Council of Appointment
Encyclopedia
The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York
Government of New York
As in all 50 states, the head of the executive branch of the government of New York is a Governor. The legislative branch is called the Legislature and consists of a Senate and an Assembly. Unlike most states, New York electoral law permits electoral fusion; thus New York ballots tend to show a...

 that existed from 1777 to 1822.

History

Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the 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...

, who was ex officio President of this council but had only a casting vote
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...

, and four members of the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

, one each from the State's senatorial electoral districts. These State senators were elected for a one-year term by the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 and could not be re-elected for the following term.

The Council had the power to appoint all State, county and municipal officials within the state of 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...

 for which no other means of appointment or election was provided for in the State Constitution. The offices filled by the Council included the State Comptroller
New York State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...

, the Secretary of State
Secretary of State of New York
The Secretary of State of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York.The current Secretary of State of New York is Cesar A...

, the Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...

, the Surveyor General
New York State Engineer and Surveyor
The New York State Engineer and Surveyor was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1848 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the Department of Public Works which was...

, the Chancellor
New York Court of Chancery
The New York Court of Chancery was established during the colonial administration on August 28, 1701, the colonial governor acting as Chancellor. The New York State Constitution of 1777 continued the court but required a lawyer to be appointed Chancellor. It was the court with jurisdiction on cases...

, the justices of the New York Supreme Court
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...

, sheriffs, district attorneys, judges, surrogates
New York Surrogate's Court
The Surrogate's Court handles all probate and estate proceedings in the state of New York. All wills are probated in this court and all estates of people who die without a will are handled in this court...

, city and county clerks, mayors (including the Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...

), all military officers and many others.

The Council of Appointment had its origins in the fear of too much popular influence in the government. The first New York Constitution was aristocratic and elitist in spirit. As long as the governor alone nominated appointees, he had as much power over the State's 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...

 as a medieval king. On the other side, during the long tenure of Governor George Clinton, very rarely an office holder was removed, and the Council only filled vacancies as they occurred by resignation, death, declination of re-appointment, or term limit.

Troubles, however, arose after the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party appeared, and began to alternate as majority in the Assembly. Because of the lack of clarity in the 1777 New York Constitution, the parties struggled over who, exactly, held the power to make nominations and appointments. The constitution stated that the governor would have the "casting voice
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...

, but no other vote; and with the advice and consent
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...

 of the said council..." The custom arose that the governor made the nominations, and the Council approved, or rejected, them. But when the legislature had a majority of the opposition, they would elect three or four senators and outvote the governor. Governor John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....

, who had drafted the Constitution, asserted that the Council could not propose appointees, only vote for or against the governor's nominees. So when the Council voted down all of his nominees, in his opinion, nobody could be appointed. The question was settled at the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1801, which amended the Constitution, giving the right of nomination to the governor and each one of the Council members concurrently. This led to an annual scramble for office, especially if the majority in the Assembly changed.

Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...

 criticized the Council in his Federalist No. 77
Federalist No. 77
Federalist No. 77 is an essay by Alexander Hamilton and the seventy-seventh of the Federalist Papers. It was published on April 2, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all the Federalist Papers were published...

.

The council was abolished by the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 and ceased to exist at the end of the year 1822, at which time more than 15,000 offices had been under its control. Under the Constitution of 1821, the State cabinet officers and Supreme Court justices were elected by the State Legislature, and most of the county and local officers were elected in local popular or legislative elections. The governor continued to appoint only a very small number of officers and had the right to make recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...

s.

List of members

Southern D. Middle D. Eastern D. Western D. Elected on
John Morin Scott
John Morin Scott
John Morin Scott was a lawyer, military officer, and statesman before, during and after the American Revolution.-Ancestry:...

Jesse Woodhull Alexander Webster Abraham Yates, Jr. September 16, 1777
Jonathan Lawrence
Jonathan Lawrence
Jonathan Lawrence was an American merchant and politician from New York.-Life:...

Zephaniah Platt
Zephaniah Platt
Zephaniah Platt was an American politician and lawyer, and founder of the U.S. town of Plattsburgh, New York....

