DeWitt Clinton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 6th Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1825 – February 11, 1828 | |
| Lieutenant | James Tallmadge Jr. Nathaniel Pitcher |
| Preceded by | Joseph C. Yates |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Pitcher |
| In office July 1, 1817 – January 1, 1823 | |
| Lieutenant | John Tayler |
| Preceded by | John Tayler(acting) |
| Succeeded by | Joseph C. Yates |
| 47th, 49th and 51stMayor of New York City | |
| In office 1811–1815 | |
| Preceded by | Jacob Radcliff |
| Succeeded by | John Ferguson |
| In office 1808–1810 | |
| Preceded by | Marinus Willett |
| Succeeded by | Jacob Radcliff |
| In office 1803–1807 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Livingston |
| Succeeded by | Marinus Willett |
| Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
| In office 1811–1813 | |
| Governor | Daniel D. Tompkins |
| Preceded by | John Tayler(acting) |
| Succeeded by | John Tayler |
| United States Senator fromNew York | |
| In office February 9, 1802 – November 4, 1803 | |
| Preceded by | John Armstrong Jr. |
| Succeeded by | John Armstrong Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1769-03-02)March 2, 1769 |
| Died | February 11, 1828(1828-02-11) (aged 58) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Other political affiliations | Federalist (1812) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 10, includingGeorge W. Clinton |
| Education | Princeton University Columbia University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
DeWitt Clinton[a] (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an American politician andnaturalist. He served as aUnited States senator, as themayor of New York City, and as the sixthgovernor of New York. In the last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of theErie Canal.[1][2] Clinton was a major candidate for the American presidency in theelection of 1812, challenging incumbentJames Madison.
A nephew of two-term U.S. vice president and New York governorGeorge Clinton, DeWitt Clinton was his uncle's secretary before launching his own political career. As aDemocratic-Republican, Clinton won election to theNew York State Legislature in 1798 before briefly serving as a U.S. Senator. Returning to New York, Clinton served three terms as the appointed Mayor of New York City and thelieutenant governor of New York State. In the 1812 presidential election, Clinton won support from theFederalists as well as from a group of Democratic-Republicans who were dissatisfied with Madison. Though Madison won re-election, Clinton carried most of theNortheastern United States and fared significantly better than the previous two Federalist-supported tickets. After the presidential election, Clinton continued to be affiliated with the Democratic-Republican Party.
Clinton was governor ofNew York from 1817 to 1822 and from 1825 to 1828, and presided over the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton believed thatinfrastructure improvements could transform American life, drive economic growth, and encourage political participation. He heavily influenced the development of infrastructure both in New York State and in the United States as a whole.[3]
Clinton was born on March 2, 1769, the second son born to Major-GeneralJames Clinton and his wife Mary De Witt (1737–1795), who was a descendant of theDutch patricianDe Witt family.[4][verification needed] He was born inLittle Britain, New York, which today is a hamlet in the western part ofNew Windsor. He attendedKingston Academy and began his college studies at theCollege of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) before transferring to King's College[5] (which was renamedColumbia College while he was a student there; Clinton was in the first class to graduate under the school's new name.)[6] He was the brother of U.S. RepresentativeGeorge Clinton Jr., the half-brother of U.S. RepresentativeJames G. Clinton, and the cousin ofSimeon De Witt. He became the secretary to his uncleGeorge Clinton, who was then governor of New York.[5] Soon afterwards he became a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.[5]
Clinton was a member of theNew York State Assembly in 1798, and of theNew York State Senate (representing its Southern District) in 1798–1802 and 1806–1811[5] He was a delegate to theNew York State Constitutional Convention in 1801.
