George Clinton

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Clinton, George (1739-1812) soldier, governor of New York, and vice president of the United States, born in Little Britain, New York. He fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63) as a young subaltern, and was a brigadier general of militia in the Revolutionary War. He directed the futile defense of Fort Montgomery (1777), hindering British major general Sir Henry Clinton from joining John Burgoyne at Saratoga (1777). He served six successive terms as governor. Clinton was elected vice president under Thomas Jefferson (1804) on the Democratic-Republican ticket.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

The American patriot and statesman George Clinton (1739-1812) was the governor of New York for 21 years and vice president of the United States for two terms.

George Clinton's father, Charles, was an Ulster County, N.Y., farmer who had emigrated from Ireland in 1729. Charles Clinton achieved modest prominence through military and political office, but it was the marriage of his sons, James to Mary DeWitt in 1765 and George to Cornelia Tappen in 1769, that gave the Clintons status in New York society and future political allies among influential Dutch families.

Revolutionary Radical

Born in Ulster County, on July 26, 1739, George Clinton was educated at home and under a tutor, with the advantage of his father's better-than-average library. After studying law in New York City under William Smith, Jr., one of the famous Whig "triumvirate," he began practice in 1764. His political career was launched in 1768 with his election to the Assembly from Ulster County. There he allied himself with the minority "popular party" of the Livingstons against the DeLancey "court party" which controlled the legislature. For the next 7 years Clinton consistently opposed grants for supporting the king's troops, and he was one of a mere five assemblymen who in 1770 voted against jailing Alexander McDougall, a Whig "firebrand" who had publicly criticized the House for betraying its trust by its military appropriations. In the broader quarrel with Britain, Clinton sided with the radicals, denouncing parliamentary taxation and the Coercive Acts and urging support for the resolves of the First Continental Congress. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, he was absent when independence was approved, having military obligations in New York, where he had been appointed brigadier general of the Ulster and Orange County militia in December 1775. Despite military shortcomings, the Continental Congress placed him in command of the forts in the Hudson Highlands. However, his energetic efforts did not prevent capture of the forts by the British in late 1777.

War Governor

The new state constitution of 1777 provided for a popularly elected governor. New York's aristocrats, led by Philip Schuyler, John Jay, John Morin Scott, and the Livingstons, expected Schuyler to be chosen. To their consternation the elections brought victory to Clinton - a tribute to his appeal to middle-class and small farmers and his popularity with the soldiers. Schuyler's postelection judgment that neither Clinton's family nor connections entitled him "to so distinguished a predominance" but that he was "virtuous and loves his country, has abilities and is brave" is an apt commentary on Clinton's entire political career. He attracted the majority of New Yorkers by his loyalty to the Revolutionary cause, his honesty, and his devotion to his state. His reputation was enhanced by his able service as war governor, a post which was more often military than political. He organized the defenses of the frontier, procured supplies, suppressed loyalists, quieted the Native Americans, and organized campaigns against Tory and British raiders. His universal popularity was attested to by his successive elections to the governorship, often without opposition, until his voluntary retirement in 1795.

Antifederalist and Republican

Conservative in his administration during the Confederation period, committed to the protection of property and a stable financial system, Clinton was equally sensitive to popular liberties and republican government. It was the latter that made him suspicious of the movement for the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Willing to strengthen congressional powers under the Articles of Confederation, he feared the substitution of a "consolidated" for a "federal" government. The acknowledged leader of New York's Antifederalists, he was not so virulent an opponent of the Constitution as Alexander Hamilton made him out to be. He presided over the state's ratifying convention at Poughkeepsie with impartiality and spoke seldom, and then with moderation. There is some doubt that he wrote the Antifederalist essays attributed to him which appeared in the New York Journal (September 1787 to January 1788) as "Cato's Letters." Preferring ratification conditional upon amendments, he nevertheless promised to support the new Constitution when New York ratified it 30 to 27, on July 26, 1788, without such conditions.

