Daniel D. Tompkins
Encyclopedia
Daniel D. Tompkins was an entrepreneur, jurist, Congressman
, the fourth Governor of New York (1807–1817), and the sixth Vice President of the United States
(1817–1825).
, Westchester County
, New York
at his home, the estate of Fox Meadow. He graduated from Columbia College
in New York City in 1795. Tompkins studied law and in 1797 was admitted to the bar
, practicing in New York City. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1801, a member of the New York State Assembly
in 1804, and was elected to the 9th United States Congress
, but resigned before the beginning of the term to accept, at age 30, an appointment as associate justice of the New York Supreme Court
, in which capacity he served from 1804 to 1807. His brother, Caleb Tompkins
(1759–1846), was a United States Representative from New York from 1817 to 1821.
Tompkins received 35,074 votes, Lewis 30,989 and remained in office as Governor of New York
until 1817. He was reelected in 1810, defeating Jonas Platt
Tompkins 43,094 votes, Jonas Platt 36,484. In 1813 he defeated Stephen Van Rensselaer Tompkins 43,324 votes, Van Rensselaer 39,718 and in 1816, he beat Rufus King
Tompkins 45,412 votes, King 38,647. He declined an appointment as United States Secretary of State
by President James Madison
.
During the War of 1812
, Tompkins proved to be one of the most effective war governors. He played an important role in reorganizing the state militia and promoted the formation of a standing state military force based on select conscription
.
In 1815 Tompkins established a settlement along the eastern shore of Staten Island that came to be called Tompkinsville
. He built a dock along the waterfront in the neighborhood in 1817 and began offering daily steam ferry
service between Staten Island and Manhattan
.
in 1816, and was reelected in 1820, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 4, 1825. Attempting to unseat the incumbent DeWitt Clinton
, he ran in April 1820, as a sitting vice president, for Governor of New York and lost Clinton received 47,447 votes, Tompkins 45,900. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1821, serving as its president.
While as governor of New York, Tompkins personally borrowed money and used his own property as collateral when the New York state legislature would not approve the necessary funds for the War of 1812
. After the war, neither the state nor the federal government reimbursed him so he could repay his loans. Years of litigation did not end until 1824, at which point the State of New York
and the federal government owed Tompkins $90,000, a significant sum in those days. His financial problems took a toll on his health, with Tompkins falling into alcoholism
, and as vice president he at times presided over the Senate while drunk. He died in Tompkinsville three months after retiring as Vice President and was interred in the Minthorne vault in the west yard of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York City. Tompkins had the shortest post-vice presidency of any person who survived the office: 99 days (March 4, 1825–June 11, 1825).
Tompkins would be the last Vice-President to be elected to two terms with the same President until Thomas R. Marshall
was elected Vice-President, first in 1912 with Woodrow Wilson
and again in 1916. Tompkins' immediate successor, John C. Calhoun served two consecutive terms but under different presidents (John Quincy Adams in 1824 and Andrew Jackson in 1828), and resigned the office before completing his second term.
, a neighborhood on Staten Island
, is named for Tompkins. There is also a Masonic lodge
in the town named for him. Tompkins is credited with being one of the founding members of the Brighton Heights Reformed Church on Staten Island. The church was founded in 1823, during his term as vice president. Its first meeting place was in what was known as Quarantine, a predecessor of the facility on Ellis Island
.
Tompkins County
, Tompkins Square Park
in Manhattan, Public School 69 Daniel D. Tompkins School in Staten Island, and the Town of Tompkins
are named after him, as is Tompkins Road, running between Post Road (NY-22)
and Fenimore Road in Scarsdale, New York
. Tompkinsville, Kentucky
, is named for Tompkins. It is the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky
, which is named for the president under whom Tompkins served as vice president.
Tompkins was Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge of New York
in 1820 and 1821. The Daniel D Tompkins Memorial Chapel at the Masonic Home in Utica, New York was built in his honor in 1911. The Grand Lodge of New York
celebrated the Centennial of the chapel on June 25, 2011.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, the fourth Governor of New York (1807–1817), and the sixth Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
(1817–1825).
Name
Tompkins was baptized Daniel Tompkins, but added the middle initial "D." while a student at Columbia College to distinguish himself from another Daniel Tompkins there. There is controversy as to what the middle initial stood for; some have suggested "Decius".Early life, family, and career
Tompkins was born in ScarsdaleScarsdale, New York
Scarsdale is a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the northern suburbs of New York City. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several villages...
, Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, 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...
at his home, the estate of Fox Meadow. He graduated from Columbia College
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City in 1795. Tompkins studied law and in 1797 was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
, practicing in New York City. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1801, a member of 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...
in 1804, and was elected to the 9th United States Congress
9th United States Congress
- Senate :* President: George Clinton * President pro tempore: Samuel Smith - House of Representatives :* Speaker: Nathaniel Macon -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
, but resigned before the beginning of the term to accept, at age 30, an appointment as associate justice 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...
