Aaron Clark (October 16, 1787 – August 2, 1861) was an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

who became the second popularly elected Mayor of

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, serving two one-year terms from 1837 to 1839. He was a member of the Whig Party.

Early life

Clark was born in

Worthington, Massachusetts Worthington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ...

. He grew up in

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, attended

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Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, and fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Political career

After the war, Clark moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, and was Clerk of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from 1814 to 1820. Afterwards he removed to

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where he worked in

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

ing, ran a

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, and became involved in local politics. He served as

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, a powerful position in the charged political climate of the city. He was elected mayor in 1837 and 1838 for one year terms, and was defeated in 1839.

Election of 1837

The main event of that year was the financial

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

, in which the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

collapsed following several years of

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. New York real estate values plummeted. Many were unemployed, some were homeless. There was widespread dissatisfaction among the working and middle class residents during what were called the "hard times". To relieve the plight of the people, Alderman Clark focused on reviving the economy. Following his party's program of

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canal ...

, he proposed that shipping piers be built at public expense around the waterfront so as to stimulate trade and create jobs. An incautious statement that his proposal would "raise the price of every lot 5 x 100 feet west of

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$5,000 at a jump." fit in with the perception by many Democrats that the Whigs were the "party of the rich", and the Democrats pushed instead for "poor relief" (direct handouts). 1837 also saw the rise of the "Equal Rights Party", which came to be known as the

Locofocos The Locofocos (also Loco Focos or Loco-focos) were a faction of the Democratic Party in American politics that existed from 1835 until the mid-1840s. History The faction, originally named the Equal Rights Party, was created in New York City as a p ...

. The Locofocos split from the Democrats in 1835, and opposed both internal improvements and poor relief. They stood instead for

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...

, against

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, and against the consolidation of money and power. In 1837 the Locofocos fielded Moses Jacques,

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

Democrats nominated

John J. Morgan John Jordan Morgan (1770 – July 29, 1849) was an American politician from New York. From 1821 to 1825, and again briefly from late 1834 to early 1835, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Life Morgan was born in Queens County, N ...

, and Clark was the Whig candidate. The fledgling faction was popular enough to split the Democratic vote, propelling the Whigs to victory in both the mayoral and city council races. The vote tallies were 16,140 for Clark, 12,974 for Morgan, and 3,911 for Jacques. The election led to much soul-searching in Tammany Hall, and forced the main Democratic faction to take the Locofocos' concerns seriously.

Election of 1838

After Clark's first term, the privations of the hard times combined with the perception that the policies of the Whig administration favored the rich made Clark profoundly unpopular among a part of the poorer majority. In 1838, the newly reconciled Democrats fielded Tammany Hall leader

Isaac Varian Isaac Leggett Varian (June 25, 1793 – August 10, 1864) was a New York state legislator and the 63rd Mayor of New York City. Political career Varian was a prominent Democrat and led Tammany Hall from 1835 until 1842. He was a member of the ...

. Nevertheless, they were not successful in unseating Clark: Varian received 19,411 votes to Clark's 19,930, a difference of only 1.3%. It may be (and was widely believed at the time) that the Whigs resorted to massive

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

in securing the election. In 1838 there was no

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

law, and the elections were administered by Whig-appointed officials. Allegations included violent intimidation, multiple voting in different

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, importation of "voters" from other jurisdictions, and other improprieties.

Election of 1839

1839 saw a Varian-Clark rematch, with massive electoral fraud being perpetrated this time by both parties. Varian won with 21,072 votes to Clark's 20,005. Following the election, a widespread outcry resulted in the passage of a voter registration bill during Varian's first term. The bill regularized electoral procedure in the city and served to decrease the incidence of fraud in future elections.

Later life

As mayor, Clark lived on Broadway near Leonard Street, a few short blocks north of the

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. There he attempted to gain the favor of society by giving frequent balls, which earned him the nickname "Dancing Mayor". After ending his political career, Clark returned to business and became a patron of

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, which still awards an annual prized for oratory named in his honor. Clark endowed the prize with a gift in 1859, shortly before his death.The Clark Prize homepage at Hamilton College
/ref>

Personal

Clark married Catherine Maria Lamb in 1815. With her he had six children, five of whom lived past childhood. Catherine died in 1832, and Clark never remarried. He died in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on August 2, 1861.Obituary,

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, August 4, 1861, at 8 Both he and his wife are buried in the Clark family

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at the

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References

Sources

*Gustavus Myers,, Ch. XII, XIV, New York City (1901), '' passim''.
Biography from New York Marble Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Aaron 1787 births 1861 deaths People from Worthington, Massachusetts New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians Clerks of the New York State Assembly Mayors of New York City Politicians from Albany, New York Burials at New York Marble Cemetery People from Massachusetts in the War of 1812