DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and
naturalist. He served as a
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
, as 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 ...
, and as the
seventh governor of
New York. In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
.
Clinton was a major candidate for the American presidency in the
election of 1812, challenging incumbent
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
.
A nephew of two-term U.S. vice president and New York governor
George Clinton, DeWitt Clinton served as his uncle's secretary before launching his own political career. As a
Democratic-Republican
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 ...
, Clinton won election to the
New York State legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
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
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
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
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
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
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 ...
from 1817 to 1822 and from 1825 to 1828, and presided over the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton believed that
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
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.
Early life
Clinton was born on March 2, 1769, the second son born to Major-General
James Clinton
Major General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was an American Revolutionary War officer who, with John Sullivan, led in 1779 the Sullivan Expedition in what is now western New York to attack British-allied Seneca and ...
and his wife Mary De Witt (1737–1795), who was a descendant of the Dutch patrician
De Witt family. He was born in
Little Britain, New York
Little Britain is an area in the town of New Windsor, Orange County, New York, United States, south of and adjacent to Stewart International Airport. The name spread to the surrounding region, which at that time was part of Ulster County.
History ...
(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 (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.) He was the brother of U.S. Representative
George Clinton Jr.
George Clinton Jr. (June 6, 1771 – September 16, 1809) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1805 to 1809.
Early life
He was born in New York City on June 6, 1771, the son of Mary De Witt ...
, the half-brother of U.S. Representative
James G. Clinton
James Graham Clinton (January 2, 1804 – May 28, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician. He served two terms as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1841 to 1845.
Early life
Born in Little Britain, New York, on January 2, 1804, he was ...
, and the cousin of
Simeon De Witt
Simeon De Witt (December 25, 1756 – December 3, 1834) was Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and Surveyor General of the State of New York for the fifty years from 1784 until his death.
Life ...
. He became the secretary to his uncle
George Clinton, who was then governor of New York. Soon thereafter, he became a member of 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 ...
.
Career
New York Legislature and U.S. Senate
Clinton was a member 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 ...
in 1798, and 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 ...
(representing its Southern District) in 1798–1802 and 1806–1811 He was a delegate to 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 ...
in 1801. He was a member of the
Council of Appointments The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822.
History
Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of Ne ...
in 1801–1802 and 1806–1807. The
New York State legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
elected him to fill New York’s
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
seat, which had been left vacant by the
resignation
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
of
John Armstrong Jr.
John Armstrong Jr. (November 25, 1758April 1, 1843) was an American soldier, diplomat and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and United States Secretary of War under President James Madison. A me ...
, and he served in that capacity from February 9, 1802 to November 4, 1803. He resigned due to unhappiness with his living conditions in the newly built city of
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, and was appointed
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 ...
.
Mayor of New York City
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
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...
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 The American Academy of the Fine Arts was an art institution founded in 1802 in New York City, to encourage appreciation and teaching of the classical style. It exhibited copies of classical works and encouraged artists to emulate the classical in t ...
in 1808 and served as its president between 1813 and 1817. He was a regent of the
University of the State of New York
The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...
from 1808 to 1825. Clinton was also elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1814 and served as its vice president from 1821 to 1828. In 1816, he was elected a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
.
Lieutenant Governor of New York
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
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
Nicholas Fish
Nicholas Fish (August 28, 1758 – June 20, 1833) was an American Revolutionary War soldier. He was the first Adjutant General of New York.
Early life
Fish was born on August 28, 1758 into a wealthy New York City family. He was the son of Jon ...
and the
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 ...
candidate
Marinus Willett to become lieutenant governor until the end of the term in June 1813.
Presidential campaign
Clinton's uncle,
George Clinton, had attempted to challenge
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
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
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 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.
Governor of New York
![DWClinton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/DWClinton.png)
After the resignation of
Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...
, who had been elected vice president, he won a
special gubernatorial election in which he was the only candidate; 1,479 votes were cast for
Peter Buell Porter
Peter Buell Porter (August 14, 1773 – March 20, 1844) was an American lawyer, soldier and politician who served as United States Secretary of War from 1828 to 1829.
Early life
Porter was born on August 14, 1773, one of six children born to Dr. ...
against Clinton's 43,310, because the
Tammany
Tamanend (historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, "the Affable," ) (–) was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the Peace Treaty with ...
organization, which fiercely hated Clinton, had printed ballots with Porter's name on them and distributed them among the Tammany followers in New York City. On July 1, 1817, Clinton took office as
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 ...
. He was re-elected in 1820, defeating Vice President Tompkins in a narrow race DeWitt Clinton received 47,447 votes, as opposed to Tompkins's 45,900, and served until December 31, 1822.
During his second term, 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 1821 shortened the gubernatorial term to two years and moved the beginning of the term from July 1 to January 1, which cut off the last six months of his three-year term. The gubernatorial election was also moved from April to November, but Clinton was not renominated by his party to run for re-election in November 1822. Even so, he kept his post as president of the
Erie Canal Commission
The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...
