New York Constitution - Constitutional Convention 1821

Constitutional Convention 1821

In 1821, the power struggle between Governor DeWitt Clinton and the Bucktails faction of the Democratic-Republican Party led to the call for a constitutional convention by the Bucktail members of the legislature, against Clinton's fierce opposition, with the intention to transfer powers from the executive to the legislative branch of the government. In November 1820, the legislature passed a bill which authorized the holding of a convention with unlimited powers. Governor Clinton cast the deciding vote in the Council of Revision to veto the bill. The Bucktails had not a majority of two thirds in the legislature to override the veto. During the regular session of the legislature which began in January 1821, a new bill was passed that put the question to the people. At the state election in April the people voted in favor of the convention, which convened between August and November at Albany. U.S. Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins presided. Between January 15 and 17, 1822, the new Constitution, as amended by the Convention, was put before the voters for ratification as a whole, and was accepted: for 74,732; against 41,402.

Chancellor James Kent, Chief Justice Ambrose Spencer, U.S. Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins, Justice William W. Van Ness, Jacob R. Van Rensselaer, Stephen Van Rensselaer, James Tallmadge, Jr., Jonas Platt, and Peter A. Jay disapproved of the amendments, and did not sign the new Constitution.

Martin Van Buren, Erastus Root, Samuel Nelson, Nathan Sanford, Samuel Young and Ogden Edwards approved and signed.

Peter R. Livingston, Alexander Sheldon, Jacob Radcliff, Peter Sharpe, Rufus King, and Nathaniel Pitcher were also among the delegates.

The changes in this version of the constitution were:

• State elections were moved from the last week in April to the first week in November. Beginning in 1823, the terms of the governor (two-year term), lieutenant governor (two-year term), State senators (four-year term) and assemblymen (one-year term) coincided with the calendar year.
• The lieutenant governor was given the right to succeed to the governor's office "for the residue of the term" whenever a vacancy occurred, unlike John Tayler in 1817 who became Acting Governor until the election of a successor.
• The Council of Appointment was abolished and the vast majority of the formerly appointive offices became elective, the state offices by joint ballot of assembly and senate, the others by local popular or legislative elections.
• The Council of Revision was abolished. Its power of veto to new legislation was transferred to the governor, whose veto could be overcome by a two-thirds vote of the legislature.
• The governor's right to prorogue the legislature at his will was abolished.
• The franchise of white voters was expanded, as property qualifications were removed.
• Blacks were given limited suffrage; a requirement for property qualification only for blacks was passed. This effectively disfranchised black voters, most of whom did not own sufficient property to attain right to vote.
• A Canal Board was to be formed by the Commissioners of the Canal Fund (the sate cabinet officers) and the Canal Commissioners
• Eight Circuit Courts were created, one in each senatorial district. Until then, the justices of the New York State Supreme Court had held traveling circuit court.