Daniel D. Tompkins

Background

Daniel Tompkins was born on June 21, 1774, in Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York, to Jonathan Griffin Tompkins, and his wife, Sarah Anny Hyatt. He was one of the eleven children of his parents, both of whom worked as tenant farmers.

Education

Tompkins was baptized Daniel Tompkins, but added the middle initial "D. " while a student at Columbia College to distinguish himself from another Daniel Tompkins who was a student there. There is controversy as to what the middle initial stood for; some have suggested "Decius. " The generally accepted conclusion is that it did not stand for anything, and served only to distinguish him from the other Daniel Tompkins.

Daniel Tompkins graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1795, and then studied law with James Kent and Peter Jay Munro.

Career

He was admitted to the bar in 1797, practicing in New York, and later served as a bankruptcy commissioner.

In 1801, he was appointed a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention. In 1803, he became a member of the New York State Assembly.

In 1804, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He never took his seat and instead resigned to become an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court; he served in this capacity from 1804 to 1807.

In 1807, he won the governorship of New York against the incumbent Governor Morgan Lewis, and became the Fourth Governor of the city. He was re-elected several times in the later years; 1810, 1813 and 1816.

An opponent of banking interests, Tompkins took the unique step of proroguing the state legislature in 1812, in order to prevent the chartering of a banking institution in New York.

Between 1807 and 1817, as the Governor of New York, he encouraged school improvements and emphasized on a more liberal penal code, including a reduction in the number of crimes eligible for capital punishment.

In 1814, Tompkins declined an offer to become the United States Secretary of State by President James Madison and instead chose to become the commander of the federal military district that included New York. Same year, he was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.

In 1816, he was elected as Vice President on the ticket with the President James Monroe. He assumed the office of the Vice President on March 4, 1817 and became the sixth Vice President of the United States.

In 1820, Tompkin ran for the Governor of New York while serving as the Vice President. He lost the election to the incumbent DeWitt Clinton.

Subsequently, Tompkins was re-nominated for vice presidency and won a second term. But, he often remained absent from his office during the last three years of his office due to financial privation.

During the War of 1812, as Governor of New York, he played a key role in preparation and mobilization of the New York militia. For this purpose, he borrowed money on his personal security when the New York state legislature denied the necessary funds.

After the war, neither the state nor the Federal government compensated him so he could repay his loans. For over a decade, Tompkins was involved in legal dispute with the authorities which kept him from his duties during much of his second term as Vice President.

He died in Tompkinsville on June 11, 1825, 99 days after leaving office, and was interred in the Minthorne vault in the west yard of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York City, as was his wife.

Achievements

• Daniel D. Tompkins was an American statesman who served as the sixth Vice President of the United States, from 1817 to 1825. During the War of 1812, Tompkins proved to be one of the most active war governors. He was largely responsible in reorganizing the state militia and promoted the development of a standing state military force based on select conscription. Tompkins also played a significant role for the passage of legislation prohibiting slavery in the state, and advocated the creation of a firm final date for the abolition of slavery in the United States. His post-vice presidency lifespan is the shortest of any vice president, and he also lived the shortest life of any Vice President. He was the youngest person to become Vice President until John C. Breckinridge, and the only 19th century vice president to serve two full terms under the same president. Tompkinsville, a neighborhood on Staten Island, is named for Tompkins. There is also a Masonic lodge in the town named for him. Four forts in New York State in the War of 1812 were named for Governor Tompkins, in Staten Island, Sackets Harbor, Buffalo, and Plattsburgh. Tompkins County in New York, 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 Park in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, NY (now called Von King Park) was named after Daniel D. Tompkins. Also the nearby Tompkins Avenue and Tompkins Public Houses are named after the same. 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.

Works

More photos

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  • List of letters received by the late Gov. Tompkins, between the years 1807 and 1817

    ( About the Book Collections of Essays are anthologies th...)

  • A Letter to Archibald M'intyre, Esq., Comptroller of the State of New-York (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from A Letter to Archibald M'intyre, Esq., Comptr...)

  • Public Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of New York, 1807-1817, Vol. 1: Military (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Public Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, Governo...)

Religion

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.

Politics

After establishing his legal career in New York, Tompkins entered into politics and became a delegate to the New York Constitutional Convention. Later, he served as a member of the New York Assembly and was then elected to U. S. House of Representatives but he resigned his seat, serving instead on the New York Supreme Court bench. Afterwards, he won the election to the New York governorship, becoming the city’s Fourth Governor. During his term as governor, educational and penal reform measures were encouraged, the War of 1812 was recognized, and the militia system was restructured. In 1817, he was elected to the vice presidency of the United States in the government of James Monroe, a position Tompkins held until 1825. As Vice President, he took some notable steps towards the abolition of slavery in the state during his administration. Although, he was re-elected as the Vice President, a decade of financial hardship coupled with charges of mishandling state and federal funds during the War of 1812 broke him towards the end of his career and he frequently remained absent from his office.

Membership

Tompkins was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York in 1820 and 1821.

Tompkins was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.

Personality

Gradually, the financial problems took a toll on his health and he became an alcoholic.

Connections

On February 20, 1798, Daniel Tompkins married 16-year-old Hannah Minthorne, the daughter of Mangle Minthorne, an Assistant Alderman of New York City. The couple had eight children, including Arietta Minthorn Tompkins (born July 31, 1800), who married a son of Smith Thompson in 1818, and (Mangle) Minthorne Tompkins (December 26, 1807 – June 5, 1881), who was the Free Soil Party candidate for Governor of New York in 1852. Their children Hannah and Minthorne were named after their mother, and Hannah and Minthorne streets in Staten Island are named for them. Hannah was ill in the year before her husband became vice president, and did not attend his inauguration. She survived him by nearly four years in Tompkinsville, Staten Island.

Father:

Jonathan Griffin Tompkins

(1736–1823)

Spouse:

Hannah Minthorne Tompkins

(August 28, 1781 – February 18, 1829) She was the wife of Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of New York, and Vice President of the United States during the administration of James Monroe.

child:

Minthorne Tompkins

(1804–1881)

child:

Arietta Minthorne Tompkins Thompson

(1800–1837)

child:

Mangle Minthorne Tompkins

(1807–1881)

child:

Anna Ellsworth Tompkins Westervelt

(1803–1890)

Brother:

Enoch Tompkins

1771–1843

Brother:

Elijah Tompkins

(1765–1815)

Brother :

Caleb Tompkins

(1759–1846)

mother :

Sarah Ann Hyatt Tompkins

(1741–1810)

References

• Green Coats and Glory: The United States Regiment of Riflemen, 1808-1821
• Governors of New York from 1777 to 1920
• Somewhat More Independent: The End of Slavery in New York City, 1770-1810
• Manual of Westchester county. Past and present. Civil list to date. 1898
• The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 3 volumes: A Political, Social, and Military History