The great state of New York has given this nation four Presidents, the first Chief Justice of the United States, two Vice Presidents and a Secretary Of State. All of these illustrious individuals began their political careers here in New York and we were proud to call them our Governor.
This November Carl Paladino would like to add his name to this group of great men. From the great state of New York, let us stand up as one and say that no, Carl, we will never let you make this great state as small and petty as you are. Never.
Follow me below the jump for some histories of the men who would shape the history of New York and of our nation.
Everything begins at the beginning and the beginning for New York State was Governor George Clinton, our first governor and who was also the Vice President under Presidents Jefferson and Madison. Governor Clinton was consider one of the founding fathers of our nation.
George Clinton, first governor of New York State, was born on July 26, 1739, to an Irish family that had immigrated to New Britain, a small town near the Hudson River. His father, a member of the New York colonial assembly, was his political inspiration and tutor. At age 18 Clinton enlisted in the British Army to fight in the French and Indian War. Later he studied law, was appointed clerk of the court of common pleas, and served in the State assembly.
Elected to serve in the Continental Congress, Clinton voted for the Declaration of Independence but was called by Washington to serve as brigadier general of militia and had to leave before the signing occurred. In 1777 Clinton became the first governor of New York and served until 1795. He was also known for his hatred of the Tories and was partially able to keep taxes down through seizure and sale of Tory estates. A supporter and friend of George Washington, he supplied food to the troops at Valley Forge. Clinton rode with Washington to the first Inauguration and gave an impressive dinner to celebrate the occasion. However, this friendship did not influence Clinton's politics; he did not support the adoption of the Constitution until the Bill of Rights was added.
He served again as governor of New York from 1801 to 1804 and as vice president under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Clinton died in Washington on April 20, 1812, and was buried there; in 1908 he was reinterred at Kingston, New York.
Architect of the Capitol
Governor John Jay, Governor of New York from 1795-1801 and the first Chief Justice of the United States.
JAY, John, a Delegate from New York; born in New York City December 12, 1745; attended a boarding school in New Rochelle, N.Y., and was graduated from Kings College (now Columbia University) in 1764; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1768; served on the New York committee of correspondence; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1776 and 1778-1779; recalled some months in 1777 to aid in forming the New York State constitution; appointed chief justice of the State of New York in May 1777 but resigned December 1778 to become President of the Continental Congress and served in that capacity from December 10, 1778, to September 28, 1779; appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain September 27, 1779; appointed one of the ministers to negotiate peace with Great Britain June 14, 1781, and signed the Treaty of Paris; appointed one of the ministers to negotiate treaties with the European powers May 1, 1783; returned to New York in 1784; appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs July 1784, which position he held until the establishment of the Federal Government in 1789; appointed the first Chief Justice of the United States by President Washington September 26, 1789, and served until June 29, 1795, when he resigned; unsuccessful Federal candidate for Governor of New York in 1792; appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain April 19, 1794, and served until April 8, 1795, still retaining his position as Chief Justice of the United States; Governor of New York 1795-1801; declined reelection and also a reappointment as Chief Justice of the United States; retired to his farm at Bedford, near New York City, where he died May 17, 1829; interment in the family burying ground at Rye, N.Y.
John Jay Biography
There were, of course, four presidents. President Martin Van Buren, President Grover Cleveland, President Theodore Roosevelt and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
MARTIN VAN BUREN, the eleventh governor of New York, was born in Kinderhook, New York on December 5, 1782. His early education was attained at an academy in Kinderhook. He went on to study law, and in 1803 was admitted to the New York bar. Van Buren then established a long and distinguished career in both state and national politics. From 1808 to 1813 he served as surrogate of Columbia County; and from 1813 to 1820 he served as a member of the New York State Senate. He also was the attorney general of New York from 1816 to 1819; was a delegate to the 1821 State Constitutional Convention; and served as a member of the U.S. Senate from 1821 to 1828. Van Buren next won election to the governor's office on November 5, 1828. During his short tenure, banking reform measures were sanctioned. On March 5, 1829 Van Buren resigned from the governorship. He then served in President Jackson's cabinet as secretary of state, a position he held from 1829 to 1831. He also served as vice president of the United States from 1833 to 1837, as well as serving as president from 1837 to 1841. After running unsuccessfully for reelection to the U.S. presidency, Van Buren retired from political office, however he continued to remain interested in both local and national issues. Governor Martin Van Buren passed away on July 24, 1862, and was buried in the Kinderhook Cemetery in Kinderhook, New York.
