DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton[a] (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. In the last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal.[1][2] Clinton was a major candidate for the American presidency in the election of 1812, challenging incumbent James Madison.
For the steam locomotive, see DeWitt Clinton (locomotive). For the American intelligence officer who worked in Russia, see DeWitt Clinton Poole.
DeWitt Clinton
James Tallmadge Jr.
Nathaniel Pitcher
John Tayler (acting)
Joseph C. Yates
Jacob Radcliff
Marinus Willett
John Tayler (acting)
John Tayler
John Armstrong Jr.
March 2, 1769
Little Britain, New York, British America
February 11, 1828 (aged 58)
Albany, New York, U.S.
10, including George W. Clinton
A nephew of two-term U.S. vice president and New York governor George Clinton, DeWitt Clinton was his uncle's secretary before launching his own political career. As a Democratic-Republican, Clinton won election to the New 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 the lieutenant governor of New York State. In the 1812 presidential election, Clinton won support from the Federalists as well as from a group of Democratic-Republicans who were dissatisfied with Madison. Though Madison won re-election, Clinton carried most of the Northeastern United States and fared significantly better than the previous two Federalist-supported candidates. After the presidential election, Clinton continued to be affiliated with the Democratic-Republican Party.
Clinton was governor of New York from 1817 to 1822 and from 1825 to 1828, and presided over the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton believed that infrastructure 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]
Early life[edit]
Clinton was born on March 2, 1769, the second son born to Major-General James Clinton and his wife Mary De Witt (1737–1795), who was a descendant of the Dutch patrician De Witt family.[4] He was born in Little Britain, New York (which today is a hamlet in the western part of New Windsor. He attended Kingston Academy and began his college studies at the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) before transferring to King's College[5] (which was renamed Columbia 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. Representative George Clinton Jr., the half-brother of U.S. Representative James G. Clinton, and the cousin of Simeon De Witt. He became the secretary to his uncle George Clinton, who was then governor of New York.[5] Soon afterwards he became a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.[5]
Career[edit]
New York Legislature and U.S. Senate[edit]
Clinton was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1798, and of the New York State Senate (representing its Southern District) in 1798–1802 and 1806–1811[5] 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.[5] The New York State legislature elected him to fill New York's U.S. Senate seat, which had been left vacant by the resignation of John 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 of Washington, DC; next, he was appointed the mayor of New York City.[5]
Mayor of New York City[edit]
He served as mayor of New York from 1803 to 1807, 1808 to 1810, and 1811 to 1815. He organized the New-York Historical Society in 1804 and was its president, and he was a leader in launching the Erie Canal. He also helped to reorganize the American Academy of the Fine Arts in 1808 and served as its president between 1813 and 1817. He was a regent of the University of the State of New York from 1808 to 1825. Clinton was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814[7] and was its vice president from 1821 to 1828.[8] In 1816, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[9]
Lieutenant Governor of New York[edit]
In 1811, the death of John Broome left a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor of New York. In a special election, Clinton defeated the Federalist Nicholas Fish and the Tammany Hall candidate Marinus Willett to become lieutenant governor until the end of the term in June 1813.[5]
Presidential campaign[edit]
Clinton's uncle, George Clinton, had attempted to challenge James Madison for the presidency in 1808 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 the Federalist Party and for a small group of antiwar Democratic-Republicans. In the close election of 1812, Clinton was defeated by President Madison. Clinton received 89 electoral 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.[10]
Philanthropy[edit]
Together with financier Thomas 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.[19]
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 1831 DeWitt Clinton locomotive was named in his honor. The community of Whitestone, 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.[26]