DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769 Little Britain, New York – February 11, 1828 Albany, New York) was an early American politician who served as United States Senator and Governor of New York. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1769 ( MDCCLXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Little Britain New York is an area in Orange County, first settled in 1729 by Peter Mulliner, a devout Anglican, who named his farm Little Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. The year 1828 ( MDCCCXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal is a popular canal in New York state from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, approximately 360 miles connecting the Great Lakes
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Early life and political career
He was the second son born to James Clinton and his wife Mary DeWitt, daughter of an old Dutch family, and was educated at what is now Columbia University. James Clinton ( August 9, 1733 &ndash September 22 1812) was an American Revolutionary War soldier who obtained the rank of Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. He became the secretary to his uncle, George Clinton, who was then governor of New York. This page is for the US Vice President For others of that name see George Clinton. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Soon after he became a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1798, and of the New York State Senate from the Southern District from 1798 to 1802, and from 1806 to 1811. The New York State Assembly is the Lower house of the New York Legislature, the state legislature of the U The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1801. He was a member of the Council of Appointments in 1801-1802 and 1806-1807. From 1777 to 1822 there existed in the state of New York a Council of Appointment. He won the by-election to the United States Senate after the resignation of John Armstrong, Jr. and served from February 9, 1802, to November 4, 1803. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives John Armstrong Jr ( November 25, 1758 – April 1, 1843) was an American soldier and statesman who was a delegate to the He resigned, unhappy with living conditions in newly built Washington, DC, to become the Mayor of New York. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The City of New York He served as Mayor in 1803-1807, 1808-1810, and 1811-1815. While serving as Mayor, he organized the Historical Society of New York in 1804 and was its president. The New-York Historical Society is an American organization located in New York City and dedicated to the preservation of the city's history He also organized the Academy of Fine Arts in 1808. He was Regent of the University of New York from 1808 to 1825.
Clinton was married twice. On February 13, 1796, he married Maria Franklin, daughter of the prominent New York Quaker merchant, Walter Franklin. By her he had ten children, four sons and three daughters surviving at the time of her death in 1818. On May 8, 1819, he married Catharine Jones, daughter of a New York physician, Thomas Jones, who survived him.
Later political career and governorship
In 1811, defeating the Federalist Nicholas Fish and the Tammany Hall candidate Marinus Willett, he won a special election for Lieutenant Governor of New York - to fill the vacancy left by the death of Lt. Gov. Broome - and served under Governor Daniel D. Tompkins until the end of the term in June 1813. The Federalist Party (or Federal Party) was an American political party in the period 1792 to 1816 with remnants lasting into the 1820s Nicholas Fish (1758-1833 was an American Revolutionary soldier born in New York City. Tammany Hall was the Democratic Party Political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants (most notably Marinus Willett ( July 31, 1740 &ndash August 22, 1830) was an American soldier and political leader from New York For persons with a similar name see John Broome John Broome (1738 Staten Island - August 8, 1810) was an American merchant and Daniel D Tompkins (June 21 1774 June 11 1825 was an entrepreneur jurist Congressman, Governor of New York, and the sixth Vice President of the United
In 1812 Clinton ran for President of the United States as candidate of the Federalists and anti-war Democratic-Republicans, but was defeated by President Madison; Clinton received 89 electoral votes, Madison 128. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by The Federalist Party (or Federal Party) was an American political party in the period 1792 to 1816 with remnants lasting into the 1820s James Madison Jr (March 16 1751 – June 28 1836 was an American Politician, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817 and one of the Founding The Electoral College consists of 538 popularly elected representatives who formally select the President and Vice President of the United States.
After the resignation of Governor Tompkins, who had been elected Vice President, he won a special gubernatorial election against Peter Buell Porter - Clinton received 43,310 votes, Porter only 1,479. There have been 89 gubernatorial elections in the state of New York since 1777 Peter Buell Porter ( August 14, 1773 Salisbury, Litchfield County Connecticut - March 20, 1844 Niagara Falls On July 1, 1817, Clinton became the governor of New York. The Governor of New York is the head of the Executive branch of New York 's government and the Commander-in-chief of the state's military He was re-elected in 1818, defeating the sitting Vice President Tompkins - DeWitt Clinton 47,447 votes, Tompkins 45,900 - and served until December 31, 1822.
During his second term, the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 shortened the gubernatorial term to two years, and moved the beginning of the term from July 1 to January 1, actually cutting off the last 6 months of the 3-year-term he had been elected to. Also the gubernatorial election was moved from April to November, but Clinton was not renominated by his party to run for reelection in November 1822.