Vice President

While Clinton continued to be popular personally, his political followers hereafter faced stiff opposition from the Federalists, who in 1789 secured control of the legislature and in 1792 just missed placing John Jay in the governor's chair. Pleading ill health and perhaps sensing defeat, Clinton declined to stand in 1795, and his party was beaten. For the next 6 years his nephew DeWitt Clinton led the newly formed Democratic-Republican party in New York, an alliance of Clintonites, Livingstons, and the followers of Aaron Burr. George Clinton returned as governor for a term in 1801, but his political mantle remained with his nephew. Clinton played out the remainder of his political career on the national scene. In 1792 he was the unsuccessful candidate of Republicans in New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia for the vice presidency in place of John Adams. In 1804 he replaced Burr for the second place on the Republican ticket and served as vice president during Jefferson's second term. Four years later his followers promoted his candidacy for president on a ticket with James Monroe. When this failed, he settled for another term as vice president under James Madison. His 7 years in Washington (1805-1812) did not enhance his reputation. He had little influence with either administration, presided over the Senate without much skill, and disliked Washington society. Perhaps his most important action was his tiebreaking vote in 1811 to prevent the recharter of the Bank of the United States. He died in office on April 20, 1812.

A moderate reformer who during his governorship promoted road and canal building, lent support for manufactures and reform of the criminal code, and gave aid to libraries and public funds for common schools, Clinton appealed to the middle-class democracy of New York State. He lacked the felicity of language and the talented pen of a Jefferson to extend his influence much beyond his state.

Further Reading

The standard biography of Clinton is E. Wilder Spaulding, His Excellency George Clinton: Critic of the Constitution (1938; 2d ed. 1964). It has been revised in many details by more recent works on early New York political history, most notably Linda Grant De Pauw, The Eleventh Pillar: New York State and the Federal Constitution (1966), and Alfred F. Young, The Democratic Republicans of New York: The Origins, 1763-1797 (1967). Public Papers of George Clinton (10 vols., 1899-1914) is an essential source, although the introductory sketch of Clinton's life by the editor, Hugh Hastings, is inaccurate. The Clinton era in New York politics may be traced in Jabez D. Hammond, History of Political Parties in the State of New York (2 vols., 1842; 4th ed., 3 vols., 1852), and in De Alva Stanwood Alexander, A Political History of the State of New York (4 vols., 1906-1923). Clinton's war governorship is ably analyzed and evaluated in Margaret Burnham Macmillan, The War Governors in the American Revolution (1943).

Additional Sources

Kaminski, John P., George Clinton: yeoman politician of the new republic, Madison: Madison House, 1993.

• Born: July 26, 1739, Little Britain, N.Y.
• Political party: Democratic-Republican
• Education: no formal education
• Military service: New York Militia, 1775–77; Continental Army, 1777
• Previous government service: governor of New York, 1777–95, 1801–4; New York State Assembly, 1800–1801
• Vice President under Thomas Jefferson, 1805–9, and James Madison, 1809–12
Died: Apr. 20, 1812, Washington, D.C.

George Clinton was the first governor of New York, serving during and after the revolutionary war. He also served as a brigadier general during the war. He was a strong governor whose conduct in office served as a model for the delegates at the Constitutional Convention who wanted a strong executive. Clinton himself presided over the New York State Convention called to consider ratification. He opposed ratification of the Constitution in 1788 because he believed in strong state government and a weak national government. Like most of the early Anti-Federalists, he followed Thomas Jefferson and James Madison into the Republican party, opposing President George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. He served again as governor of New York between 1801 and 1804. Clinton received some electoral college votes in 1789, 1792, and 1796, but not enough to win the Presidency or Vice Presidency.

In 1804 President Thomas Jefferson barred Vice President Aaron Burr from gaining the Republican party's renomination, and the Republicans nominated Clinton to take Burr's place on the ticket. Jefferson and Clinton defeated the Federalist candidates, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Rufus King. In 1808 Clinton was again nominated to serve as Vice President, and he was reelected on the Republican ticket led by James Madison.

