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New York, State of

On Aug. 1, 1776, the new provincial convention, sitting at White Plains, appointed a committee to draw up and report a constitution for the State. John Jay was the chairman of this committee. The convention was made migratory by the stirring events in the ensuing autumn and winter, and it sat, after leaving White Plains, at Fishkill and at Kingston. At the latter place the committee reported a draft of a constitution, written by Mr. Jay. It was under consideration in the convention more than a month, and was finally adopted April 20, 1777. Under it a State government was established by an ordinance passed in May, and the first session of the legislature was held in July. Meanwhile, elections were held in all the counties excepting New York, Kings, Queens, and Suffolk, then held by the British troops. Brig.-Gen. George Clinton was elected governor, and Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the Senate, became lieutenant-governor. John Jay was made chiefjustice, Robert R. Livingston, chancellor, and Philip Livingston, James Duane, Francis Lewis, and Gouverneur Morris, delegates to the Continental Congress. By the provisions of the constitution, the governor was to be elected by the people for the term of three years, the legislative department, vested in a Senate and Assembly, deriving their powers from the

The Constitution House, Kingston.

same source; all inferior offices to be filled by the governor and a council of four senators, one from each district; and to a council of revision, similarly constituted, was assigned the power to pass upon the validity and constitutionality of legislative acts.

In October following, a British marauding force went up the Hudson and burned Kingston. The records were removed first to the interior of Ulster county, and thence to Poughkeepsie, where the legislators reassembled early in 1778. That city was the State capital until 1784, when it was removed to the city of New York. [435] In 1797 Albany was made the permanent State capital. The State constitution was revised in 1801, 1821, 1846, and 1894. During the War of 1812-15 the frontiers of New York were almost continually scenes of hostilities. New York was the

Seal of the State of New York.

pioneer in establishing canal navigation, In 1796 the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company was incorporated, and improved the bateau-navigation of the Mohawk River, connecting its waters with Oneida Lake by a canal, so that boats laden with merchandise could pass from the ocean to that lake, and then by its outlet and Oswego River to Lake Ontario. In 1800 Gouverneur Morris conceived a plan for connecting Lake Erie with the ocean by means of a canal, and the great Erie Canal that accomplished it was completed in 1825 (see canals). In November, 1874, several amendments proposed by the legislature were ratified by a vote of the people. These removed the property qualifications of colored voters; restricted the power of the legislature to pass private or local bills; made changes in the executive departments; prescribed an oath of office in relation to bribery; established safeguards against official corruption; and removed restrictions imposed upon the legislature in regard to selling or leasing certain of the State canals.

During the Civil War, the State furnished to the National army 455,568 troops. Of that number the city of New York furnished 267,551. In 1869 the legislature ratified the Fifteenth Amendment to the national Constitution. In 1870 this action was annulled by a resolution, and the latter was rescinded in 1872. Slavery, which had been much restricted by the first constitution, was abolished in 1817, but a few aged persons continued in nominal slavery several years later. The revised constitution of the State was adopted November, 1894, materially restricting the proportionate representation of New York and Kings counties. Population in 1890, 5,997,853; in 1900, 7,268,012. See United States, New York, in vol. IX.

governors of New York.

Under the Dutch.

Name.Term.
Cornelius Jacobsen May 1624
William Verhulst1625
Peter MinuitMay 4, 1626 to 1633
Wouter Van Twiller April, 1633 to 1638
William KieftMarch 28, 1638 to 1647
Peter Stuyvesant May 11, 1647 to 1664

Under the English.

Richard NicollsSept. 8, 1664 to 1668
Francis LovelaceAug. 17, 1668to 1673

Dutch resumed.

Anthony Colve1673 to 1674

English resumed.

