Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an entrepreneur, jurist, Congressman, Governor of New York, and the sixth Vice President of the United States.
Name
There is evidence that Daniel Tompkins's middle name was Decius.citation needed However, others believe that he added the middle initial "D" (which stood for nothing) while a student at Columbia College to distinguish himself from another Daniel Tompkins there.
Early life and career
Tompkins was born in Fox Meadows (later Scarsdale), Westchester County, New York. 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 1803, and was elected to the United States Congress, but resigned before the beginning of the term to accept an appointment as associate justice of the Supreme Court of New York, in which capacity he served from 1804 to 1807.
Governor
On April 30, 1807, he defeated the incumbent Governor Morgan Lewis -- Tompkins received 35,074 votes, Morgan 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.
Vice President
Tompkins was elected Vice President on the ticket with James Monroe 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, and it took a toll on his health. Tompkins fell 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 St. Mark's Churchyard, 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 last Vice-President to be elected to 2 terms with the same President until Thomas Reilly Marshall was elected Vice-President, first in 1912 with Woodrow Wilson and again in 1916.
Legacy
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 [expedia maps]. Daniel D. Tompkins gained a slight notoriety in 20th-century cinema, when he was mentioned by Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street during his psychological evaluation. (However, the screenplay erred: Kringle mentions that Tompkins served as vice-president under John Quincy Adams when Adams's vice president was actually John C. Calhoun. The error is most likely due to confusion arising from the fact that Tompkins was the sixth vice president and Quincy Adams was the sixth president. However, the two did not serve office concurrently because previous presidents had multiple vice presidents).
Tompkinsville, Kentucky, is named for Daniel D. Tompkins. It is the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky, which is named for the president under whom Tompkins served as vice president.
His brother Caleb Tompkins (1759-1846) was a United States Representative from New York from 1817 to 1821.
Daniel 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.
Sources
- [1] New York history, with election results 1807 and 1810
- [2] New York history, with election results 1813 and 1816
- [3] Political Graveyard
- [4] Congress Bio
External links
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