Reluctant Reformer , livre ebook

Reluctant Reformer
Reluctant Reformer
Nathan Sanford in the Era of the Early Republic
Ann Sandford
Cover art: Portrait of Nathan Sanford. An 1880 copy of the circa 1825–1830 original. Court of Appeals Collection. Courtesy of the Historical Society of the New York Courts.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2018 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Excelsior Editions is an imprint of State University of New York Press
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Jenn Bennett
Marketing, Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sandford, Ann, author.
Title: Reluctant reformer : Nathan Sanford in the era of the early republic / by Ann Sandford.
Other titles: Nathan Sanford in the era of the early republic.
Description: Albany, NY : State University of New York Press, [2018] | Series: Excelsior editions | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016052229 (print) | LCCN 2016059186 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438466934 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438466958 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sanford, Nathan, 1777–1838. | Legislators—United States—Biography. | United States. Congress. Senate—Biography. | Lawyers—New York (State)—New York—Biography.
Classification: LCC E165 .S247 2015 (print) | LCC E165 (ebook) | DDC 328.73/092 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052229
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Ezekiel’s Descendants
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Rural Heritage of an Ambitious Son, 1750–1795
2. Legal Training and Law Practice, 1795–1806
3. United States Attorney for New York, 1803–1815
4. State Politician and Legislator, 1800–1815
5. Wealth and Charges of Corruption, 1800–1820
6. United States Senator and the Politics of Commerce, 1815–1821
7. Senate Politics and Reform, 1815–1821
8. “Here there is but one estate—the people,” 1821
9. The Suffrage Debate, 1821
10. Chancellor, 1823–1826
11. Candidate and Senator, 1824–1831
12. Retirement, 1831–1838
Abbreviations
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Illustrations Figure 1.1. Sandford Homestead Figure 1.2. Clinton Academy Figure 1.3. Sandford Homestead and Farm Figure 2.1. Pierson House Figure 3.1. Federal Writ Form Figure 3.2. U.S.S. United States and British Frigate Macedonian Figure 4.1. View of Broadway, looking North from Ann Street, New York, as it appeared in 1819 Figure 6.1. Le Capitol à Washington Figure 8.1. Plan of the Assembly-Chamber Occupied by the Convention , 1821 Figure 8.2. Portrait of Peter Williams Figure 10.1. Portrait of Nathan Sanford (1777–1838) Figure 12.1. Sanford Hall, 1835
Acknowledgments
The origins of this book rest in my family’s history on eastern Long Island, New York, where I grew up, like my cousin Nathan Sanford. 1 The idea of writing a biography is recent. It began to take form about twenty years ago, when, in roaming through the stacks of Harvard University’s Widener Library, I located the section devoted to New York State history. Among the volumes were the proceedings of the constitutional convention of 1821. Finding Sanford in the index, I realized that much of what I had heard as a child about a famous relative could be true. I became convinced of his significance as a politician and that ample material awaited my research.
I wish to thank the knowledgeable and helpful staffs at the archives and libraries that hold Sanford’s correspondence, his account books, and other documents, including the New-York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, and the New York State Library. I am grateful to Jim D. Folts, Head of Reference Services at the New York State Archives, for sharing his knowledge of court documents and for his discovery of Sanford’s estate settlement. Staff at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and the Butler Library at Columbia University helped in guiding me to important material that was dispersed among multiple collections.
Online newspaper databases, with their skillful design, helped me uncover unique material and sped my research. I benefited from Readex’s America’s Historical Newspapers, Chronicling America—Historic American Newspapers (Library of Congress), and NYS Historic Newspapers (Northern New York Library Network with the Empire State Library Network).
I thank the dedicated staff at the fine institutions on the South Fork of Long Island: Gina Piastuck, head of the Long Island Collection, East Hampton Free Library, was always a helpful resource; Richard Barons, Executive Director of the East Hampton Historical Society, and Rosanne Barons, Registrar, always supportive of my research, assembled a collection of holdings on Clinton Academy for my use; Julia Greene, archivist, Bridgehampton Museum, promptly answered my diverse requests.
Scholars appeared unexpectedly during my years of research. I want to thank Bethany Berger, a legal historian and professor at Wayne State University Law School at the time, who in a 2005 telephone call asked me wide-ranging questions about Nathan Sanford and alerted me to recent research on the Pierson v. Post case. I am especially grateful to Angela Fernandez, Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Her phone call on August 25, 2009, began a series of exchanges that has helped me sort out legal and other matters pertaining to Sanford.
J. Kirk Flack, Suzanne McNear, and Donald Roper made time to read the manuscript and suggest improvements, while Natalie Naylor reviewed and corrected the notes—to them I owe a special thank you. Georgia Rose, another Sandford cousin, and Jerry Rose shared their enthusiasm for the project and pointed the way to my locating a rare illustration of Sanford Hall.
I am also grateful to the anonymous readers for the State University of New York (SUNY) Press who made constructive criticisms and suggestions. I thank Amanda Lanne-Camilli, acquisitions editor, who encouraged me to submit a proposal, and Jenn Bennett, who then guided me through the production process.
I appreciate the encouragement and assistance from family—Paul Sandford Guggenheim and Nancy Hansen McCaffrey—and from friends, Arona Gvaryahu, Ellen Karp, and Carol Mellor. Most of all, my appreciation goes to Jerry Korman, who shared his insights chapter by chapter, as well as his enthusiastic support for this project all along the way.
Introduction
Nathan Sanford’s heritage was rooted in eastern Long Island, New York, where he was born into a family of farmers and tradesmen. Becoming a lawyer, he benefitted from the Republicans’ national electoral victories in 1800. Three years later, President Thomas Jefferson appointed him federal attorney for the District of New York, which encompassed all of the state. Sanford soon began to engage in politics and faced the challenge of navigating amidst factional tensions among followers of Republican leaders—DeWitt Clinton, Aaron Burr, and Martin Van Buren—first in New York City, and then in the state and the nation. When he ran for the state assembly in 1808, he could not have imagined a future as state legislator, United States senator, or chancellor of New York.
Sanford reached the height of his political influence in the years following the War of 1812, beginning with his first term in the Senate. His courage and informed thinking were evident. He rejected the compromise with slavery passed by Congress and voted against the admission of Missouri into the United States as a slave state. Seeking to extend democracy, he supported a proposal for the popular election of presidential electors in all states. (It would have diminished the power of many state legislatures, including New York’s.) After he lost his bid for reelection, Sanford became a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1821: there, he voted for a ban on slavery in the state and led the effort to secure universal manhood suffrage, free of a property requirement. Both resolutions lost, and at the end of the suffrage debate, he supported the compromise that left the freehold requirement in place for African Americans.
Although his influence had waned, powerful factional leaders continued to promote his candidacy for office. In 1823, he accepted the appointment of chancellor for the state. 2 Around the same time, he was encouraged to join gubernatorial races. He agreed to run as Henry Clay’s vice presidential candidate in the election of 1824. Finally, he regained his Senate seat for a second term. During that period, between 1826 and 1831, he augmented his fortune with investments in property and financial assets. His political career ended when he lost his bid for reelection.
The senator’s lasting impact on the young Republic has been little noticed. After his death in 1838, historians offered only sparse commentary on the lawyer-politician’s political achievements, and delivered mixed judgments on his character and legacy. Although not published