DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton was the leader of New York's People’s Party and was a major rival of Martin van Buren, who was attorney general of New York during Clinton's governorship. According to Daniel Walker Howe (2007), Clinton is an authentic but largely forgotten hero of American democracy. Howe explains, "The infrastructure he worked to create would transform American life, enhancing economic opportunity, political participation, and intellectual awareness."
Read more about DeWitt Clinton: Early Life and Political Career, Later Political Career and Governorship, Erie Canal
Famous quotes containing the words dewitt and/or clinton:
“You still whispered you would not die.
Yet in the nights I heard you cry
Like a whipped child;”
—William Dewitt Snodgrass (b. 1926)
“[The health plan was] constructed to be deconstructed. [Instead,] it was described as an ultimatum by our opponents and therefore used to undermine the process of reaching agreement.”
—Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947)