Ebenezer Russell Dirck Wessel Ten Broeck October 17, 1778
Isaac Roosevelt
Isaac Roosevelt (politician)
Isaac Roosevelt was an American merchant and Federalist politician. He served in the New York State Assembly and the state Constitutional Convention and achieved the most political success of any Roosevelt before Theodore Roosevelt. He was the great-great-grandfather of U.S...

Levi Pawling Alexander Webster Rinier Mynderse September 11, 1779
Stephen Ward Ephraim Paine
Ephraim Paine
Ephraim Paine was an American physician and politician from New York. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784.-Biography:...

Ebenezer Russell Abraham Ten Broeck
Abraham Ten Broeck
Abraham Ten Broeck was a New York politician, businessman, and militia Brigadier General of Dutch descent. He was twice Mayor of Albany, New York and built one of the largest mansions in the area that still stands more than 200 years later.-Early life:Ten Broeck was the son of Dirck Ten Broeck...

September 11, 1780
Arthur Parks March 23, 1781
Isaac Stoutenburgh Zephaniah Platt
Zephaniah Platt
Zephaniah Platt was an American politician and lawyer, and founder of the U.S. town of Plattsburgh, New York....

Alexander Webster Henry Oothondt October 25, 1781
Jonathan Lawrence
Jonathan Lawrence
Jonathan Lawrence was an American merchant and politician from New York.-Life:...

John Haring
John Haring
John Haring was an American lawyer from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress....

Elkanah Day William B. Whiting July 22, 1782
Ezra L'Hommedieu
Ezra L'Hommedieu
Ezra L'Hommedieu was an American lawyer and statesman from Southold, New York. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1783 and again in 1788...

Jacobus Swartwout Alexander Webster Abraham Yates, Jr. January 21, 1784
Isaac Roosevelt
Isaac Roosevelt (politician)
Isaac Roosevelt was an American merchant and Federalist politician. He served in the New York State Assembly and the state Constitutional Convention and achieved the most political success of any Roosevelt before Theodore Roosevelt. He was the great-great-grandfather of U.S...

Joseph Gasherie Ebenezer Russell William B. Whiting October 19, 1784
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....

Jacobus Swartwout David Hopkins Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...

January 19, 1786
William Floyd
William Floyd
William Floyd was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a U.S. Representative from New York.-Biography:...

John Hathorn
John Hathorn
John Hathorn was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.-Life:...

Ebenezer Russell Peter Schuyler January 18, 1787
John Vanderbilt Anthony Hoffman David Hopkins Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...

January 18, 1788
Samuel Townsend John Hathorn
John Hathorn
John Hathorn was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.-Life:...

John Williams
John Williams (Salem)
John Williams was an American physician and politician from Salem, New York.-Early life:Williams was born in Barnstaple, England in September 1752; received a liberal education; studied medicine and surgery in St...

Peter Van Ness January 2, 1789
Philip Livingston John Cantine
John Cantine
John Cantine Born in Marbletown, New York, Cantine served in both houses of the New York Legislature. Cantine also served in the New York state convention concerning the ratification of the United States Constitution...

Edward Savage Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...

January 15, 1790
Isaac Roosevelt
Isaac Roosevelt (politician)
Isaac Roosevelt was an American merchant and Federalist politician. He served in the New York State Assembly and the state Constitutional Convention and achieved the most political success of any Roosevelt before Theodore Roosevelt. He was the great-great-grandfather of U.S...

Thomas Tillotson
Thomas Tillotson
Thomas Tillotson was an American physician and politician.-Life:He received a thorough education, studied medicine, and practiced. During the American Revolutionary War, he was commissioned First lieutenant in the Maryland Militia in 1776...

Alexander Webster Peter Schuyler January 14, 1791
Philip Van Cortlandt
Philip Van Cortlandt
Philip Van Cortlandt was an American surveyor, landowner, and politician from Westchester County, New York.During the Revolutionary War, Colonel Cortlandt commanded the 2nd New York Regiment in the Continental Army...

David Pye William Powers Stephen Van Rensselaer January 14, 1792
David Gelston
David Gelston
David Gelston was an American merchant and politician.-Life:...