In 1801, his uncle George Clinton appointed him to head theCouncil of Appointments, which held the power under the state constitution to appoint thousands of public positions, including sheriffs and themayor of New York City.[7] He would serve on the committee from 1801 to 1802 and again from 1806 to 1807.[5] As chair of the council, Clinton controlledpatronage throughout the state. Because the council was overwhelmingly Republican and loyal to the Clintons, DeWitt suddenly became the most powerful politician in the state.[8] He used his power to deny supporters ofAaron Burr and members of theTammany Society key roles.[8]
In 1802, he used his authority as a director of theManhattan Company, the leading Republican bank in the state, to force the withdrawal of Burr and his key supporter John Swartwout. Swartwout accused Clinton of destroying Burr to advance his own political career; in response, Clinton called Swartwout "a liar, a scoundrel and a villain".[8] Swartwout challenged Clinton to aduel in New Jersey (where duelling was legal), in which Clinton wounded Swartwout.[8]
The New York State legislature elected him to fill New York'sU.S. Senate seat, which had been left vacant by theresignation ofJohn Armstrong Jr.; he served in that capacity from February 9, 1802, to November 4, 1803.[5] He resigned due to unhappiness with his living conditions in the newly built city ofWashington, DC; next, he was appointed the mayor ofNew York City.[5]
He served as mayor of New York from 1803 to 1807, 1808 to 1810, and 1811 to 1815. He organized theNew-York Historical Society in 1804 and was its president, and he was a leader in launching the Erie Canal. He also helped to reorganize theAmerican Academy of the Fine Arts in 1808 and served as its president between 1813 and 1817. He was a regent of theUniversity of the State of New York from 1808 to 1825. Clinton was also elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1814[9] and was its vice president from 1821 to 1828.[10] In 1816, he was elected a fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[11]
In 1811, the death ofJohn Broome left a vacancy in the office oflieutenant governor of New York. In a special election, Clinton defeated the FederalistNicholas Fish and theTammany Hall candidateMarinus Willett to become lieutenant governor until the end of the term in June 1813.[5]
Clinton's uncle, George Clinton, had attempted to challengeJames Madison for the presidency in1808 but was chosen as the party's vice presidential nominee instead. In 1812, after George Clinton's death, the elder Clinton's supporters gravitated towards DeWitt Clinton. Clinton ran for president as a candidate both for theFederalist Party and for a small group of antiwar Democratic-Republicans. In the close election of 1812, Clinton was defeated by President Madison. Clinton received 89electoral votes to Madison's 128. It was the strongest showing of any Federalist candidate for the U.S. presidency since 1800, and a change in the votes of one or two states would have given Clinton the victory.[12]
After the resignation ofDaniel D. Tompkins, who had been elected vice president, he won aspecial gubernatorial election in which he was the only candidate; 1,479 votes were cast forPeter Buell Porter against Clinton's 43,310, because theTammany organization, which fiercely hated Clinton, had printed ballots with Porter's name on them and distributed them among the Tammany followers in New York City. On July 1, 1817, Clinton took office as governor of New York. He was re-elected in 1820, defeating Vice President Tompkins in a narrow race—DeWitt Clinton received 47,447 votes, as opposed to Tompkins's 45,900—and served until December 31, 1822.[5]
During his second term, theNew 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, which cut off the last six months of his three-year term. The gubernatorial election was also moved from April to November, but Clinton was not renominated by his party to run for re-election in November 1822. Even so, he kept his post as president of theErie Canal Commission. In April 1824, most of his political opponents, theBucktails, voted in the New York State legislature for his removal from the Canal Commission, which caused such a wave of indignation among the electorate that he was nominated for governor by the People's Party and was re-elected governor, defeating the official candidate of the Democratic-Republican Party, his fellow Canal CommissionerSamuel Young. He served another two terms until his sudden death in office.[5]
Clinton was aYork RiteFreemason.[13] He was initiated in the "Holland" Lodge No. 16 (now No 8), NY onSeptember 3,1790,[14][15] and, in 1806, he was electedGrand Master of theGrand Lodge of New York. Clinton was essential in establishing the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar in the United States and served as its first, second, and third grand master from 1816 to 1828.[14][16] He retained the title until his death in 1828.[14]
In 1826, theWilliam Morgan Affair occurred inBatavia. Morgan, who threatened to publish an exposé of the rituals of Freemasonry, disappeared and was apparently kidnapped and supposedly murdered by Masons. Clinton issued three proclamations, each increasing the reward for information and conviction of the perpetrators until it reached $2,000.[17] Clinton's proclamations had no effect, however, and the Masonic fraternity underwent a period of severe decline in many regions of the United States because of criticism set off by the scandal.[18]
The Grand Lodge of New York has established the DeWitt Clinton Award, which recognizes distinguished or outstanding community service by non-Masonic organizations or individuals whose actions exemplify a shared concern for the well-being of Mankind and a belief in the worldwide brotherhood of Man.[19]
From 1810 to 1824, Clinton was a member of theErie Canal Commission. He was among its first members, who were appointed in 1810 and planned and surveyed the route to be taken.
As governor, Clinton was largely responsible for the construction of theErie Canal. He was persuaded by Canal proponentJesse Hawley to support construction of a canal from the eastern shore ofLake Erie to the upperHudson River. Many thought the project to be impracticable, and opponents mocked it as "Clinton's Folly" and "DeWitt's Ditch".[20] But in 1817, he persuaded the legislature to appropriate $7 million ($168,315,263.16 in 2025 dollars)[21] for its construction.
