to the substitution of rights for privileges granted as favors. The tenure of land, especially under the claims of the patroons, had caused difficulties for which remedies were sought; and the large expenditures for internal improvements, involving heavy indebtedness, prompted demands for safe-guards for the creditor and the taxpayer. The judiciary system had confessedly become independent, and required radical reformation. When, therefore, in 1845, the electors were called upon to decide whether a convention should be held to amend the State constitution, 213,257 voted in the affirmative, against 33,860 in the negative. The convention met June 1, 1846, but soon adjourned until October 9, when it proceeded with its task. John Tracy of Chenango presided; and among the members were Ira Harris of Albany, George 'V. Patterson of Chautauqua, Michael Hoffman and Arphaxed Loomis of Herkimer, Samuel J. Tilden of New York, Samuel Nelson of Otsego, and others eminent at home and in State affairs. The convention dealt radically with the principles of government. The new constitution gave to the people the election of many officers before appointed at Albany. It provided for the election of members of both houses of the legislature by separate districts. Instead of the cumbrous court for the correction of errors, it established an independent court of appeals. It abolished the court of chancery and the circuit courts, and merged both into the supreme court, and defined the jurisdiction of county courts. All judges were to be elected by the people. Feudal tenures were abolished, and no leases on agricultural lands for a longer period than twelve years were to be valid, if any rent or service were reserved. The financial articles established sinking funds for both the canal and general fund debt, forbade the loan of the credit of the State, and limited rigidly the power of the legislature to create debts, except to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, and declared the school and literature funds inviolate. Provision was made for general laws for the formation of corporations. The constitution required the submission to the people once every twenty years of the question whether a convention shall be called or not."

_E. H. Roberts, New York, volume 2, pages 567-569._

{2345}

NEW YORK: A. D. 1848. The Free Soil movement. The Buffalo Convention.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1848.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1848. Legal Emancipation of Women.

See LAW, COMMON; A. D. 1839-1848.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1848. Adoption of the Code of Civil Procedure.

See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1848-1883.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1861 (April). The speeding of the Seventh Regiment to the defense of Washington.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1861 (APRIL-MAY: MARYLAND).

NEW YORK: A. D. 1862-1886. The founding and growth of Cornell University.

See EDUCATION, MODERN: AMERICA: A. D. 1862-1886.

NEW YORK: A. D. 1863. The Draft Riots in New York City.