Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1821, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in eight senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.
The previous session had been dominated by the controversy about the presidential succession, and the question how to choose presidential electors. Party lines broke down when Martin Van Buren tried to have the "Bucktails" faction of the Democratic-Republican Party[1] support William H. Crawford for U.S. president. A large part of the Bucktails favored John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun as possible presidential candidates, and proposed to have the presidential electors elected by the people in districts, similar to the congressional elections. The Anti-Crawford factions became known as the "People's Party", and they joined forces with the "Clintonians" (supporters of DeWitt Clinton, opposed to the Bucktails). The rump Bucktail faction (which followed Van Buren) was called the "Regency Party" by their opponents, a reference to the Albany Regency.
On April 3, a caucus of Bucktail legislators, consisting of the Regency men and a minority of People's men, nominated Canal Commissioner Samuel Young[2] for Governor; and Lt. Gov. Erastus Root for re-election.
On September 22, a State convention "in favor of a new electoral law", consisting of about 30 People's men and about 90 Clintonians, nominated Ex-Gov. DeWitt Clinton[3] for Governor, and Assemblyman James Tallmadge, Jr. (PP) for Lieutenant Governor.
Elections
The State election was held from November 1 to 3, 1824. DeWitt Clinton and James Tallmadge Jr. were elected in a landslide.
In his message to the Legislature, Gov. Clinton recommended to enact that presidential electors be chosen by the people, by general ticket and a plurality of votes.
Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.
Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. John Crary and Samuel Wilkeson changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
The party affiliations follow the vote for a U.S. senator on February 1 which showed that there was no majority; and that Clintonians and People's men, although having combined for the election against the Bucktails, were opposed to each other.
Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.
Assemblymen
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature. Silas Bowker changed from the Senate to the Assembly.
^Originally, the Anti-Federalists called themselves "Republicans." However, at the same time, the Federalists called them "Democrats" which was meant to be pejorative. After some time both terms got more and more confused, and sometimes used together as "Democratic Republicans" which later historians have adopted (with a hyphen) to describe the party from the beginning, to avoid confusion with both the later established and still existing Democratic and Republican parties.
^Young was an old Bucktail, and supported Henry Clay in 1824.
^Clinton supported Andrew Jackson in 1824; most of the People's men supported John Quincy Adams and were hostile to Clinton.
^Nelson did not vote for a U.S. senator, but had been a People's man at the previous session.
The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 109 for Senate districts; pg. 126 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 202f for assemblymen]