, in which capacity he served from 1804 to 1807. His brother, Caleb Tompkins
Caleb Tompkins
Caleb Tompkins was a U.S. Representative from New York, brother of Daniel D. Tompkins.Born near Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins served as member of the New York State Assembly 1804-1806...
(1759–1846), was a United States Representative from New York from 1817 to 1821.
Governor
On April 30, 1807, he defeated the incumbent Governor Morgan LewisMorgan 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...
Tompkins received 35,074 votes, Lewis 30,989 and remained in office as 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...
until 1817. He was reelected in 1810, defeating 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:...
Tompkins 43,094 votes, Jonas Platt 36,484. In 1813 he defeated Stephen Van Rensselaer Tompkins 43,324 votes, Van Rensselaer 39,718 and in 1816, he beat Rufus King
Rufus King
Rufus King was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress. He also attended the Constitutional Convention and was one of the signers of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
Tompkins 45,412 votes, King 38,647. He declined an appointment as United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
by President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
.
During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Tompkins proved to be one of the most effective war governors. He played an important role in reorganizing the state militia and promoted the formation of a standing state military force based on select conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
.
In 1815 Tompkins established a settlement along the eastern shore of Staten Island that came to be called Tompkinsville
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. Though the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay — between St...
. He built a dock along the waterfront in the neighborhood in 1817 and began offering daily steam ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service between Staten Island and Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Vice President
Tompkins was elected Vice President on the ticket with James MonroeJames Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
in 1816, and was reelected in 1820, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 4, 1825. Attempting to unseat the incumbent 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...
, he ran in April 1820, as a sitting vice president, for Governor of New York and lost Clinton received 47,447 votes, Tompkins 45,900. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1821, serving as its president.
While as governor of New York, Tompkins personally borrowed money and used his own property as collateral when the New York state legislature would not approve the necessary funds for the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. After the war, neither the state nor the federal government reimbursed him so he could repay his loans. Years of litigation did not end until 1824, at which point 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...
and the federal government owed Tompkins $90,000, a significant sum in those days. His financial problems took a toll on his health, with Tompkins falling into alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and as vice president he at times presided over the Senate while drunk. He died in Tompkinsville three months after retiring as Vice President and was interred in the Minthorne vault in the west yard of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York City. Tompkins had the shortest post-vice presidency of any person who survived the office: 99 days (March 4, 1825–June 11, 1825).
Tompkins would be the last Vice-President to be elected to two terms with the same President until Thomas R. Marshall
Thomas R. Marshall
Thomas Riley Marshall was an American Democratic politician who served as the 28th Vice President of the United States under Woodrow Wilson...
was elected Vice-President, first in 1912 with Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and again in 1916. Tompkins' immediate successor, John C. Calhoun served two consecutive terms but under different presidents (John Quincy Adams in 1824 and Andrew Jackson in 1828), and resigned the office before completing his second term.
Legacy
TompkinsvilleTompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. Though the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay — between St...
, a neighborhood on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, is named for Tompkins. There is also a Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
in the town named for him. Tompkins is credited with being one of the founding members of the Brighton Heights Reformed Church on Staten Island. The church was founded in 1823, during his term as vice president. Its first meeting place was in what was known as Quarantine, a predecessor of the facility on Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
.
Tompkins County
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...
, Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park is a 10.5 acre public park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is square in shape, and is bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the...
in Manhattan, Public School 69 Daniel D. Tompkins School in Staten Island, and the Town of Tompkins
Tompkins, New York
Tompkins is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Daniel D Tompkins, a New York political leader.The Town of Tompkins is in the western part of the county...
are named after him, as is Tompkins Road, running between Post Road (NY-22)
New York State Route 22
New York State Route 22 is a north–south state highway in eastern New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the state's eastern edge from the outskirts of New York City to a short distance south of the Canadian border. At , it is the state's longest north–south route and...
and Fenimore Road in Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale is a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the northern suburbs of New York City. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several villages...
. Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Tompkinsville is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,660 at the 2000 census. The city was named after Vice President Daniel D...
, is named for Tompkins. It is the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky
Monroe County, Kentucky
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 11,756. Its county seat is Tompkinsville. The county is named for President James Monroe. It is a prohibition or dry county.-History:...
, which is named for the president under whom Tompkins served as vice president.
Tompkins was Grand Master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
of the Grand Lodge of New York
Grand Lodge of New York
The Grand Lodge of New York is one of 29 independent organizations of Freemasons in the U.S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand lodge in the world in terms of membership....
in 1820 and 1821. The Daniel D Tompkins Memorial Chapel at the Masonic Home in Utica, New York was built in his honor in 1911. The Grand Lodge of New York
Grand Lodge of New York
The Grand Lodge of New York is one of 29 independent organizations of Freemasons in the U.S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand lodge in the world in terms of membership....
celebrated the Centennial of the chapel on June 25, 2011.