Joseph Hasbrouck Robert Woodworth
Robert Woodworth (politician)
Robert Woodworth was a Captain in the American Revolution and member of the Woodworth political family.-Life:Woodworth was born in Norwich, Connecticut on June 13, 1743, the son of Daniel Woodworth and Sarah Collins...

John Frey January 14, 1793
Selah Strong Reuben Hopkins Zina Hitchcock Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...

January 7, 1794
Richard Hatfield Joseph Hasbrouck William Powers Jacobus Van Schoonhoven January 6, 1795
Joshua Sands Abraham Schenck Ebenezer Russell Michael Myers January 7, 1796
Andrew Onderdonk Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He attended Yale College from 1779 to 1782, and graduated from Harvard University in 1783...

Leonard Gansevoort
Leonard Gansevoort
Leonard Gansevoort was an American political leader from New York who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1788....

Thomas Morris
Thomas Morris (New York)
Thomas Morris was a United States Representative from New York and was a son of Robert Morris, a merchant, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and later a U.S. Senator. The younger Morris was born in Philadelphia and attended school in Geneva, Switzerland and the University of Leipzig, in...

January 9, 1797
Ezra L'Hommedieu
Ezra L'Hommedieu
Ezra L'Hommedieu was an American lawyer and statesman from Southold, New York. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1783 and again in 1788...

William Thompson Moses Vail Joseph White January 8, 1798
William Denning
William Denning
William Denning was a United States Representative from New York. Born probably in St. John's, Newfoundland in April 1740, he moved to New York City in early youth and engaged in mercantile pursuits...

Ebenezer Foote Ebenezer Clark John Frey January 4, 1799
Samuel Haight Robert Sands James Gordon
James Gordon (New York)
James Gordon was an Irish-born American merchant, soldier, and politician.He was born in Killead, County Antrim, Ireland, and left in 1758, settling in Schenectady, New York. From that base and from Detroit, Michigan, he traded with various Native American tribes...

Thomas R. Gold
Thomas R. Gold
Thomas Ruggles Gold was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Cornwall, Connecticut, he pursued classical studies and was graduated from Yale College in 1786. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Goshen, Connecticut...

January 28, 1800
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...

Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He attended Yale College from 1779 to 1782, and graduated from Harvard University in 1783...

John Sanders Robert Roseboom November 7, 1800
Benjamin Huntting James W. Wilkin
James W. Wilkin
James Whitney Wilkin was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:Wilkin served in the Revolutionary War....

Edward Savage Lemuel Chipman January 30, 1802
Ebenezer Purdy John C. Hoogeboom Jacobus Van Schoonhoven Jacob Snell February 8, 1803
John Broome
John Broome (politician)
For persons with a similar name, see John BroomeJohn Broome was an American merchant and politician who was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1804 to 1810....

Abraham Adriance Thomas Tredwell
Thomas Tredwell
Thomas Tredwell was an American lawyer and politician from Plattsburg, New York. He served in the New York State Senate and represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1791 to 1795....

Caleb Hyde February 7, 1804
John Schenck Joshua H. Brett Stephen Thorn Jedediah Peck
Jedediah Peck
Jedediah Peck was an American farmer, surveyor, Revolutionary War soldier, and New York State legislator described as a father of the common school system of the State of New York. He was a man of limited education and had no gift as a debater or speaker, but he was a skillful organizer...

January 29, 1805
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...

Robert Johnson Adam Comstock Henry Huntington January 31, 1806
Thomas Thomas James Burt Edward Savage John Nicholas January 29, 1807
Benjamin Coe Peter C. Adams John Veeder Nathan Smith January 29, 1808
Jonathan Ward
Jonathan Ward (New York)
Jonathan Ward was an American politician from New York.-Life:He received limited schooling...

James G. Graham Isaac Kellogg Alexander Rea January 27, 1809
Israel Carll Robert Williams Daniel Paris Amos Hall January 31, 1810
Benjamin Coe James W. Wilkin
James W. Wilkin
James Whitney Wilkin was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:Wilkin served in the Revolutionary War....

John McLean Philetus Swift
Philetus Swift
Philetus Swift was an American politician.-Life:...

