The 1856 New York state election was held on November 4, 1856, to elect the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, a

Canal Commissioner 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 ...

, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, as well as all members 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 ...

History

After losing the elections of 1853, 1854 and 1855 due to the split of the Party and running separate tickets, the national organization of the Democratic Party urged the factions to re-unite. The Soft state convention met on July 30 at Market Hall in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

Gouverneur Kemble Gouverneur Kemble (January 25, 1786 – September 18, 1875) was a two-term United States Congressman, diplomat and industrialist. He helped found the West Point Foundry, a major producer of artillery during the American Civil War. Early life and ...

was Temporary Chairman. The

Hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

state convention met at the same time at Corinthian Hall in the same city, Samuel Fowler was Temporary Chairman. The Soft delegates adopted a resolution to unite with the Hards and marched to Corinthian Hall where both factions assembled together.

William C. Crain William Cullen Crain (August 31, 1798, in Warren, Herkimer County, New York – March 16, 1865) was an American physician and politician. Life His father was Rufus Crain, a physician, a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for sixteen years, an ...

was chosen President,

William M. Tweed William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany H ...

was one of the secretaries. Judge Amasa J. Parker (a Soft) was nominated for Governor on the fourth ballot (first ballot:

Addison Gardiner Addison Gardiner (March 19, 1797 – June 5, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant governor of New York from 1845 to 1847 and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1854 to 1855. Early life and career ...

69, David L. Seymour 46, Parker 33,

Fernando Wood Fernando Wood (February 14, 1812 – February 13, 1881) was an American Democratic Party politician, merchant, and real estate investor who served as the 73rd and 75th Mayor of New York City. He also represented the city for several terms in ...

25,

John Vanderbilt John Vanderbilt (January 28, 1819 – May 16, 1877) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was the son of John Vanderbilt (1794–1842) and Sarah Lott (1795–1859). He was baptised on February 21 at the Flatbush Reformed D ...

21,

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...

21,

Augustus Schell Augustus Schell (August 1, 1812 – March 27, 1884) was a New York politician and lawyer. He was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1872 to 1876. Early life Schell was born on August 1, 1812, in Rhinebeck, New York. He was t ...

11, E. Corning 9, Judge Brown 8, Henry W. Rogers 7, Daniel S. Dickinson 1, Samuel Fowler 1, Brownson 1, Porter 1; second ballot: Gardiner 78, D. L. Seymour 67, Parker 39, Wood 26, Schell 22, Vanderbilt 18, Corning 3, Fowler 1; third ballot: Gardiner 80, D. L. Seymour 60, Parker 39, Schell 30, Wood 22, Vanderbilt, 15; then the names of Schell, Gardiner and Wood were withdrawn). The convention then adjourned and re-assembled the next day to complete the ticket with John Vanderbilt (a Hard) for Lieutenant Governor, and John Leslie Russell (the father of later Attorney General Leslie W. Russell) for Canal Commissioner. The American state convention met on September 23 and 24 at

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, J. W. Barker presided. Erastus Brooks, the editor of the ''

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding during the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home are ...

'', was nominated for Governor by acclamation. Lyman Odell was nominated for Lieutenant Governor on the first ballot (the other candidates were Jesse C. Dann and Goodwin Denniston). Amos H. Prescott was nominated for Canal Commissioner. Alexander Mann, of Monroe County, was nominated for Clerk of the Court of Appeals. The North American state convention, a secession from the American Party which had considered joining the Republicans, met on the same day at the Court House in the same city, F. W. Walker presided. In the afternoon, after some debate, they marched into the American convention and re-united, endorsing their ticket, and declaring support of the American presidential candidates

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

and

Andrew Jackson Donelson Andrew Jackson Donelson (August 25, 1799 – June 26, 1871) was an American diplomat and politician. He served in various positions as a Democrat and was the Know Nothing nominee for US Vice President in 1856. After the death of his father, Donel ...

.The American and North American state conventions
in NYT on September 24, 1856

Result

The whole Republican ticket was elected. None of the incumbents ran for re-election. 81 Republicans, 31 Democrats and 8 Americans were elected for the session of 1857 to the

Notes

Sources

*The Democratic ticket

in Putnam County Courier, September 20, 1856 *Result i
''The Tribune Almanac 1857''

History

Result

Notes

Sources

See also