View source for 1807 New York gubernatorial election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1807 New York gubernatorial election
| country = New York
| flag_year = 1778
| type = Presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1804 New York gubernatorial election
| previous_year = 1804
| next_election = 1810 New York gubernatorial election
| next_year = 1810
| election_date = April 1807
| image_size = x150px
| image1 = Daniel D Tompkins by John Wesley Jarvis (3x4 cropped).jpg
| nominee1 = '''[[Daniel D. Tompkins]]'''
| party1 = Democratic-Republican Party
| alliance1 = [[DeWitt Clinton|Clinton]]
| popular_vote1 = '''35,074'''
| percentage1 = '''53.09%'''
| image2 = Morgan Lewis (cropped).png
| nominee2 = [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]]
| party2 = Democratic-Republican
| alliance2 = [[Livingston family|Livingston]]<br>[[Federalist Party|Federalist]]
| colour2 = 698DC5
| popular_vote2 = 30,989
| percentage2 = 46.91%
| map_image = 1807 New York gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
| map_size = 300px
| map_caption = County results<br/>'''Tompkins:''' {{legend0|#73bc84|50–60%}} {{legend0|#3fa457|60–70%}} {{legend0|#008c21|70–80%}} {{legend0|#006e1a|80-90%}}<br/> '''Lewis:''' {{legend0|#8da9e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#678cd7|60–70%}} {{legend0|#4170cd|70–80%}}
| title = Governor
| before_election = [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]]
| before_party = Democratic-Republican
| after_election = [[Daniel D. Tompkins]]
| after_party = Democratic-Republican
}}
{{Elections in New York (state) sidebar}}
The '''1807 New York gubernatorial election''' was held in April 1807 to elect the [[Governor of New York|Governor]]. Incumbent Governor [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]] ran for a second consecutive term in office but was defeated by [[Daniel D. Tompkins]], who had the support of the influential Clinton family.

==Background== 
Following the [[1804 New York gubernatorial election]] and the [[Burr-Hamilton duel]], which resulted in the death of Federalist leader [[Alexander Hamilton]] and the disgrace of Vice President and [[Tammany Hall]] leader [[Aaron Burr]], New York was politically dominated by two Republican factions led by two powerful families. The Clinton family was led by Vice President of the United States and former Governor [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] and his nephew, New York City mayor [[De Witt Clinton]]. The Livingston family was led by [[Robert R. Livingston]], [[Edward Livingston]], and their brother-in-law, Governor [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]].

During the 1805 legislative session, conflict between the factions arose over Lewis's approval of a charter for the [[Merchants' National Bank of New York]], a challenger to the Clinton- and Republican-owned [[Manhattan Company]]. Lewis's son-in-law [[Maturin Livingston]] was a major backer of the Merchants' Bank, and bribery and coercion were used to pass the charter. The Livingston family also dominated state appointments under Lewis, and dissatisfaction with their administration manifested near te end of the legislative session.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|pp=107{{endash}}08}} Shortly after the spring 1805 legislative elections, the conflict between the Clintons and Livingstons became public. Leading Republican newspapers (the '' American Citizen'' and ''Albany Register'') came out against Governor Lewis; other newspapers, including those owned by [[Aaron Burr]] (the ''New York Morning Chronicle''), [[Thomas Tillotson]] (the ''Poughkeepsie Journal'') and [[Jesse Buel]] (the Ulster County ''Plebeian''), supported Lewis.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|pp=110{{endash}}111}}

Expecting that Lewis would benefit from Federalist support, [[De Witt Clinton]] and his supporters held a series of meetings with leading supporters of [[Aaron Burr]] and [[Tammany Hall]] in winter 1806. A counter-meeting of Lewis supporters from all factions was held at Martling's Long Room in New York on February 24, denouncing Clinton's efforts to unseat the Governor. The meeting led Clinton opponents to be known as "[[Bucktails|Martling Men]]".{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=112}} The room, which became known as the Wigwam, was the first headquarters of the Tammany Society.{{Sfn|Allen|1993|p=8}}

During the 1806 legislative session, Lewis came under political fire for granting reprieve in the case of Stephen Arnold, a death row convict scheduled to be executed for killing a child, and his role in approving the Merchants' Bank charter. De Witt Clinton, who had engineered his own election to the [[Council of Appointment]], led inquests into the role of bribery in the Merchants' Bank case. The Council of Appointment also wielded its authority to replace Livingston men, including [[Maturin Livingston]] and [[Thomas Tillotson]], from state offices.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|pp=112{{endash}}14}} Federalists in the Legislature, led by [[William W. Van Ness]], supported Lewis. Despite the barrage of attacks from the Clintonians, the April 1806 elections were a victory for the Lewis-Federalist legislators.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|pp=112{{endash}}14}} Having regained control of the Legislature and Council, they began to remove Clinton supporters from office, including removing [[De Witt Clinton]] himself as mayor of New York City.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=116}}

