MY SAY: A TRIBUTE TO DE WITT CLINTON

Posted By on October 15th, 2013

Local elections for mayors and governors are taking shape. There is no one out there to equal the great De Witt Clinton. Who was he and when?

READ MORE ABOUT HIM: http://accidentalhedonist.com/of-grids-and-canals-the-legacy-of-dewitt-clinton/

” Usually a city is shaped and/or remembered by thousands of events, none of which even come close to falling under the heading of “city planning”. DeWitt Clinton, who lived between  1769 and 1828, is a name that needs to be remembered in the history of New York. For, at first as Mayor of New York City, and then later as Governor of the state of New York, he initiated two different projects that would both help shape the path of New York City for generations after he left his mortal coil. He is one of but a handful of people to which we can point and go “This is the guy!”

  • 1797-1798 — New York Assembly
  • 1798-1802 — New York Senate
  • 1802-1803 — United States Senate
  • 1803-1815 — Mayor of New York City: Among his efforts during his 10 terms was the promotion of public education, city planning, public sanitation, and relief for the poor. As mayor, Clinton also held office as state senator (1806-1811) and lieutenant governor (1811-1813).
  • 1817-1823 — Governor of New York State
  • 1810-1824 — New York Canal Commissioner
  • 1825-1828 — Governor of New York State
Although New York City had a great harbor it was relegated to the status of a big town with no access to the rest of the nation. In a series of elected and appointed positions, Clinton shaped the history of New York in the first decades of the nineteenth century.  Best known for his indefatigable efforts to build the Erie Canal—derided as “Clinton’s Ditch” by opponents—he championed the project as U.S. senator (1802–03), mayor of New York City (1803–15), member of the canal commission (1810–24) and governor of New York state (1817–23, 1825–28).  When it was completed in 1825, the canal transformed the nation by linking the eastern seaboard to the American heartland, spurring immigration to the region and leading to the creation of several cities along the canal’s path and to the confirmation of New York City as the nation’s largest urban center.

As mayor he established the New York City Public School System, and helped to shape the city by appointing the planning commission that designed the grid of streets and avenues.  
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