When the canal was finished in 1825, Clinton opened it and traveled in the packet boatSeneca Chief along the canal to Buffalo. After riding from the mouth of Lake Erie to New York City, he emptied two casks of water from Lake Erie intoNew York Harbor to celebrate the first connection of waters from the East with waters from the West. The canal was an immense success, carrying huge numbers of passengers and a huge amount of freight traffic. The cost of moving freight between Buffalo and Albany fell from $100 to $10 per ton, and the state was able to quickly recoup the funds that it had spent on the project by collecting tolls along the canal. The completion of the canal brought about a significant shift in public opinion about Clinton: he was now hailed for having completed the canal.
That change in public opinion was reflected in the newspapers of the time. They had previously been filled with harsh criticisms of Clinton and the canal, but now celebrated his accomplishment. For example, an article in theNew Hampshire Sentinel began: "The efforts of Gov. Clinton to advance the best interest of the State over which he presides are very generally acknowledged both by his constituents and the public abroad. His exertions in favor of the great canal have identified his name with that noble enterprise, and he will be remembered while its benefits are experienced" It ended, "Yield credit to Clinton, and hail him by name".
Together with financierThomas Eddy, he was a director of New York's earliest savings bank established to serve laborers and the poor,The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York.[22]
Clinton was married twice. On February 13, 1796, he married Maria Franklin, daughter of the prominent New YorkQuaker merchant Walter Franklin and descendant ofJohn Bowne andElizabeth Fones. With her, he had ten children, and four sons and three daughters had survived at the time of her death in 1818. Among his children with Franklin wasGeorge William Clinton, who served asmayor of Buffalo, New York from 1842 to 1843.
On May 8, 1819, Clinton married Catharine Jones, the daughter of a New York physician, Thomas Jones and his wife, Margaret (néeLivingston) Jones (a daughter ofEdward Livingston). Catharine's sister, Mary (née Jones) Gelston, was the wife of Deacon Maltby Gelston ofSouthampton, and the mother ofDavid Gelston,Collector of the Port of New York. Catharine outlived her husband.[23]
In 1813, Clinton became a hereditary member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati in succession to his brother, Lieutenant Alexander Clinton, who was an original member of the society.[24] In that same year, he was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[25]
When Clinton died suddenly of heart failure inAlbany on February 11, 1828, he left his family in poor financial condition. While he was a fine administrator in government, he had handled his own financial affairs rather poorly. As a result, the Clinton family was badly in debt and had no means of support after the governor's death. One creditor alone put in a claim for $6,000. Fearing that he might not get his money, the creditor obtained a judgment that resulted in a public sale of most of the Clinton family possessions. Enough money was realized from the sale of the property to satisfy the judgment, but nothing was left to help the Clinton family through the difficult years ahead. The governor received the grandest of state funerals, but when it was all over, the family had no place to bury him. His widow was completely without funds to purchase a suitable grave site. As a result, Clinton's remains were placed in the family vault of Dr. Samuel Stringer (1735–1817), an old friend and fellow Mason from Albany, in the old Swan Street Cemetery.
Sixteen years later, enough money was collected to provide a suitable burial. On June 21, 1844, a newspaper in Albany printed this small announcement: "The remains of DeWitt Clinton, which had been deposited in the cemetery in Swan Street, were removed to New York for interment under a monument created by the family." Clinton was reinterred at theGreen-Wood Cemetery inBrooklyn, New York.
Clinton's accomplishments as a leader in civic and state affairs included improving the New York public school system, encouraging steam navigation, and modifying the laws governing criminals and debtors. The 1831DeWitt Clinton locomotive was named in his honor. The community ofWhitestone, New York was for several decades after his death known as Clintonville, but reverted to its traditional name; however, the governor is memorialized by Clintonville Street, a major local road.
His portrait appears on many tobacco tax stamps of the late 1800s to early 1900s.[34]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)and served as Eminent Grand Commander of New York Commandery ofKnights Templar from 1814 to 1828. He was Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of the United States from 1818 to 1828.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Clinton, De Witt".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from New York 1802–1803 Served alongside:Gouverneur Morris,Theodorus Bailey | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of New York City 1803–1807 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of New York City 1808–1810 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of New York City 1811–1815 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Tayler Acting | Lieutenant Governor of New York 1811–1813 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Tayler Acting | Governor of New York 1817–1822 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of New York 1825–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Federalist nominee forPresident of the United States Endorsed 1812 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic-Republican nominee forGovernor of New York 1817,1820 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic-Republican nominee forGovernor of New York 1824,1826 | Succeeded by |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York 1806–1819 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
