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DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton (2 March 1769 – 11 February 1828) was Governor of New York from 1 July 1817 to 31 December 1822, succeeding John Tayler and preceding Joseph C. Yates, and again from 1 January 1825 to 11 February 1828, succeeding Joseph C. Yates and preceding Nathaniel Pitcher. He also served as Mayor of New York City from 1803 to 1807 (succeeding Edward Livingston and preceding Marinus Willett), from 1808 to 1810 (succeeding Willett and preceding Jacob Radcliff), and from 1811 to 1815 (succeeding Jacob Radcliff and preceding John Ferguson), as well as US Senator from 9 February 1802 to 4 November 1803 (interrupting John Armstrong Jr.'s terms).

Biography[]

DeWitt Clinton was born on 2 March 1769 in Little Britain, New York, the second son of general James Clinton and Mary DeWitt, the aunt of Continental Army Surveyor-General Simeon De Witt. Clinton graduated from King's College in New York City and joined the Democratic-Republican Party, and he served in the state senate. From 1802 to 1803, he served as a senator from New York, and he served as Mayor of New York City on three occasions; in 1806, he became the Grand Master of the Freemasons in New York. In 1812, a coalition of dissident Republicans and Federalists nominated Clinton for president, and, while he won 47.6% of the popular vote and much of the Northeast, he was defeated by Republican nominee James Madison. In 1817, he was elected Governor of New York and served until 1822, and again from 1825 to 1828. He was responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal, and he died in office in his second term in 1828.

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