Aaron Clark
Encyclopedia
mayor.jpg)
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
who became the second popularly elected Mayor of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, serving two one-year terms from 1837 to 1839. He was a member of the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, the only member of his party to ever serve as mayor of New York.
Early life
Clark was born in Worthington, MassachusettsWorthington, Massachusetts
Worthington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,270 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. He grew up in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, attended Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, and fought in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Political career
After the war, Clark moved to Albany, New YorkAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, and was Clerk of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
from 1814 to 1820. Afterwards he removed to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he worked in bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
ing, ran a lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
, and became involved in local politics. He served as alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
, a powerful position in the charged political climate of the city. He was elected mayor in 1837 and 1838 for one year terms, and was defeated in 1839. He thus became the only Whig to be elected mayor of the strongly Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
New York.
Election of 1837
The main event of that year was the financial Panic of 1837Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
, in which the economy
Economy of the United States
The economy of the United States is the world's largest national economy. Its nominal GDP was estimated to be nearly $14.5 trillion in 2010, approximately a quarter of nominal global GDP. The European Union has a larger collective economy, but is not a single nation...
collapsed following several years of boom
Boom and bust
A credit boom-bust cycle is an episode characterized by a sustained increase in several economics indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. Commonly the boom is driven by a rapid expansion of credit to the private sector accompanied with rising prices of commodities and stock market index...
. New York real estate values plummeted. Many were unemployed, some were homeless. There was widespread dissatisfaction among the working and middle class residents.
Despite the plight of the people, Alderman Clark did not focus on poverty relief, proposing instead that shipping piers be built at public expense around the waterfront so as to "raise the price of every lot 5 x 100 feet west of Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
$5,000 at a jump." This proposal was quite in line with the perception of the Whigs as the "party of the rich".
1837 also saw the rise of the "Equal Rights Party", which came to be known as the Locofocos
Locofocos
The Locofocos were a radical faction of the Democratic Party that existed from 1835 until the mid-1840s. The faction was originally named the Equal Rights Party, and was created in New York City as a protest against that city’s regular Democratic organization . It contained a mixture of...
. The Locofocos split from the Democrats in 1835, and stood for laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
, against monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
, and against the consolidation of money and power. In 1837 the Locofocos fielded Moses Jacques, Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
Democrats nominated John J. Morgan
John J. Morgan
John Jordan Morgan was an American politician from New York-Life:Morgan attended the public schools....
, and Clark was the Whig candidate. The fledgling faction was popular enough to split the Democratic vote, propelling the Whigs to victory in both the mayoral and city council races. The vote tallies were 16,140 for Clark, 12,974 for Morgan, and 3,911 for Jacques. The election led to much soul-searching in Tammany Hall, and forced the main Democratic faction to take the Locofocos' concerns seriously.
Election of 1838
After Clark's first term, the privations of the depression combined with the pro-landowner policies of the Whig administration made Clark profoundly unpopular among the poor majority. In 1838, the newly-reconciled Democrats fielded Tammany Hall leader Isaac VarianIsaac Varian
Isaac Leggett Varian was a New York state legislator and a Mayor of New York.-Political career:Varian was a prominent Democrat and led Tammany Hall from 1835 until 1842...
. Nevertheless, they were not successful in unseating Clark: Varian received 19,411 votes to Clark's 19,930, a difference of only 1.3%.
It is probable (and was widely believed at the time) that the Whigs resorted to massive and blatant fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
in securing the election. In 1838 there was no voter registration
Voter registration
Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...
law, and the elections were administered by Whig-appointed officials. Allegations included violent intimidation, multiple voting in different precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
s, importation of "voters" from other jurisdictions, and other improprieties.
Election of 1839
1839 saw a Varian-Clark rematch, with massive electoral fraud being perpetrated this time by both parties. Varian won with 21,072 votes to Clark's 20,005. Following the election, a widespread outcry resulted in the passage of a voter registration bill during Varian's first term. The bill regularized electoral procedure in the city and served to decrease the incidence of fraud in future elections.Later life
As mayor, Clark lived on Broadway near Leonard Street, a few short blocks north of the New York City HallNew York City Hall
New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...
. There he attempted to gain the favor of society by giving frequent balls
Ball (dance)
A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...
, which earned him the nickname "Dancing Mayor".
After ending his political career, Clark returned to business and became a patron of Hamilton College, which still awards an annual prized for oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
named in his honor. Clark endowed the prize with a gift in 1859, shortly before his death.
Personal
Clark married Catherine Maria Lamb in 1815. With her he had six children, five of whom lived past childhood. Catherine died in 1832, and Clark never remarried.He died in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Both he and his wife are buried in the Clark family crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
at the New York Marble Cemetery
New York Marble Cemetery
The New York Marble Cemetery is an historic cemetery founded in 1830, and located in the interior of the block bounded by East Second and 3rd Streets, Second Avenue, and The Bowery, in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is entered through an alleyway with an iron gate at...
on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
.
Sources
- Gustavus Myers, "The History of Tammany Hall", Ch. XII, XIV, New York City (1901), passim.
- Biography from New York Marble Cemetery