Albany was a busy place on New Year’s Day 1883, the day of a collegial turnover of power from a Republican to a Democrat who had won election by an 11-percentage-point margin. [Read more…] about Grover Cleveland’s Albany Inauguration for Governor
politics
Presidential Pardon Power: What The Founders Thought
Before President Trump retreated to Mar-a-Lago, the pundits were debating whether he would — or could, legally — pardon himself for any misdeeds committed in or out of office. Although he’s gone from the White House, the issue is not moot. [Read more…] about Presidential Pardon Power: What The Founders Thought
Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
Donald Trump’s recent impeachment trial in which the President was accused of incitement of insurrection against the United States recalls to mind a case from more than 200 years ago.
In that case another New York politician, former Vice President Aaron Burr, whose personality was arguably not dissimilar from Donald Trump, was tried and acquitted of treason in 1807. [Read more…] about Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
War of 1812: Politics, Society and Combat in New York State
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British demands to move the northern border as far south as the Ohio River put New York on the first line of defense during the War of 1812. The leadership of Governor Daniel D. Tompkins however, distinguished the state’s contribution to the war effort, effectively mobilizing the considerable human and material resources that proved crucial to maintaining the nation’s sovereignty. [Read more…] about War of 1812: Politics, Society and Combat in New York State
What Does Democracy Demand? Another Reconstruction
Humanities New York has announced their second and final online town hall, featuring David Bromwich, Jedediah Purdy, and Leah Wright Rigueur, has been set for Wednesday, January 13th, at 8 pm. [Read more…] about What Does Democracy Demand? Another Reconstruction
A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl
If there was one thing 19th century Granville Sentinel publisher Anna McArthur disliked more than Democrats, it was a competing newspaper attempting to siphon off Republican readership. [Read more…] about A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl
Frances Perkins: The First Woman Named To A Presidential Cabinet
This week on The Historians Podcast Jim Kaplan chronicles the achievements of the first woman member of a Presidential cabinet. Frances Perkins was FDR’s Secretary of Labor who helped design Social Security. [Read more…] about Frances Perkins: The First Woman Named To A Presidential Cabinet
Kathryn Starbuck: Saratoga Suffragist, Attorney, and Politician
Kathryn Helene Starbuck was born in Saratoga Springs in 1887, only a few years after her father, Edgar Starbuck, had moved to town and purchased a department store on Broadway. Kathryn was a bright young girl and after graduating from Saratoga Springs High School went on to earn a degree from Vassar College in 1911.
In 1914, she became one of the first female graduates of Albany Law School and was admitted to the New York State Bar Association the following year. [Read more…] about Kathryn Starbuck: Saratoga Suffragist, Attorney, and Politician
The 1884 Election Also Brought False GOP Claims of Voter Fraud
Counting and verification of votes in the 1884 presidential election, as now, was controversial, with Republicans claiming fraud and inaccuracy.
“Republicans are diehard here. All their hope lies in finding a clerical error in the returns,” a Lake George correspondent wrote in a dispatch published November 11th in The Morning Star of Glens Falls. [Read more…] about The 1884 Election Also Brought False GOP Claims of Voter Fraud
Nelson Rockefeller and the Politics of Wealth
The journal New York History, published by Cornell University Press, has published a free article online by historian Marsha E. Barrett, “Millionaires are More Democratic Now: Nelson Rockefeller and the Politics of Wealth in New York.” [Read more…] about Nelson Rockefeller and the Politics of Wealth