The 12th New York State Legislature, consisting of the
New York State Senate and the
New York State Assembly, met from December 11, 1788, to March 3, 1789, during the twelfth year of
George Clinton's
governorship
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 ...
, in
Albany.
Background
Under the provisions of 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 State Senators were elected on general tickets in the senatorial districts, and were then divided into four classes. Six senators each drew lots for a term of 1, 2, 3 or 4 years and, beginning at the election in April 1778, every year six Senate seats came up for election to a four-year term. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.
In March 1786, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the first Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor. No general meeting place was determined, leaving it to each Legislature to name the place where to reconvene, and if no place could be agreed upon, the Legislature should meet again where it adjourned.
Elections
The State election was held from April 29 to May 1, 1788. Senators
Ezra L'Hommedieu (Southern D.) and
Peter Van Ness (Western D.) were re-elected; and
Paul Micheau,
Isaac Roosevelt (both Southern D.), and Assemblyman
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 ...
(Middle D.) were also elected to the Senate. Assemblyman
Edward Savage (Eastern D.) may have been elected at the same time to the State Senate (Eastern D.) and to the Assembly (Washington Co.) but was seated in the Assembly; the Senate seat vacated by the expiration of
Ebenezer Russell's term remained vacant.
At the same time, delegates to a Convention to deliberate upon the adoption of the
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
were elected. This was the first time that the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: those who advocated the creation of a stronger federal government and the adoption of the US Constitution, as drafted, were henceforth known as
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 ...
, those who advocated stronger State governments and demanded many changes to the proposed Constitution as
Anti-Federalist
Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Con ...
s, or
Democratic-Republicans.
Sessions
The Convention met from June 17 to July 26, 1788, at
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...
, and ratified the
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
by a vote of 30 to 27.
The State Legislature met on December 11, 1788, at the Old City Hall in
Albany; and adjourned on March 3, 1789.
On January 27, 1789, the Legislature divided the State of New York into six congressional districts, and the
first congressional elections in New York were held on March 3 and 4, 1789.
In February and March 1789, the Legislature debated at length "An act for prescribing the times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators of the United States of America, to be chosen in this State" but the Anti-Federalist Assembly majority and the Federalist Senate majority could not agree, and they adjourned without having elected U.S. Senators. Both parties hoped to win the next State election, to be held in April 1789, and agreed to adjourn earlier than usual, leaving it to the new members to find a way out of the deadlock.
State Senate
Districts
*The Southern District (9 seats) consisted of
Kings,
New York,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
Richmond,
Suffolk and
Westchester counties.
*The Middle District (6 seats) consisted of
Dutchess,
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
counties.
*The Eastern District (3 seats) consisted of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
Cumberland and
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
counties.
*The Western District (6 seats) consisted of
Albany,
Columbia[The ''Civil List'' of 1858 places Columbia Co. in the Eastern D. but this is contradicted by Schechter (pg. 181). Columbia was partitioned from Albany, and no senatorial re-apportionment being made must have remained in the Western D., it was transferred to the Eastern D. only in 1791.] and
Montgomery counties.
Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.
Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. James Clinton changed from the Assembly to the Senate. The vote of the members of this Legislature who had been delegates to the US Constitution ratifying convention is marked either "For ratification" or "Against ratification".
Employees
*Clerk:
Abraham B. Bancker
State Assembly
Districts
*The
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Albany (7 seats)
*
Columbia County (3 seats)
*
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberla ...
(3 seats)
*
Dutchess County (7 seats)
*
Gloucester County (2 seats)
*
Kings County (2 seats)
*Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County) (6 seats)
*The City and County of
New York (9 seats)
*Orange County, New York, Orange County (4 seats)
*Queens, Queens County (4 seats)
*Staten Island, Richmond County (2 seats)
*Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County (5 seats)
*Ulster County, New York, Ulster County (6 seats)
*Washington County, New York, Washington County (4 seats)
*Westchester County, New York, Westchester County (6 seats)
Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.
Assemblymen
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature. The vote of the members of this Legislature who had been delegates to the US Constitution ratifying convention is marked either "For ratification" or "Against ratification".
Employees
*Clerk: John McKesson
Notes
Sources
''The New York Civil List''compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 108 for Senate districts; pg. 113f for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 164f for assemblymen; pg. 54f for U.S. Constitution ratifying convention]
Election result Assembly, Albany Co.at project "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi, hosted by Tufts University Digital Library
Election result Assembly, Columbia Co.at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Orange Co.at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Queens Co.at project "A New Nation Votes"
{{NYLegislatures
1788 in New York (state)
1789 in New York (state)
New York (state) legislative sessions, 012