==Nominations==
As it had become evident Lewis could not rely on the support of the Republican legislators, a mass meeting to support him was held in New York City on January 1, 1807. The attendees addressed a circular letter to the Republican legislators calling for their support prior to the start of the legislative session.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=115}}

However, a majority of Republican legislators met in caucus on February 16 to nominate an opposition candidate. [[De Witt Clinton]] was rejected for his association with the political animosities of the prior two years and his ambition, as was his brother-in-law, [[Ambrose Spencer]]. Instead, they settled on the relatively unknown [[Daniel D. Tompkins]], a Supreme Court judge and active participant in the 1801 constitutional convention.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=117}} The nomination was supported by sixty-five Republican legislators.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=118}}

A few days after Tompkins was formally nominated, a second Republican caucus was held to support Lewis; forty-five members endorsed his nomination.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=118}} The Federalists made no nomination, but most supported Lewis.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=120}}

==General election==
===Candidates===
* [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]], incumbent Governor since 1804 (Livingston Republican)
* [[Daniel D. Tompkins]], associate justice of the [[New York Supreme Court|New York Supreme Court of Judicature]] (Clinton Republican)

====Not nominated====
* [[De Witt Clinton]], former mayor of New York City (Clinton Republican)
* [[Ambrose Spencer]],

===Campaign===
During the campaign, [[John Lansing Jr.]], who had declined the nomination in 1804 which had ultimately gone to Lewis, accused [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] of offering him the nomination in exchange for appointing [[De Witt Clinton]] to succeed Lansing as Chancellor.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=120}} Both Clintons denied the accusation.{{sfn|Jenkins|1846|p=120}}

===Results===
In a reversal of the result of the 1804 results, Lewis carried five of the six counties he had lost to [[Aaron Burr]].{{efn|Only [[Delaware County, New York|Delaware County]] voted for Burr in 1804 and Tompkins in 1807.}}

Despite losing [[New York City]]'s 1,673 votes to 1,807,<ref name="Evening Post">{{cite news |title=Official Return of Votes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/33522501/ |access-date=December 7, 2018 |work=The New York Evening Post |date=May 2, 1807}}</ref> [[Daniel D. Tompkins]] defeated incumbent [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]].
[[File:1807 New York Gubernatorial race by NYC ward.png|thumb|Results by [[New York City]] ward]]
{{Election box begin no change
 |title = 1807 New York gubernatorial election<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015059788912&view=1up&seq=108 ''The Tribune Almanac 1841'']</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate no change
 | candidate  = [[Daniel D. Tompkins]]
 | party      = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Clinton Republican]]
 | color      = #008000
 | votes      = 35,074
 | percentage = 53.09%
}}
{{Election box candidate no change
 | candidate  = [[Morgan Lewis (governor)|Morgan Lewis]] (incumbent)
 | party      = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Livingston Republican]]
 | color      = #698DC5
 | votes      = 30,989
 | percentage = 46.91%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 66,063
| percentage= 100%
}}
{{Election box end}}

==See also==
* [[New York gubernatorial elections]]
* [[New York state elections]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Oliver E. |url=https://archive.org/details/tigerrisefalloft00alle |title=The Tiger: The Rise and Fall of Tammany Hall |publisher=[[Addison-Wesley]] |year=1993 |isbn=9780201624632 |edition=1st |location=Reading, Mass.}}
* {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=John Stilwell |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OKQXxWCJ07kC/ |title=History of Political Parties in the State of New-York |publisher=Alden & Markham |year=1846 |location=Auburn, N.Y.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=David M. |title=A History of New York State |last2=Frost |first2=James A. |author-link2=James A. Frost |last3=Syrett |first3=Harold C. |author-link3=Harold Syrett |last4=Carman |first4=Harry J. |author-link4=Harry Carman |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1957 |edition=2d |location=Ithaca, N.Y.}}


{{1807 United States elections}}
{{New York elections}}

[[Category:New York (state) gubernatorial elections|1807]]
[[Category:1807 New York (state) elections|Gubernatorial election]]
[[Category:April 1807]]
[[Category:1807 United States gubernatorial elections|New York]]
[[Category:Daniel D. Tompkins]]


{{NewYork-election-stub}}