The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the

Government of New York The Government of the State of New York, headquartered at the New York State Capitol in Albany, encompasses the administrative structure of the U.S. state of New York, as established by the state's constitution. Analogously to the US federal ...

that existed from 1777 to 1822.

History

Under the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

, who was ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' president of this council but had only a

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

, and four members of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

, one each from the state's senatorial electoral districts. These state senators were elected for a one-year term by 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 ...

and could not be re-elected for the following term. The Council had the power to appoint all state, county and municipal officials within the state of New York for which no other means of appointment or election was provided for in the State Constitution. The offices filled by the Council included the State Comptroller, the Secretary of State, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, the Surveyor General, the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, the justices of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

, sheriffs, district attorneys, judges, surrogates, city and county clerks, mayors (including the

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

), all military officers and many others. The Council of Appointment had its origins in the fear of too much popular influence in the government. The first New York Constitution was aristocratic and elitist in spirit. As long as the governor alone nominated appointees, he had as much power over the state's

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

as a medieval king. On the other side, during the long tenure of

Governor George Clinton George Clinton (July 26, 1739April 20, 1812) was an American soldier and statesman, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A prominent Democratic-Republican, Clinton served as the fourth vice president of the United States f ...

, very rarely an office holder was removed, and the Council only filled vacancies as they occurred by resignation, death, declination of re-appointment, or term limit. Troubles, however, arose after the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

and the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

appeared, and began to alternate as majority in the Assembly. Because of the lack of clarity in the 1777 New York Constitution, the parties struggled over who, exactly, held the power to make nominations and appointments. The constitution stated that the governor would have the " casting voice, but no other vote; and with the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previo ...

of the said council..." The custom arose that the governor made the nominations, and the Council approved, or rejected, them. But when the legislature had a majority of the opposition, they would elect three or four senators and outvote the governor. Governor

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

, who had drafted the Constitution, asserted that the Council could not propose appointees, only vote for or against the governor's nominees. So when the Council voted down all of his nominees, in his opinion, nobody could be appointed. The question was settled at the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1801, which amended the Constitution, giving the right of nomination to the governor and each one of the Council members concurrently. This led to an annual scramble for office, especially if the majority in the Assembly changed.

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

criticized the Council in his

Federalist No. 77 Federalist No. 77 is an essay by Alexander Hamilton, the seventy-seventh of ''The Federalist Papers''. It was published on April 2, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all ''The Federalist'' papers were published. The title ...

. The council was abolished by the

of 1821 and ceased to exist at the end of the year 1822, at which time more than 15,000 offices had been under its control. Under the Constitution of 1821, the State cabinet officers and Supreme Court justices were elected by the State Legislature, and most of the county and local officers were elected in local popular or legislative elections. The governor continued to appoint only a very small number of officers and had the right to make

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...

List of members

Notes

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 99f; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840''
by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 1, H. & E. Phinney,

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, 1846)

History

List of members

Notes

Sources

See also