Like most 19th-century Vice Presidents, Clinton did little in office. His most important act occurred in 1812, while he was presiding over the Senate: he cast the tiebreaking vote against the bill to recharter the Bank of the United States. He retained his hold on the Vice Presidency in 1812 but died in office before his third term began.

See also Burr, Aaron; Jefferson, Thomas; Madison, James

Sources

• John P. Kaminski, George Clinton: Yeoman Politician of the New Republic (Madison, Wis.: Madison House, 1990)

George Clinton
4th Vice President of the United States
In office March 4, 1805 – April 20, 1812
President	Thomas Jefferson James Madison
Preceded by	Aaron Burr
Succeeded by	Elbridge Gerry
1st Governor of New York
In office July 1, 1801 – July 1, 1804
Lieutenant	Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
Preceded by	John Jay
Succeeded by	Morgan Lewis
In office July 30, 1777 – July 1, 1795
Lieutenant	Pierre Van Cortlandt
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	John Jay
Born	July 26, 1739(1739-07-26) Little Britain, New York
Died	April 20, 1812 (aged 72) Washington, D.C.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Sarah Cornelia Tappen
Children	Catharine Clinton Cornelia Tappen Clinton George Washington Clinton Elizabeth Clinton Martha Washington Clinton Maria Clinton
Religion	Presbyterian
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	British Army American Militia
Rank	Lieutenant Brigadier General
Battles/wars	French and Indian War American Revolutionary War

Clinton's pew in St. Paul's Chapel in New York City

George Clinton (July 26, 1739 – April 20, 1812) was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Contents 1 Early life and participation in the Revolution 2 Political career 3 Marriage and children 4 Legacy 5 See also 6 Bibliography 7 External links 8 Notes

Early life and participation in the Revolution

His political interests were inspired by his father, Charles Clinton, who was an Irish immigrant to Little Britain, New York and a member of the New York colonial assembly. George Clinton was the brother of General James Clinton and the uncle of New York's future governor, DeWitt Clinton.

At 18, he enlisted in the British Army to fight in the French and Indian War, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant. He subsequently studied law, became clerk of the court of common pleas and served in the colonial assembly.

He was known for his hatred of Tories^[1] and used seizure and sale of Tory estates to help keep taxes down. A supporter and friend of George Washington, he supplied food to the troops at Valley Forge, rode with Washington to the first Inauguration and gave an impressive dinner to celebrate it.

Political career

In 1759 he was appointed County Clerk for Ulster County, New York, a position he held for the next fifty-two years^[2]. He was a member of the New York Provincial Assembly for Ulster County from 1768 to 1776. He became the first elected Governor of New York in 1777, and was re-elected five times, serving until 1795.

In 1783, at Dobbs Ferry, Clinton and Washington negotiated with General Sir Guy Carleton for the evacuation of the British troops from their remaining posts in the United States.

In 1787-1788, Clinton publicly opposed adoption of the new United States Constitution. Herbert Storing identifies Clinton as "Cato", the pseudonymous author of the Anti-Federalist essays which appeared in New York newspapers during the ratification debates. However, the authorship of the essays is disputed. Clinton withdrew his objections after the Bill of Rights was added.

In 1792, he was chosen by the nascent Jeffersonian "Republican" party as their candidate for Vice President. While the Republicans joined in the general acclamation of Washington for a second term as President, they objected to the allegedly "monarchical" attitude of Vice President John Adams. Clinton was nominated rather than Thomas Jefferson because the Virginia electors could not vote for Washington and for a second Virginian. Clinton received 50 electoral votes to 77 for Adams. His candidacy was damaged by his anti-Federalist record, and by his narrow and disputed re-election as governor in 1792. (He won by only 108 votes, and the substantial anti-Clinton vote of Otsego County was excluded on a technicality.)

