The Colony of New York--New Jersey Given Away to Favorites--Charter of
Liberties and Franchises--The Dongan Charter--Beginnings of New York
City Government--King James Driven from Power--Leisler Leads a Popular
Movement--The Aristocratic Element Gains the Upper Hand--Jacob Leisler
and Milborne Executed--Struggle For Liberty Continues.
The colony of New York, so called after James, the Duke of York and
brother of King Charles II., came into English hands at a fortunate time,
and after a fortunate experience. Owing to Dutch, occupation during half
a century of intense agitation, civil war and revolution, New Netherland
had escaped being drawn into the maelstrom of English hates and
rivalries. Indeed the Dutch settlements, and New Amsterdam in particular,
had derived advantage from the troubles of the English colonies, and
among the immigrants who sought an asylum from Puritan intolerance within
New Netherland jurisdiction were many who proved valuable additions to
the population of the province, and who helped to build up its trade and
commerce, and to develop agriculture. The Duke of York, therefore,
entered upon possession of a colony with the accumulated prosperity of
about fifty years as the substantial foundation for future progress, and
with a population which, while composed of diverse nationalities,
retained the better features of them all. The settlers of New York, both
Dutch and English, were, as a rule, attentive to religious duties; but
they did not regard religion as the single aim of existence. They were
merchants and traders and farmers, liberal for their age in their views
of religious freedom, and devoting their best energies to building up
their worldly fortunes. New Amsterdam was in no sense Puritan--it was a
respectable, thriving, trading and bartering community, with flourishing
farms in the outskirts, and a commerce stunted by jealous restrictions,
but which gave promise of future development.[1]
[1] The Rev. John Miller, in 1695, speaks of "the wickedness and
irreligion of the inhabitants, which abounds in all parts of the
province, and appears in so many shapes, constituting so many sorts
of sin, that I can scarce tell which to begin withal." The reverend
gentleman was probably prejudiced.
The Duke of York at first made poor use of his new possessions. He
astonished Colonel Richard Nicolls, who had conquered the territory for
him without firing a shot, by giving away to two favorites, Lord
Berkeley, brother of the Governor of Virginia, and Sir George Carteret,
the rich domain between the Hudson and Delaware, which received the name
of New Jersey, and for many years that province was a theatre of
dissensions traceable to the autocratic and reckless course of the Duke.
The rights of settlers who had preceded the proprietary government were
ignored, and an attempt made to reduce freeholders to the position of
tenants. A large immigration of Quakers from England a few years after
the Dutch surrender added a valuable element to the population, in which
the Puritans, apart from the Dutch, had predominated. Puritans and
Quakers seemed to get along very well in the Jerseys, and with good
government on the part of the proprietors the colony would doubtless have
flourished. That for a number of years the Jerseys remained law-abiding
and comparatively tranquil without a regular civil government attests the
excellent character of the people.
The Duke of York showed more wisdom in the management of his greater
province of New York. In 1683 he instructed his governor, Thomas Dongan,
to call a representative assembly, which met in the fort at New York. The
assembly adopted an act called "The Charter of Liberties and Franchises,"
which was approved, first by the governor, and afterward by the duke.
This charter declared that the power to pass laws should reside in the
governor, council and people met in general assembly; that every
freeholder and freeman should be allowed to vote for representatives
without restraint; that no freeman should suffer but by judgment of his
peers; that all trials should be by a jury of twelve men; that no tax
should be levied without the consent of the Assembly; that no seaman or
soldier should be quartered on the inhabitants against their will; that
there should be no martial law, and that no person professing faith in
God by Jesus Christ should be disquieted or questioned on account of
religion. Two years later James, now become king, virtually abrogated
this charter by levying direct taxes on New York without the consent of
the people, by prohibiting the introduction of printing, and otherwise
assuming arbitrary power. He did not, however, suppress the General
Assembly, which became, as years advanced and the colony grew in
importance, more and more resolute in asserting the people's rights.
Governor Dongan did all in his power to defend the interests of the
province against the aggressions of the crown, and to secure some degree
of self-government for those who bore the burdens of government. In 1686
the Dongan charter gave to the lieutenant-governor the power of
appointing the mayor and sheriff of New York city, but an alderman, an
assistant and a constable were to be chosen for each ward by a majority
of the inhabitants of that ward. During his short lease of power Leisler
issued warrants for the election of the mayor and sheriff by "all
Protestant freeholders." The resulting election was a farce, as only
seventy of the inhabitants voted. The illegality of this action in
defiance of the provisions of the Dongan charter was one of the chief
causes of complaint against Leisler. The Montgomery charter, granted to
New York in 1730, authorized the election of one alderman, an assistant,
two assessors, one collector and two constables in each ward. The charter
of Albany was granted by Governor Dougan in 1686, and it resembled in
many respects the instrument under which the city of New York was first
organized. It provided that six aldermen, six assistant aldermen,
constables and other magistrates, should be chosen annually. The mayor,
as well as the sheriff, was appointed by the governor. Governor Dongan's
reluctance to fall in with the despotic and reactionary policy of King
James led to his being dismissed from office in 1688, when Andros took
his place.
The tyrannical conduct of James II. and of his representatives in
America, alienated the people of New York from that sovereign, and the
news of his downfall was received with delight, especially as nearly all
the people were Protestants. The aristocratic element was inclined,
notwithstanding the news, to uphold the government established by James,
but the common or democratic element resolved to drive out the
representatives of the late king, and create a temporary government in
sympathy with the revolution. Jacob Leisler, a distinguished Huguenot
merchant, and senior captain of the military companies, was induced to
lead a revolt. A committee of safety, consisting of ten members, Dutch,
Huguenots and English, made Leisler commander-in-chief until orders
should arrive from William and Mary, the new sovereigns of England. Sir
Francis Nicholson, the acting governor under Sir Edmund Andros, departed
for England, and the members of his council to Albany, and denounced
Leisler as an arch-rebel. Leisler sent an account of his proceedings to
King William, and called an assembly to provide means for carrying on war
against the French in Canada. King William paid no attention to Leisler's
message, and commissioned Colonel Henry Sloughter governor of New York,
and sent a company of regular soldiers, under Captain Ingoldsby, to the
province. Leisler proclaimed Sloughter's appointment, but refused to
surrender the fort to Ingoldsby. A hostile encounter followed, in which
some lives were lost. The aristocratic element succeeded, upon
Sloughter's arrival, in obtaining an ascendancy over him, and Leisler and
his son-in-law, Milborne, were arrested on charges of treason. They were
tried and convicted by a packed court, and Sloughter was induced, while
drunk at a banquet given by Leisler's enemies, to sign the death
warrants. For fear the governor would repent of his act when sober, both
men were torn away from their weeping families to the scaffold. A number
of Leisler's enemies were assembled to witness his death, while a crowd
of the common people, who regarded him as their champion and a martyr for
their cause, looked sullenly on. Milborne saw his bitter foe, Robert
Livingston, in the throng, and exclaimed: "Robert Livingston, for this I
will implead thee at the bar of God!" The execution of Leisler aroused
strong indignation both in America and England, and some years later the
attainder placed upon them was removed by act of Parliament, and their
estates restored to their families. Leisler's soul, like that of John
Brown, marched on while his body was moldering in the grave. The spirit
which he infused, and the love of liberty to which he gave expression,
could not be eradicated by his tragic death. The people continued the
struggle in assembly after assembly for the people's rights, and
resolutely upheld freedom of speech and of the press in the legislative
hall and the jury box.