National Governors Association
Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), who served as the 22nd and 24th U.S. president, was known as a political reformer. He is the only president to date who served two nonconsecutive terms, and also the only Democratic president to win election during the period of Republican domination of the White House that stretched from Abraham Lincoln's (1809-65) election in 1860 to the end of William Howard Taft's (1857-1930) term in 1913. Cleveland worked as a lawyer and then served as mayor of Buffalo, New York, and governor of New York state before assuming the presidency in 1885. His record in the Oval Office was mixed. Not regarded as an original thinker, Cleveland considered himself a watchdog over Congress rather than an initiator. In his second term, he angered many of his original supporters and seemed overwhelmed by the Panic of 1893 and the depression that followed. He declined to run for a third term.
History.com
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th president of the United States, guided the nation into a new century of innovation and power. Famous for his military leadership during the Spanish-American War, he became president at the age of 42 after the assassination of William McKinley. Roosevelt believed in an active foreign policy and pursued a progressive agenda. Considered one of the greatest presidents in American history, he appears alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln on the Mount Rushmore Memorial, designed in 1927.
History.com
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) was inspired by his fifth cousin, the former president Theodore Roosevelt, to pursue a career in politics. After serving first in the New York Senate and then as the state’s governor, he became the 32nd president of the United States in 1932 and went on to serve four terms—more than any other U.S. president in history. During his 12 years in office, Roosevelt led the nation out of the Great Depression and remained at the helm through most of World War II. Ranging from new government agencies and economic initiatives to the Lend-Lease program and the United Nations, Roosevelt’s legacy would shape life in the U.S.—and America’s place in the world—for decades to come.
History.com
There were two Vice Presidents, Governor Clinton and one of my favorite governors, Nelson Rockefeller.
Nelson A. Rockefeller was elected Governor of New York four times and was the state's 49th Chief Executive. In August of 1974, President Gerald Ford nominated Rockefeller to be Vice President of the United States. Congress confirmed his nomination and he was sworn in on December 19, 1974. Governor Rockefeller was the second person ever appointed vice president under the 25th amendment of the United States Constitution.
New York State Office of the Executive
There was one Secretary of State.
William Henry Seward, Sr. (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. An outspoken opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years, and was widely regarded as the leading contender for the party's presidential nomination in 1860 – yet his very outspokenness may have cost him the nomination. Despite his loss, he became a loyal member of Lincoln's wartime cabinet, and played a role in preventing foreign intervention early in the war.[1] On the night of Lincoln's assassination, he survived an attempt on his life in the conspirators' effort to decapitate the Union government. As Johnson's Secretary of State, he engineered the purchase of Alaska from Russia in an act that was ridiculed at the time as "Seward's Folly", but which somehow exemplified his character. His contemporary Carl Schurz described Seward as "one of those spirits who sometimes will go ahead of public opinion instead of tamely following its footprints."
History.com
Now our own delusional Carl thinks his name belongs among these great men. I have one answer for him.... No Carl, a thousand times no!
Help me to ensure that this never happens. My personal fundraising page for Andrew Cuomo is here:
http://andrewcuomo.com/...
I'm trying to raise $1000.00 to keep New York a safe haven for progressives, can y'all help me out? If Carl Paladino can actually be chosen as the gubernatorial candidate of a major party in New York State, is any place safe? Help me keep New York sane.