. In April 1824, most of his political opponents, the
Bucktails
The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York State opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail worn in the ha ...
, voted in the
New York State legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
for his removal from the Canal Commission, which caused such a wave of indignation among the electorate that he was nominated for governor by the People's Party and was re-elected governor, defeating the official candidate of 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 ...
, his fellow Canal Commissioner
Samuel Young. He served another two terms until his sudden death in office.
Freemasonry
Clinton was a
York Rite
The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic ...
Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. He was initiated in the "Holland" Lodge No. 16 (now No 8), NY on
September 3
Events Pre-1600
*36 BC – In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey, thus ending Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate.
* 301 – San Marino, one of the ...
,
1790,
and, in 1806, he was elected
Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of New York. Clinton was essential in establishing the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar in the United States and served as its first, second, and third grand master from 1816 to 1828.
He retained the title until his death in 1828.
In 1826, the
William Morgan Affair occurred in
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
. Morgan, who threatened to publish an exposé of the rituals of Freemasonry, disappeared and was apparently kidnapped and supposedly murdered by Masons. Clinton issued three proclamations, each increasing the reward for information and conviction of the perpetrators until it reached $2,000. Clinton's proclamations had no effect, however, and the Masonic fraternity underwent a period of severe decline in many regions of the United States because of criticism set off by the scandal.
The Grand Lodge of New York has established the DeWitt Clinton Award, which recognizes distinguished or outstanding community service by non-Masonic organizations or individuals whose actions exemplify a shared concern for the well-being of Mankind and a belief in the worldwide brotherhood of Man.
Erie Canal
![DeWitt Clinton mingling the waters of Lake Erie with the Atlantic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/DeWitt_Clinton_mingling_the_waters_of_Lake_Erie_with_the_Atlantic.jpg)
From 1810 to 1824, Clinton was a member of the
Erie Canal Commission
The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...
. He was among its first members, who were appointed in 1810 and planned and surveyed the route to be taken.
As governor, Clinton was largely responsible for the construction of the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
. He was persuaded by Canal proponent
Jesse Hawley to support construction of a canal from the eastern shore of
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
to the upper
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. Many thought the project to be impracticable, and opponents mocked it as "Clinton's Folly" and "DeWitt's Ditch."
[John Steele Gordon](_blank)
"10 Moments That Made American Business," ''American Heritage'', February/March 2007. But in 1817, he persuaded the legislature to appropriate $7 million for its construction.
When the canal was finished in 1825, Clinton opened it and traveled in the packet boat ''Seneca Chief'' along the canal to Buffalo. After riding from the mouth of Lake Erie to New York City, he emptied two casks of water from Lake Erie into
New York Harbor to celebrate the first connection of waters from the East with waters from the West. The canal was an immense success, carrying huge numbers of passenger and a huge amount of freight traffic. The cost of moving freight between Buffalo and Albany fell from $100 to $10 per ton, and the state was able to quickly recoup the funds that it had spent on the project by collecting tolls along the canal. The completion of the canal brought about a significant shift in public opinion about Clinton: he was now hailed for having completed the canal.
That change in public opinion was reflected in the newspapers of the time. They had previously been filled with harsh criticisms of Clinton and the canal, but now celebrated his accomplishment. For example, an article in the ''New Hampshire Sentinel'' began: "The efforts of Gov. Clinton to advance the best interest of the State over which he presides are very generally acknowledged both by his constituents and the public abroad. His exertions in favor of the great canal have identified his name with that noble enterprise, and he will be remembered while its benefits are experienced" It ended, "Yield credit to Clinton, and hail him by name".
Philanthropy
Together with financier
Thomas Eddy
Thomas Eddy (September 5, 1758 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - September 16, 1827 New York City) was an American merchant, banker, philanthropist and politician from New York.
Early life
He was the son of Irish Quaker immigrants who had come to Ame ...
, 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
The Bank for Savings in the City of New York (1819–1982) was one of the earliest banks in the United States and the first savings bank in New York City. Founded in 1816, it was first advertised as "a bank for the poor". It was merged with the Bu ...
.
Personal life
![Dewitt Clinton G-W front jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Dewitt_Clinton_G-W_front_jeh.jpg)
Clinton was married twice. On February 13, 1796, he married Maria Franklin, daughter of the prominent New York
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
merchant Walter Franklin and descendant of
John Bowne
John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English immigrant residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty.
Background
Born i ...
and
Elizabeth Fones
Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett (21 January 1610 – c. 1673) was an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1640 Fones, with her then-husband Robert Feake, were founders of Greenwich, Connecticut. Wolfe (2012)
She married her ...
. With her, he had ten children, and four sons and three daughters had survived at the time of her death in 1818. Among his children with Franklin was
George William Clinton, who served as
mayor of Buffalo, New York
The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York.
List of mayors
Number of mayors by party affiliation
History
In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the tow ...
from 1842 to 1843. He was not related to Bill Clinton, who served as a president from 1993 to 2001.