In 1824 he was re-elected governor, and served another two terms until his sudden death in office. He was originally buried at the Clinton Cemetery in Little Britain, New York, later he was re-interred at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Little Britain New York is an area in Orange County, first settled in 1729 by Peter Mulliner, a devout Anglican, who named his farm Little Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Clinton was able to accomplish many things as a leader in civic and state affairs, such as improving the New York public school system, encouraging steam navigation, and modifying the laws governing criminals and debtors. The 1831 DeWitt Clinton locomotive was named in his honor. The DeWitt Clinton of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad (M&H was the first Steam locomotive to operate in the state of New York and the fourth
Erie Canal
While governor, Clinton was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal is a popular canal in New York state from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, approximately 360 miles connecting the Great Lakes The Erie Canal is a popular canal in New York state from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, approximately 360 miles connecting the Great Lakes He was persuaded by Canal proponent Jesse Hawley to support construction of a canal from the eastern shore of Lake Erie to the upper Hudson River. Jesse Hawley can refer to Jesse Hawley, a flour merchant who became an early proponent of building the Erie Canal Jesse B Lake Erie (ˈɪəriː is the fourth largest Lake (by surface area of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami Many thought the project was impracticable, and opponents mocked it as "Clinton's Ditch". But in 1817, he got the legislature to appropriate $7,000,000 for construction. When the Canal was finished in 1825, Governor Clinton opened it, sailing in the packet boat Seneca Chief along the Canal into Buffalo. After sailing from the mouth of Lake Erie to New York City he emptied two casks of water from Lake Erie into New York Harbor, celebrating the first connection of waters from East to West. New York Harbor, a geographic term refers collectively to the rivers bays and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City The Canal was an immense success, carrying huge amounts of passenger and freight traffic. It provided cheap transportation from the Atlantic to the West, drawing traffic to New York state and New York City, which became the most important state and city in America.
Legacy
An engraved portrait of Clinton appeared on the Legal Tender (United States Note) issue of 1880 in the $1000. 00 denomination. An illustrated example can be found on the website of Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's "American Currency Exhibit". The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States
Many places have been named for Governor Clinton. The state of Illinois named two counties after him, the only instance in the United States of two counties in the same state being named after the same person. This is a list of places in the United States named for DeWitt Clinton. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union.
- Clinton County, Illinois
- DeWitt County, Illinois, the county seat of which is Clinton, Illinois
- Clinton, Indiana
- Clinton, Arkansas
- Clinton, Missouri
- DeWitt, Iowa
- Clinton County, Iowa, the county seat of which is Clinton, Iowa
- DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx, NY
- Clinton, Massachusetts
- Clinton County, Michigan
- DeWitt, Michigan which is located in Clinton County
Sources
- Congress Bio
- Political Graveyard
- Bio at Erie Canal
- NY History with Lt. Gov. election in 1811
- NY History with Presidential Election result 1812
- NY History with Gov. election result 1817
References
- Bobbe, Dorothie. Clinton County is a County located in the US state of Illinois, and determined by the U DeWitt County is a County located in the US state of Illinois. A county seat is a term for an Administrative center for a County, primarily used in the United States. Clinton is a city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7485 at the 2000 census Clinton is a city in Vermillion County, Indiana, United States. Clinton is the county seat of Van Buren County, Arkansas, United States. Clinton is a city in Henry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9311 at the 2000 census DeWitt is a city in Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5049 at the 2000 census. Clinton County is a County located in the US state of Iowa. As of 2000 the population was 50149 A county seat is a term for an Administrative center for a County, primarily used in the United States. Clinton is a city in Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27772 at the 2000 census and the 2006 estimate was 27042 DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the New York City borough of the Bronx. Clinton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Clinton County is a county in the US state of Michigan, and is part of the Lansing Metropolitan Area DeWitt is a city in Clinton County in the US state of Michigan. DeWitt Clinton (1933)
- Cornog, Evan. The Birth of Empire: Dewitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769-1828 (1998) Oxford University Press, (2000) online
- Hanyan, Craig and Mary L. De Witt Clinton and the Rise of the People's Men McGill-Queens University Press, (1996) online
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
See also
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Armstrong, Jr. |
United States Senator (Class 3) from New York 1802 – 1803 Served alongside: Gouverneur Morris, Theodorus Bailey |
Succeeded by John Armstrong, Jr. |
| Preceded by Edward Livingston |
Mayor of New York 1803 - 1807 |
Succeeded by Marinus Willett |
| Preceded by Marinus Willett |
Mayor of New York 1808 - 1810 |
Succeeded by Jacob Radcliff |
| Preceded by John Tayler acting |
Lieutenant Governor of New York 1811 - 1813 |
Succeeded by John Tayler |
| Preceded by Jacob Radcliff |
Mayor of New York 1811 - 1815 |
Succeeded by John Ferguson |
| Preceded by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney |
Federalist Party presidential candidate 1812 (lost) |
Succeeded by Rufus King |
| Preceded by John Tayler |
Governor of New York 1817 – 1822 |
Succeeded by Joseph C. Yates |
| Preceded by Joseph C. Yates |
Governor of New York 1825 – 1828 |
Succeeded by Nathaniel Pitcher |
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