He did not run for re-election as governor in 1795. He held no political office until he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1800 and 1801. In 1801 he was again elected governor, serving until 1804. With 21 years of service, he was the longest-serving governor of a U.S. state.^[3]

He was picked to be President Jefferson's running mate in the 1804 Presidential election, replacing Aaron Burr. He served as the fourth Vice President of the United States, first under Jefferson, from 1805 to 1809, and then under President James Madison from 1809 until his death of a heart attack in 1812. He was the first Vice President to die in office.

Clinton was the first of two Vice Presidents to serve in the position under two different Presidents. (John C. Calhoun was the other.) He is of no known relation to the 42nd President, Bill Clinton, who was born William Jefferson Blythe III.

Clinton was an unwilling candidate for President in the 1808 election, receiving six electoral votes from a wing of the Democratic-Republican Party that disapproved of James Madison. He came in third after Madison and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of the Federalist Party.

His original burial was in Washington. He was reinterred in Kingston, New York in 1908.

Marriage and children

On February 7, 1770, Clinton married Sarah Cornelia Tappen. They had five daughters and one son:

1. Catharine Clinton (November 5, 1770 - January 10, 1811). Married first John Taylor and secondly Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr.-son of New York Lt. Governor Pierre Van Cortlandt.
2. Cornelia Tappen Clinton (June 29, 1774 - March 28, 1810). Married Edmond-Charles Genet.
3. George Washington Clinton (October 18, 1778 - March 27, 1813). Married Anna Floyd, daughter of William Floyd. (A brother-in-law was Congressman Benjamin Tallmadge)
4. Elizabeth Clinton (July 10, 1780 - April 8, 1825). Married Matthias B. Tallmadge.
5. Martha Washington Clinton (October 12, 1783 - February 20, 1795).
6. Maria Clinton (October 6, 1785 - April 17, 1829). Married Dr. Stephen D. Beekman—a grandson of Pierre Van Cortlandt and Joanna Livingston.

Legacy

Clinton County, New York, Clinton County, Missouri[1], Clinton County, Ohio and the village of Clinton, N.Y., site of Hamilton College, are named after him. Washington, D.C. has erected a gilded equestrian sculpture of him on Connecticut Avenue. In 1873, the state of New York donated a bronze statue of Clinton to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.

The grave monument of George Clinton in Kingston, New York.

The bridge between Rhinecliff and Kingston New York was named the George Clinton bridge.

See also

• Pierre Van Cortlandt, Clinton's Lieutenant Governor and brother-in-law

Bibliography

• Kaminski, John P. George Clinton: Yeoman Politician of the New Republic. Madison House, 1993.

1. ^ AOC.gov
2. ^ A Revolutionary Day
3. ^ CQ Guide to U.S. Elections

External links

• George Clinton at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Architect of the Capitol: George Clinton
• An examination of the Clinton Lineage
• Barbagallo, Tricia (March 10, 2007). "Fellow Citizens Read a Horrid Tale" (PDF). http://www.archives.nysed.gov/apt/magazine/archivesmag_sum07.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
• Find-A-Grave profile for George Clinton

Notes

See also: Ivy League Presidents

Political offices
Preceded by Aaron Burr	Vice President of the United States March 4, 1805 – April 20, 1812	Vacant Title next held by Elbridge Gerry
Preceded by John Jay	Governor of New York 1801 – 1804	Succeeded by Morgan Lewis
Preceded by Governor of the Province of New York	Governor of New York 1777 – 1795	Succeeded by John Jay
Party political offices
Preceded by Aaron Burr(1)	Democratic-Republican vice presidential candidate 1804, 1808	Succeeded by Elbridge Gerry
Preceded by New position	Democratic-Republican vice presidential candidate(1) 1792	Succeeded by Aaron Burr(1)
Academic offices
Preceded by Benjamin Moore	Chancellor of Columbia College 1784 – 1787	Succeeded by William Samuel Johnson
Notes and references
1. Prior to the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, each presidential elector would cast two votes; the highest vote-getter with a majority would become President and the runner-up would become Vice President. In 1792, with George Washington as the prohibitive favorite to be elected President, the Democratic-Republican Party fielded Clinton with the intention that he be elected Vice President. Similarly, in both 1796 and 1800, the Democratic-Republican Party fielded both Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, with the intention that Jefferson be elected President and Burr be elected Vice President.