On May 8, 1819, Clinton married Catharine Jones, the daughter of a New York physician, Thomas Jones and his wife, Margaret (née
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
) Jones (a daughter of
Edward Livingston
Edward Livingston (May 28, 1764May 23, 1836) was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. Livingston represented both ...
). Catharine's sister, Mary (née Jones) Gelston, was the wife of Deacon Maltby Gelston of
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, and the mother of
David Gelston
David Gelston (July 4, 1744 – August 21, 1828) was an American merchant and politician.
Early life
Gelston was born on July 4, 1744, in Bridgehampton in Suffolk County on Long Island in what was then the Province of New York. He was a so ...
,
Collector of the Port of New York
The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...
. Catharine outlived her husband.
In 1813, Clinton became a hereditary member of the New York
Society of the Cincinnati in succession to his brother, Lieutenant Alexander Clinton, who was an original member of the society.
In that same year, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
When Clinton died suddenly of heart failure in
Albany on February 11, 1828, he left his family in poor financial condition. While he was a fine administrator in government, he had handled his own financial affairs rather poorly. As a result, the Clinton family was badly in debt and had no means of support after the governor's death. One creditor alone put in a claim for $6,000. Fearing that he might not get his money, the creditor obtained a judgment that resulted in a public sale of most of the Clinton family possessions. Enough money was realized from the sale of the property to satisfy the judgment, but nothing was left to help the Clinton family through the difficult years ahead. The governor received the grandest of state funerals, but when it was all over, the family had no place to bury him. His widow was completely without funds to purchase a suitable grave site. As a result, Clinton's remains were placed in the family vault of Dr. Samuel Stringer (1735–1817), an old friend and fellow Mason from Albany, in the old Swan Street Cemetery.
Sixteen years later, enough money was collected to provide a suitable burial. On June 21, 1844, a newspaper in Albany printed this small announcement: "The remains of DeWitt Clinton, which had been deposited in the cemetery in Swan Street, were removed to New York for interment under a monument created by the family." Clinton was reinterred at the
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...
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 ...
, New York.
Legacy
![US-$1000-LT-1880-Fr-187k](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/US-%241000-LT-1880-Fr-187k.jpg)
Clinton accomplished much as a leader in civic and state affairs, such as 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.
*An engraved portrait of Clinton appeared on the Legal Tender (United States Note) issue of 1880 in the $1,000.00 denomination. An illustrated example can be foun
on the websiteof
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (informally referred to as the San Francisco Fed) is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States. The twelfth district is made up of nine western states—Alaska, Arizona, California, ...
's "American Currency Exhibit".
*In 1926 the DeWitt Clinton Professorship of American History was established at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
; the first to hold the chair was
Evarts Boutell Greene
Evarts Boutell Greene (1870–1947) was an American historian, born in Kobe, Japan, where his parents were missionaries. He graduated Harvard University (B.A., 1890; Ph.D., 1893), and began teaching American history (1894) at the University of Ill ...
.
* DeWitt Clinton became a focus of public attention related to the Erie Canal's bicentennial, which began in 2017 (the 200th anniversary of the original canal's groundbreaking) and will continue through 2025 (the 200th anniversary of the canal's opening). In a New York City event on July 4, 2017, actor Kyle Jenks read Clinton's 1815 canal manifesto on the steps of Federal Hall in lower Manhattan. In December 2017, the Museum of the City of New York completed a renovation of a statue of Clinton, along with one of Alexander Hamilton, located on the museum's exterior. Also that year, a book featuring descendants of DeWitt Clinton exploring ruins of the original canal, title
''In DeWitt's Footsteps'' was published by journalist Kenneth Silber.
* March 2, 2019 was the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, of DeWitt Clinton's birth. Th
milestone was marked by eventsat the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse and the Buffalo Maritime Center.
* Following his New York Governorship, ''DeWitt'' became a popular given name - see
DeWitt (name) DeWitt or Dewitt is a concatenated primarily American form of the Dutch surname De Witt (surname), De Witt or De Wit (surname), De Wit, both meaning "the white (one)", "the blond (one)". It also became a popular given name following the New York Gov ...
.
* ''
Clintonia
''Clintonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic understory of deciduous or coniferous forests. The genus ...
'', a genus of flowering plants described by
Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...
in 1818,
was named in honor of DeWitt Clinton.
His portrait appears on many tobacco tax stamps of the late 1800s to early 1900s.
Notes
References
Sources
*
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online*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Dewitt
1769 births
1828 deaths
American people of Dutch descent
American people of English descent
American people of the War of 1812
American Presbyterians
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
Clinton family of New York
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States
Democratic-Republican Party United States senators
Erie Canal
Erie Canal Commissioners
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Governors of New York (state)
Lieutenant Governors of New York (state)
Mayors of New York City
Members of the American Antiquarian Society
Members of the New York State Assembly
New York (state) Democratic-Republicans
New York (state) Federalists
New York (state) state senators
People from New Windsor, New York
Candidates in the 1812 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 1820 United States presidential election
United States senators from New York (state)
Columbia College (New York) alumni
De Witt family