Edmund AndrosNov. 10, 1674 to 1683
Thomas DonganAug. 27, 1683 1688
Francis Nicholson.1688 to 1689
Jacob LeislerJune 3, 1689to 1691
Henry SloughterMarch 19, 1691
Richard IngoldsbyJuly 26, 1691 1692
Benjamin FletcherAug. 30, 1692 1698
Richard, Earl Bellomont1698 1701
John Nanfan 1701 to 1702
Lord CornburyMay 3, 1702 to 1708
John, Lord Lovelace Dec. 18, 1708 to 1709
Richard IngoldsbyMay 9, 1709to 1710
Gerardus BeekmanApril 10, 1710
Robert HunterJune 14, 1710 1719
Peter SchuylerJuly 21, 1719 to 1720
William Burnet Sept. 17, 1720to 1728
John MontgomeryApril 15, 1728 to 1731
Rip Van Dam 1731 to 1732
William CosbyAug. 1, 1732to 1736
George Clarke1736 1743
George ClintonSept. 2, 1743to 1753
Sir Sanvers OsborneOct. 10, 1753
James De LanceyOct. 12, 1853 to 1755
Sir Charles HardySept. 3, 1755to 1757
James De LanceyJune 3, 1757to 1760
Cadwallader ColdenAug. 4, 1760to 1761
Robert MoncktonOct. 26, 1761
Cadwallader ColdenNov. 18, 1761 to1765
Sir Henry MooreNov. 18, 1765 to 1769
Cadwallader ColdenSept. 12, 1769 to 1770
John Lord DunmoreOct. 19, 1770 to 1771
William TryonJuly 9, 1771 to 1777

[436]

State governors.

Name.Party.When Elected.Opponents.Party.
George Clinton
1777
1780
1783
1786
1789 Robert Yates.
1792 John Jay.
John Jay
1795 Robert YatesDem.-Rep.
1798 Robert Livingston.
George Clinton1801 Stephen Van Rensselaer.
Morgan LewisDem.-Rep 1804 Aaton Burr.
Daniel D. Tompkins
1807 Morgan Lewis.
1810 Jonas Platt.
1813 Stephen Van Rensselaer.
1816 Rufus King.
John Taylor1817
De Witt Clinton
1817Peter B. Porter.
1820Daniel D. Tompkins.
Joseph C. Yates1822Solomon Southwick.
De Witt Clinton
1824Samuel Young.
1826William B. Rochester.
Nathaniel Pitcher
Martin Van BurenDemocrat.1828Smith Thompson.
Solomon Southwick Anti-masonic.
Enos T. ThroopDemocrat. 1829
1830 Francis Granger Anti-masonic.
Ezekiel Williams
William L. MarcyDemocrat.1832 Francis GrangerAnti-masonic.
1834 William H. SewardWhig.
1836 Jesse Buel.
Isaac S. Smith.
William H. SewardWhig1838 William L. MarcyDemocrat.
1840 William C. BouckDemocrat.
Gerrit Smith.
William C. BouckDemocrat 1842 Luther Bradish.
Alvan Stewart.
Silas Wright. JrDemocrat 1844 Millard FillmoreWhig.
Alvan Stewart.
John YoungWhig 1846 Silas Wright, JrDemocrat.
Ogden Edwards.
Henry Bradley.
Hamilton FishWhig1848 John A. Dix Democrat.
Reuben H. Walworth.
William Goodell.
Washington HuntWhig 1850Horatio SeymourDemocrat
Horatio SeymourDemocrat. 1852
Washington HuntWhig.
Minthorne Tompkins.
Myron H. ClarkWhig 1854Horatio SeymourDemocrat.
Daniel Ullman.
Green C. Bronson.
John A. KingRepublican 1856 Amasa J. ParkerDemocrat.
Erastus Brooks.
Edwin D. MorganRepublican1858Amasa J. ParkerDemocrat.
Lorenzo Burrows.
Gerrit Smith.
1860William Kelly.
James T. Brady.
Horatio SeymourDemocrat 1862 James S. WadsworthRepublican
Reuben E. FentonRepublican 1864 Horatio SeymourDemocrat.
1866John T. HoffmanDemocrat
John T. HoffmanDemocrat. 1868John A. GriswoldRepublican
1870 Stewart L. WoodfordRepublican
John A. DixRepublican 1872 Francis KernanDemocrat.
Samuel J. TildenDemocrat 1874 John A. DixRepublican
Lucius RobinsonDemocrat 1876 Edwin D. MorganRepublican
Alonzo B. CornellRepublican 1879 Lucius RobinsonDemocrat.
John Kelly Tam.-Dem.
Harris Lewis.
John W. Mears.
Grover ClevelandDemocrat 1882 Charles J. FolgerRepublican
Alphonso A. HopkinsProhibition
Epenetus HoweGreenback.
David B. HillDemocrat1884
1885 Ira DavenportRepublican
H. Clay BascomProhibition
1888Warner MillerRepublican
W. Martin JonesProhibition

