1801 New York gubernatorial election
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 County results Clinton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80-90% >90% Rensselaer: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80-90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New York State |
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The 1801 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1801 to elect the Governor of New York. Former Governor George Clinton returned to office, defeating Federalist Stephen Van Rensselaer.
Background
[edit]Though Federalist John Jay had been elected Governor in 1795 and re-elected easily in 1798, the Jeffersonian Republican Party gained seats in the legislature throughout his term in office. By the start of his second term, both the federal policies of Alien and Sedition Acts and increased federal tax duties, on the one hand, and the "High Federalist" policies of Jay and Alexander Hamilton, on the other, had come to divide and degrade the Federalist Party in the state; liberal members of the Federalist caucus began to vote with Aaron Burr and other moderate Republicans to curtail Federalist power. In 1798, anticipating a Federalist majority, Republicans and eight to ten liberal Federalists introduced a bill to split the state's presidential electors by district, thereby securing some Republican electors in a Federalist-majority state. The bill passed the Assembly but was defeated in the Senate.[1] The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, criticizing the John Adams administration and asserting the rights of states to interpose on behalf of their citizens, were also introduced to the legislature at the 1798 session but were rejected after significant debate by a vote of 50–43.[1]
Manhattan Bank scandal
[edit]Despite these growing problems for the Federalist Party, they made gains in the 1799 state election following the Manhattan Bank scandal. At the end of the 1799 session, Aaron Burr maneuvered the passage of an act "for supplying the city of New York with pure and wholesome water" and chartering a company for that purpose. However, the bill contained a provision granting the new company the right to engage in banking. Burr and his allies controlled stock in the company, and the fraudulent means by which they gained the charter sank their political fortunes. In New York City, Burr and the Republican ticket lost decidedly, and Republicans lost seats elsewhere in the state.[2]
1800 elections
[edit]The Federalist reprieve was temporary; by 1800, prosecutions of journalists under the Alien and Sedition acts rendered the party unpopular throughout most of the country, including New York. The April 1800 state elections were a triumph for Republicans, who captured both chambers of the legislature. In New York City, Burr mediated the rivalry between the Clinton and Livingston families to assemble a Republican ticket led by former Governor George Clinton. Burr himself won a seat in Orange County.[3] The final year of Jay's term was marked by dysfunction and legislative gridlock, as the Republican legislative council blocked his nominations for state office.
The New York election also guaranteed that, under the law then in place, Thomas Jefferson would secure the state's electoral votes in the upcoming presidential election. As his running mate, the Republicans sought a New Yorker and selected Burr over Clinton and Robert R. Livingston.[3] In anticipation of the clear Republican majority in the next legislature, which would nearly guarantee the election of Thomas Jefferson as president, Alexander Hamilton urged Governor Jay to call a special session of the existing Federalist legislature in order to elect presidential electors. Jay broke with Hamilton by flatly refusing the suggestion.[3] The presidential election ultimately resulted in an electoral tie between Jefferson and Burr, which was decided in favor of Jefferson in the House of Representatives. However, Burr's failed efforts during the contingent House election to curry Federalist support, rather than accept the vice presidency magnanimously, damaged his standing with President Jefferson and the national Republican Party.
Qualifications
[edit]Under Article VII of the New York Constitution of 1777, only certain male freeholders and certain freemen of Albany or New York City could vote:[4]
- VII. That every male inhabitant of full age, who shall have personally resided within one of the counties of this State for six months immediately preceding the day of election, shall, at such election, be entitled to vote for representatives of the said county in assembly; if, during the time aforesaid, he shall have been a freeholder, possessing a freehold of the value of twenty pounds, within the said county, or have rented a tenement therein of the yearly value of forty shillings, and been rated and actually paid taxes to this State: Provided always, That every person who now is a freeman of the city of Albany, or who was made a freeman of the city of New York on or before the fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and shall be actually and usually resident in the said cities, respectively, shall be entitled to vote for representatives in assembly within his said place of residence.
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- George Clinton, assemblyman from New York City and former Governor (Republican)
- Stephen Van Rensselaer, Lieutenant Governor of New York (Federalist)
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican | George Clinton | 24,808 | 54.34% |  8.35
| |
| Federalist | Stephen Van Rensselaer | 20,843 | 45.66% |  8.35
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| Total votes | 45,651 | 100.00% | |||
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jenkins 1846, pp. 68–70.
- ^ Jenkins 1846, pp. 70–71.
- ^ a b c Jenkins 1846, pp. 73–76.
- ^ Jenkins 1846, p. 36.
- ^ The Tribune Almanac 1841
Bibliography
[edit]- Jenkins, John Stilwell (1846). History of Political Parties in the State of New-York. Auburn, N.Y.: Alden & Markham.
See also
[edit]
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