Albany Regency
Encyclopedia
The Albany Regency was a group of politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s who controlled the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 state government between 1822 and 1838. The group was among the first American political machine
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...

s. In the beginning they were the leading figures of the Bucktails
Bucktails
The Bucktails may refer to one of two organizations that were particularly characterized and identified by the wearing of a bucktail in their headgear....

 faction of the Democratic-Republican Party, later the Jacksonian Democrats and finally became the Hunkers
Barnburners and Hunkers
The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations,...

 faction of the Democratic Party.

History

The Albany Regency was a loosely organized group of politicians with similar views and goals who resided in or near Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

, the state capital. They controlled the nominating conventions and patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

 of their party within New York State, and by dictating its general policy, exerted a powerful influence in national as well as state politics. They derived their power largely from their personal influence and political sagacity, and were, for the most part, earnest opponents of political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

, though they uniformly acted upon the principle, first formulated in 1833 by one of their number (Marcy), that “to the victors belong the spoils.”

The Regency developed party discipline and originated the control of party conventions
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...

 through officeholders and others subservient to it. The spoils system
Spoils system
In the politics of the United States, a spoil system is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the...

 they created would dominate late-19th-century American politics, but in the beginning observed the technical qualifications of the candidates for office they nominated. Thurlow Weed
Thurlow Weed
Thurlow Weed was a New York newspaper publisher, politician, and party boss. He was the principal political advisor to the prominent New York politician William H...

 who coined the name "Albany Regency", wrote he "had never known a body of men who possessed so much power and used it so well".

The leading figure of the Albany Regency was Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

. Upon Van Buren's election to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in 1821, several of his friends and aides, including Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (lawyer)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was a lawyer, legislator and Attorney General of the United States.-Early life:...

, Samuel A. Talcott
Samuel A. Talcott
Samuel Austin Talcott was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...

, Silas Wright
Silas Wright
Silas Wright, Jr. was an American Democratic politician. Wright was born in Amherst, Massachusetts and moved with his father to Weybridge, Vermont in 1796. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1815 and moved to Sandy Hill, New York, the next year, where he studied law, being admitted to the bar...

, William L. Marcy
William L. Marcy
William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...

, and Azariah C. Flagg
Azariah C. Flagg
Azariah Cutting Flagg was an American newspaper editor and politician.-Life:...

, took over the day-to-day management of the political organization that had been developed under Van Buren. Roger Skinner
Roger Skinner
Roger Skinner was a lawyer, statesman and United States federal judge from New York.Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, he was an attorney in private practice both in Connecticut and New York. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1808 to 1810...

, state printer Edwin Croswell
Edwin Croswell
Edwin Croswell , was an American journalist and politician. Croswell’s father and uncle were both influential editors and journalists in the early 19th century...

, Benjamin Knower
Benjamin Knower
Benjamin Knower was an American merchant, banker and politician.-Life:...

, John Adams Dix
John Adams Dix
John Adams Dix was an American politician from New York. He served as Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and the 24th Governor of New York. He was also a Union major general during the Civil War.-Early life and career:...

, and Charles E. Dudley
Charles E. Dudley
Charles Edward Dudley was an American politician.-Life:Dudley was born in England during the American Revolution, the son of Loyalist parents. His father, Charles Dudley, an Englishman, was Collector of the King's Customs at Newport, Rhode Island, where he married Catherine Cooke, of a Rhode...

 also became members of the Regency. Their organ was the newspaper Argus of Albany, founded in 1813 by Jesse Buel (1778-1839) and edited from 1824 to 1854 by Croswell.

The Regency ended when Marcy was defeated in the election for Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...

 by the opposing Whig's candidate William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...

 in 1838, which led to a radical change in state politics. Also cited as a factor is a bitter factional split in 1848 (see Barnburners) which gave the other party the patronage the Regency used to use against it. The Regency was reduced in a few years to unorganized individuals.

Sources

  • Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Age of Jackson. Boston : Little, Brown, 1953 [1945].
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