[437]

State governors-continued.

Name. Party. When elected. Opponents.Party.
Roswell P. FlowerDemocrat. 1891 J. Sloat FassettRepublican.
John W. BruceProhibition.
Daniel De LeonSocialist.
Levi P. MortonRepublican 1894 David B. HillDemocrat.
Everett P. WheelerDemocrat.
F. E . BaldwinProhibition.
Charles B. MatthewsSocialist.
Frank S. BlackRepublican1896Wilbur F. PorterDemocrat.
Daniel G. GriffinNat. Dem.
William W. SmithProhibition.
Theodore RooseveltRepublican1898 Augustus Van WyckDemocrat.
Henry McDonaldSilver Dem.
Benj. B. Odell, JrRepublican1900John B. StanchfieldDemocrat.

The first governors of the State entered office on July 1 following election, but since 1823 the date has been Jan. 1. The term of office was, up to 1823, three years; then until 1876, two years; from 1876 until 1895, three years; from 1895, two years. The governor and lieutenant-governor must be thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, and five years a resident of the State.

United States Senators.

Name. No. of Congress.Term.
Philip Schuyler1st1789 to 1791
Rufus King1st to 4th1789 to 1796
Aaron Burr2d to 5th1791 to 1797
John Lawrence4th to 6th1796 to 1800
Philip Schuyler5th 1797 to 1798to
John Sloss Hobart5th1790
William North5th1798
James Watson5th to 6th 1799 to 1800
Gouverneur Morris6th to 7th1800to 1803
John Armstrong6th to 8th1801to 1804
He Witt Clinton7th to 8th1802 to 1803
Theodore Bailey8th1803to 1804
Samuel L. Mitchell8th to 11th 1804 to 1809
John Smith8th to 13th1803 to 1813
Obadiah German11th to 14th1809to 1815
Rufus King13th to 19th1813 to 1825
Nathan Sanford14thto 17th1815 to 1821
Martin Van Buren18th to 20th1823 to 1828
Nathan Sanford19th to 22d1826 to 1831
Charles E. Dudley20th to 23d 1828to 1833
William I. Marcy22d1831to 1832
Silas Wright, Jr.22d to 28th 1832 to 1844
Nathaniel P. Tallmadge23d to 28th1833 1844
Henry A. Foster28th1844
John A. Dix28th to 31st1845 to 1849
Daniel S. Dickinson28th to 32d1845to 1851
William H. Seward31st to 37th1849to 1861
Hamilton Fish32d to 35th1851 to 1857
Preston King35th to 38th1857 to 1863
Ira Harris37th to 40th1861 to 1867
Edwin D. Morgan38th to 41st1863 to 1869
Roscoe Conkling40th to 47th1867 to 1881
Reuben E. Fenton41st to 44th1869 to 1875
Francis Kernan44th to 47th1875 to 1881
Thomas C. Platt47th1881
Elbridge G. Lapham47th to 49th1881 to 1885
Warner Miller47th to 50th1881to 1887
William M. Evarts49th to 52d1885 to 1891
Frank Hiscock50th to 53d1887 to 1893
David B. Hill52d to 55th1891 to 1897
Edward Murphy, Jr.53d to 56th1893 to 1899
Thomas C. Platt55th to — 1897 to —
Chauncey M. Depew56th to —1899 to —

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