v • d • e Vice Presidents of the United States John Adams · Thomas Jefferson · Aaron Burr · George Clinton · Elbridge Gerry · Daniel D. Tompkins · John C. Calhoun · Martin Van Buren · Richard Mentor Johnson · John Tyler · George M. Dallas · Millard Fillmore · William R. King · John C. Breckinridge · Hannibal Hamlin · Andrew Johnson · Schuyler Colfax · Henry Wilson · William A. Wheeler · Chester A. Arthur · Thomas A. Hendricks · Levi P. Morton · Adlai E. Stevenson I · Garret Hobart · Theodore Roosevelt · Charles W. Fairbanks · James S. Sherman · Thomas R. Marshall · Calvin Coolidge · Charles G. Dawes · Charles Curtis · John Nance Garner · Henry A. Wallace · Harry S. Truman · Alben W. Barkley · Richard Nixon · Lyndon B. Johnson · Hubert Humphrey · Spiro Agnew · Gerald Ford · Nelson Rockefeller · Walter Mondale · George H. W. Bush · Dan Quayle · Al Gore · Dick Cheney · Joe Biden

v • d • e Governors of New York G. Clinton · Jay · G. Clinton · Lewis · Tompkins · Tayler* · D. Clinton · Yates · D. Clinton · Pitcher · Van Buren · Throop · Marcy · Seward · Bouck · Wright · Young · Fish · Hunt · Seymour · Clark · King · Morgan · Seymour · Fenton · Hoffman · J. Adams Dix · Tilden · Robinson · Cornell · Cleveland · Hill · Flower · Morton · Black · T. Roosevelt · Odell · Higgins · Hughes · White · J. Alden Dix · Sulzer · Glynn · Whitman · Smith · Miller · Smith · F. Roosevelt · Lehman · Poletti · Dewey · Harriman · Rockefeller · Wilson · Carey · Cuomo · Pataki · Spitzer · Paterson (*) denotes Acting

v • d • e Cabinet of President Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) Vice President Aaron Burr (1801–1805) · George Clinton (1805–1809) Secretary of State James Madison (1801–1809) Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Dexter (1801) · Albert Gallatin (1801–1809) Secretary of War Henry Dearborn (1801–1809) Attorney General Levi Lincoln, Sr. (1801–1804) · Robert Smith (1805) · John Breckinridge (1805–1806) · Caesar A. Rodney (1807–1809) Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert (1801) · Robert Smith (1801–1809)

v • d • e Cabinet of President James Madison (1809–1817) Vice President George Clinton (1809–1812) · Elbridge Gerry (1813–1814) Secretary of State Robert Smith (1809–1811) · James Monroe (1811–1814) (1815–1817) Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1809–1814) · George W. Campbell (1814) · Alexander J. Dallas (1814–1816) · William H. Crawford (1816–1817) Secretary of War William Eustis (1809–1813) · John Armstrong, Jr. (1813–1814) · James Monroe (1814–1815) · William H. Crawford (1815–1816) Attorney General Caesar A. Rodney (1809–1811) · William Pinkney (1811–1814) · Richard Rush (1814–1817) Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton (1809–1813) · William Jones (1813–1814) · Benjamin Williams Crowninshield (1814–1817)

Persondata
NAME	Clinton, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	July 26, 1739
PLACE OF BIRTH	Little Britain, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH	April 20, 1812
PLACE OF DEATH	Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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