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County results Clinton: 50–60% 70–80% 80-90% >90% Yates: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in New York State |
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The 1789 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1789 to elect the Governor of New York for a term beginning in July 1789. Incumbent Governor George Clinton was narrowly re-elected to a fifth consecutive term in office over Robert Yates.
From the establishment of an independent government of New York in 1777, George Clinton had continuously served in the office of Governor; he had no opponent in 1780 or 1786. During that previous decade, New York politics had coalesced around two loose factions: a federalist faction led by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Robert R. Livingston, Philip Schuyler, and the Van Rensselaer family, which favored adoption of the proposed United States Constitution and an anti-federalist faction led by Governor Clinton, Robert Yates, John Lansing, and Melancton Smith, which opposed ratification without serious revision. [1] [2]
At the New York convention to ratify the Constitution in 1788, Clinton presided over a sharp division between the federalists and anti-federalists. The final vote favored ratification of the Constitution as written by a vote of 30–27. Clinton, despite his anti-federalist views, closed the convention by vowing to exercise his office to enforce it and maintain order. [2] However, partisan divisions were sharpened by the formation of a new national administration under President George Washington, who sought to elevate Hamilton, Jay, and other federalists to his administration without representation for the Clinton faction. [3]
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]
For the first time, the federalist faction actively organized to block Clinton's re-election. In light of the incumbent's broad popularity, they sought to nominate an anti-federalist in order to divide the majority faction. [5] At a meeting in New York City on February 11, they appointed a committee of correspondence to manage the campaign, consisting of Hamilton, William Duer, Robert Troup and anti-federalist Aaron Burr, who defected to oppose Clinton. The meeting nominated Supreme Court justice Robert Yates. On February 24, Yates accepted the nomination. [5]
There was a movement to nominate Richard Morris, who was favored by the majority within the federalist faction, but he declined to be a candidate on February 27. [5]
Incumbent Pierre Van Cortlandt was the only candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
Clinton was re-elected to a fifth term in office, albeit by the lowest margin to date. In his home county of Ulster, Clinton won 1,039 out of 1,245 votes. However, federalists won a majority of the seats in the New York Assembly. [4]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anti-Administration | George Clinton (incumbent) | 6,391 | 51.74% | |
Anti-Administration | Robert Yates | 5,962 | 48.26% | |
Total votes | 12,353 | 100% |
The 1788–89 United States presidential election was the first quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Monday, December 15, 1788, to Wednesday, January 7, 1789, under the new Constitution ratified that same year. George Washington was unanimously elected for the first of his two terms as president and John Adams became the first vice president. This was the only U.S. presidential election that spanned two calendar years without a contingent election and the first national presidential election in American history.
The 1792 United States presidential election was the second quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, November 2, to Wednesday, December 5, 1792. Incumbent President George Washington was elected to a second term by a unanimous vote in the electoral college, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president. Washington was essentially unopposed, but Adams faced a competitive re-election against Governor George Clinton of New York.
Robert Yates was an American politician, attorney, jurist, and surveyor. As a delegate representing New York at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Yates is considered a Founding Father of the United States. Best known as a leader of the Anti-Federalist movement, he was the presumed author of political essays published in 1787-1788 under the pseudonyms "Brutus" and "Sydney". The essays opposed the Constitution based on the scope of the national government and the diminished sovereignty of the states. Yates also served as chief justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1790 to 1798.
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The 1798 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1798 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Governor John Jay was elected to a second term in office over Robert Livingston.
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.
The 1804 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1804 to elect the Governor of New York. Incumbent Governor George Clinton did not run for re-election, having been nominated for Vice President of the United States in February. In a campaign that blurred partisan divisions, Morgan Lewis defeated Aaron Burr by a landslide margin.
The 1807 New York gubernatorial election was held in April 1807 to elect the Governor. Incumbent Governor Morgan Lewis ran for a second consecutive term in office but was defeated by Daniel D. Tompkins, who had the support of the influential Clinton family.
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John Ten Eyck Lansing Jr., a Founding Father of the United States, was an attorney, jurist, and politician.
The 36th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 3, 1812, to April 13, 1813, during the sixth year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, in Albany.
The 46th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to April 24, 1823, during the first year of Joseph C. Yates's governorship, in Albany.
The United States elections of 1788–1789 were the first federal elections in the United States following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. In the elections, George Washington was elected as the first president and the members of the 1st United States Congress were selected.
Gilbert Livingston was a lawyer who, in 1788, served as a delegate to the Poughkeepsie Convention where, despite having arrived at the convention as an Anti-Federalist, he ultimately voted to ratify the United States Constitution. Both before and after that ratification convention, he served in the New York Assembly, representing Dutchess County. Livingston had also been a member of the New York Provincial Congress.