1846 New York gubernatorial election

The 1846 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1846. Incumbent Governor Silas Wright ran for a second term in office but was defeated by John Young. Young won with the support of the Anti-Rent movement, an armed insurgency of tenant farmers who rebelled against the existing feudal system of landholding.

1846 New York gubernatorial election

← 1844 November 3, 1846 1848 →

Nominee John Young Silas Wright Party Whig Democratic Alliance Anti-Rent Popular vote 198,878 187,306 Percentage 49.1% 46.2%

Results by county Young:      50-60%      60-70% Tie:      50% Wright:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Governor before election Silas Wright Democratic Elected Governor John Young Whig

Background

Like his predecessor, William C. Bouck,^[1] Governor Silas Wright was occupied for much of his term with the ongoing Anti-Rent War in the upstate region. Tenants who held perpetual leases under the patroon system, first implemented when New York was a Dutch colony, objected to the "quarter sale" provision of their leases, which required them to pay a "patroon" (or patron) one quarter of the sale price or one additional year's rent.^[2] Following the 1839 death of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who had generally been considered a benevolent landlord, his heirs attempted to collect long-overdue payments.^[3] When the tenants could not pay and could not negotiate for favorable repayment terms, they were threatened with eviction and a revolt ensued.^[3]

Bouck, who had been sympathetic to the tenants but had mobilized the state militia against them, had lost the Democratic nomination in 1844 over his handling of the revolt and was succeeded by Silas Wright, who had taken a stricter line against the renters.^[4] In response to unrest in Delaware County, Wright declared a state of insurrection and dispatched the militia to restore order.^[5]

Whig nomination

Candidates

• John Young, former U.S. Representative and State Senator from Geneseo

Declined to be drafted

• Millard Fillmore, former U.S. Representative from Buffalo and nominee in 1844

Campaign

Following his defeat in 1844, Millard Fillmore became chancellor of the University of Buffalo and a vocal critic of the James K. Polk. He opposed the annexation of Texas and Mexican–American War, which he saw as a contrivance to extend slavery. Fillmore was also angered when Polk vetoed a river and harbors bill that would have benefited Buffalo,^[6] writing, "May God save the country for it is evident the people will not."^[7] This made Fillmore an early favorite for the Whig nomination in 1846, but he deferred in favor of his supporter, John Young.^[8] Nevertheless, he came within one vote of the nomination.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}

Results

1846 New York gubernatorial election^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Young	76	62.81%
	Whig	Millard Fillmore (draft)	45	37.19%
Total votes			121	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Henry Bradley (Liberty and National Reform)
• Ogden Edwards (Native American)
• Silas Wright, incumbent Governor since 1845 and United States Senator (Democratic)
• John Young, former U.S. Representative and State Senator from Geneseo (Whig)

Results

1846 New York gubernatorial election^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Young	198,878	49.48%	2.06
	Democratic	Silas Wright (incumbent)	187,306	46.21%	3.27
	Liberty	Henry Bradley	12,844	3.17%	0.05
	Native American	Ogden Edwards	6,305	3.12%	N/A
Total votes			405,333	100.00%

See also

• New York gubernatorial elections
• New York state elections

References

1. Mayham 1906.
2. Torrance 1939.
3. Persico 1974.
4. Dearstyne 2015.
5. Jenkins 1851, pp. 781–782.
6. Finkelman 2011, pp. 35, 152.
7. Rayback 1959, p. 2620.
8. Rayback 1959, pp. 2735–2763.
9. Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. 1852. p. 367.
10. Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. 1852. p. 367.

Bibliography

• Dearstyne, Bruce W. (2015). The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State's History. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-4384-5659-1 – via Google Books.
• Finkelman, Paul (2011). Millard Fillmore. The American Presidents. Times Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-8715-4.
• Hammond, Jabez D. (1848). Life and Times of Silas Wright, Late Governor of the State of New York. Syracuse, NY: Hall and Dickson.
• Jenkins, John S. (1846). History of Political Parties in the State of New-York. Alden & Markham. p. 466.
• Jenkins, John S. (1851). Lives of the governors of the state of New York. Auburn, NY: Derby and Miller. p. 724.
• Mayham, Albert Champlin (1906). The Anti-Rent War on Blenheim Hill. Jefferson, NY: Frederick L. Frazee. pp. 39-40 – via Internet Archive.
• Persico, Joseph E. (October 1974). "Feudal Lords On Yankee Soil". American Heritage. Vol. 25, no. 6. Rockville, MD: American Heritage Publishing Company.
• Rayback, Robert J. (1959). Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President (Kindle ed.). Pickle Partners Publishing.
• Scarry, Robert J. (2001). Millard Fillmore (Kindle ed.). McFarland & Co., Inc. ISBN 978-1-4766-1398-7.
• Summerhill, Thomas (2005). Harvest of Dissent: Agrarianism in Nineteenth-century New York. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-2520-2976-9 – via Google Books.
• Torrance, Mary Fisher (1939). The Story of Old Rensselaerville. New York, NY: Privately Printed. p. 16 – via Internet Archive.