January 30, 1811
William W. Gilbert Johannes Bruyn Henry Yates, Jr. Francis A. Bloodgood February 1, 1812
Peter W. Radcliff James W. Wilkin
James W. Wilkin
James Whitney Wilkin was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:Wilkin served in the Revolutionary War....

John Stearns Jonas Platt
Jonas Platt
Jonas Platt was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives.-Life:...

January 12, 1813
Elbert H. Jones Morgan Lewis
Morgan Lewis (governor)
Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician and military commander.Of Welsh descent, he was the son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He graduated from Princeton in 1773 and began to study law on the advice of his father...

Samuel Stewart Henry A. Townsend January 25, 1814
Jonathan Dayton Lucas Elmendorf
Lucas Conrad Elmendorf
Lucas Conrad Elmendorf was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Kingston, New York, he graduated from Princeton College in 1782, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1785 and practiced....

Ruggles Hubbard Farrand Stranahan
Farrand Stranahan
This article is about the New York State Senator; for his grandson, the Lt. Gov. of Vermont see Farrand S. StranahanFarrand Stranahan was an American lawyer and politician from New York-Life:He was the son of John Stranahan and Lucy Stranahan...

February 1, 1815
Darius Crosby
Darius Crosby
Darius Crosby was an American politician from New York.-Life:Crosby was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1811 and 1812....

William Ross
William Ross (speaker)
-Life:He was the son of Robert Ross, a Scottish tanner who settled at Rossville, a hamlet in Newburgh, New York. William Ross studied law, and practiced at Newburgh, New York. He married first Mary S. McLean , and then Caroline Middlebrook....

Perley Keyes Archibald S. Clarke
Archibald S. Clarke
Archibald Smith Clarke was a U.S. Representative from New York, brother of Staley Nichols Clarke.Born on a plantation in Prince Georges County, Maryland, Clarke attended grammar and high schools. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in Niagara County, New York. He served as...

February 5, 1816
Walter Bowne
Walter Bowne
Walter Bowne was the four term Mayor of New York from 1829 to 1833.Walter Bowne was born on Flushing, Long Island, the son of James Bowne and his wife Caroline Rodman....

John Noyes John I. Prendergast Henry Bloom February 2, 1817
Peter R. Livingston
Peter R. Livingston
Peter Robert Livingston was an American politician who served as Acting Lieutenant Governor of New York from February to October 1828.-Life:...

Jabez D. Hammond Henry Yates, Jr. Henry Seymour
Henry Seymour (Commissioner)
Henry Seymour was an American merchant, banker and politician from New York.-Life:Born in Litchfield, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Seymour was the sixth child and fifth son of Major Moses Seymour , a politician who served as an officer in the American Revolution, and his wife Molly Seymour...

January 31, 1818
Stephen Barnum William Ross
William Ross (speaker)
-Life:He was the son of Robert Ross, a Scottish tanner who settled at Rossville, a hamlet in Newburgh, New York. William Ross studied law, and practiced at Newburgh, New York. He married first Mary S. McLean , and then Caroline Middlebrook....

George Rosecrantz Stephen Bates February 3, 1819
John D. Ditmis John Lounsbery Levi Adams Ephraim Hart
Ephraim Hart (NY politician)
This page is about the New York State Senator, for the New York City merchant see Ephraim HartEphraim Hart was an American politician from New York.-Life:He was the son of Thomas Hart This page is about the New York State Senator, for the New York City merchant see Ephraim HartEphraim Hart...

January 11, 1820
Walter Bowne
Walter Bowne
Walter Bowne was the four term Mayor of New York from 1829 to 1833.Walter Bowne was born on Flushing, Long Island, the son of James Bowne and his wife Caroline Rodman....

John T. More 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...

David E. Evans
David Ellicott Evans
David Ellicott Evans , was a United States Representative from New York.Evans was born in Ellicotts Upper Mills, Maryland. He attended the common schools, moved to New York in 1803 and settled in Batavia. He was employed as a clerk and afterward as an accounting clerk with the Holland Land Company...

November 8, 1820
John Townsend 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...

Benjamin Mooers
Benjamin Mooers
General Benjamin Mooers was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was a lieutenant in the New York militia and the 2nd Canadian Regiment during the American Revolutionary War....

Perry G. Childs January 10, 1822

Sources

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