Aaron Clark (October 16, 1787 – August 2, 1861) was an

American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...

who became the second popularly elected Mayor of

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, serving two one-year terms from 1837 to 1839. He was a member of the Whig Party.

Early life

Clark was born in

Worthington, Massachusetts Worthington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,193 at the 2020 census, up from 1,156 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Worthington is ...

. He grew up in

Pawlet, Vermont Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census. History Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was g ...

, attended

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, and fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

Political career

After the war, Clark moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, and was Clerk of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from 1814 to 1820. Afterwards he removed to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he worked in

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing, ran a

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

, and became involved in local politics. He served as

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

, a powerful position in the charged political climate of the city. He was elected mayor in 1837 and 1838 for one year terms, and was defeated in 1839.

Election of 1837

The main event of that year was the financial

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

, in which the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

collapsed following several years of boom. New York real estate values plummeted. Many were unemployed, some were homeless. There was widespread dissatisfaction among the working and middle class residents during what were called the "hard times". To relieve the plight of the people, Alderman Clark focused on reviving the economy. Following his party's program of

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, can ...

, he proposed that shipping piers be built at public expense around the waterfront so as to stimulate trade and create jobs. An incautious statement that his proposal would "raise the price of every lot 5 x 100 feet west of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

$5,000 at a jump." fit in with the perception by many Democrats that the Whigs were the "party of the rich", and the Democrats pushed instead for "poor relief" (direct handouts). 1837 also saw the rise of the "Equal Rights Party", which came to be known as the

Locofocos The Locofocos (also Loco Focos or Loco-focos) were a faction of the Democratic Party in American politics that existed from 1835 until the mid-1840s. History The faction, originally named the Equal Rights Party, was created in New York City as ...

. The Locofocos split from the Democrats in 1835, and opposed both internal improvements and poor relief. They stood instead for

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

, against

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

, and against the consolidation of money and power. In 1837 the Locofocos fielded Moses Jacques,

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

Democrats nominated

John J. Morgan John Jordan Morgan (1770 – July 29, 1849) was an American politician from New York (state), New York. From 1821 to 1825, and again briefly from late 1834 to early 1835, he served in the United States House of Representatives , U.S. House ...

, and Clark was the Whig candidate. The fledgling faction was popular enough to split the Democratic vote, propelling the Whigs to victory in both the mayoral and city council races. The vote tallies were 16,140 for Clark, 12,974 for Morgan, and 3,911 for Jacques. The election led to much soul-searching in Tammany Hall, and forced the main Democratic faction to take the Locofocos' concerns seriously.

Election of 1838

After Clark's first term, the privations of the hard times combined with the perception that the policies of the Whig administration favored the rich made Clark profoundly unpopular among a part of the poorer majority. In 1838, the newly reconciled Democrats fielded Tammany Hall leader

Isaac Varian Isaac Leggett Varian (June 25, 1793 – August 10, 1864) was a New York state legislator and the 63rd Mayor of New York City. Political career Varian was a prominent Democrat and led Tammany Hall from 1835 until 1842. He was a member of t ...

. Nevertheless, they were not successful in unseating Clark: Varian received 19,411 votes to Clark's 19,930, a difference of only 1.3%. It may be (and was widely believed at the time) that the Whigs resorted to massive

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

in securing the election. In 1838 there was no

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise Suffrage, eligible to Voting, vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted ...

law, and the elections were administered by Whig-appointed officials. Allegations included violent intimidation, multiple voting in different

precincts Precinct may refer to: * An electoral precinct * A police precinct * A religious precinct * A arcade (architecture)#shopping arcades, shopping arcade or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public ...

, importation of "voters" from other jurisdictions, and other improprieties.

Election of 1839

1839 saw a Varian-Clark rematch, with massive electoral fraud being perpetrated this time by both parties. Varian won with 21,072 votes to Clark's 20,005. Following the election, a widespread outcry resulted in the passage of a voter registration bill during Varian's first term. The bill regularized electoral procedure in the city and served to decrease the incidence of fraud in future elections.

Later life

As mayor, Clark lived on Broadway near Leonard Street, a few short blocks north of the

New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...

. There he attempted to gain the favor of society by giving frequent balls, which earned him the nickname "Dancing Mayor". After ending his political career, Clark returned to business and became a patron of

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

, which still awards an annual prized for oratory named in his honor. Clark endowed the prize with a gift in 1859, shortly before his death.The Clark Prize homepage at Hamilton College
/ref>

Personal

Clark married Catherine Maria Lamb in 1815. With her he had six children, five of whom lived past childhood. Catherine died in 1832, and Clark never remarried. He died in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on August 2, 1861.Obituary,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, August 4, 1861, at 8 Both he and his wife are buried in the Clark family

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

at the

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Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

References

Sources

*Gustavus Myers,, Ch. XII, XIV, New York City (1901), '' passim''.
Biography from New York Marble Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Aaron 1787 births 1861 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in New York (state) People from Worthington, Massachusetts New York (state) Whigs Clerks of the New York State Assembly Mayors of New York City Politicians from Albany, New York Burials at New York Marble Cemetery People from Massachusetts in the War of 1812