I | INTRODUCTION |
New
York, a state in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States. It is
bordered by the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec on the north and by
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie on the northwest and west. Pennsylvania lies west and
south of New York, and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean lie to the south. On
the east the state is bordered by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
Albany is the capital of New York. New York, commonly known as New York City, is
the largest city.
New York has long been a leader in the
political, cultural, and economic life of the United States. It has been called
the Empire State since before 1800, a reference to its wealth and variety
of resources and probably derived from a comment, attributed to George
Washington, that predicted that New York would become the seat of the new
empire. Although California surpassed it in population in 1963 and in
manufacturing in 1972, choices made in New York influence much of the country’s
commerce, finance, and the creative arts. Although New York City is the largest
city in the country, much of New York is still rural.
New York is also rich in history, extending
to when Native Americans first occupied its shores and river valleys. The state
was named in the 1660s for the duke of York, later James II of England, though
many place names are from the time when the region was a Dutch colony known as
New Netherland. New York entered the Union on July 26, 1788, as the 11th of the
original 13 states. The Erie Canal, now incorporated into the New York State
Canal System, set the pattern of commerce early in U.S. history. The Statue of
Liberty, in New York Harbor, was the first vision of America seen by millions of
immigrants arriving at New York City. The United Nations, whose headquarters are
located on Manhattan Island, works toward a future more peaceful than the
past.
II | PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY |
New York has an area of 141,299 sq km
(54,556 sq mi), including 4,908 sq km (1,895 sq mi) of inland water, 2,541 sq km
(981 sq mi) of coastal water, and 10,329 sq km (3,988 sq mi) of that portion of
the Great Lakes over which it has jurisdiction. Among the states it ranks 27th
in size. The greatest distance within the state, exclusive of the islands, is
480 km (300 mi) from north to south, while from east to west it measures 510 km
(315 mi). The average elevation is 300 m (1,000 ft). The principal islands
belonging to the state are Manhattan Island, which forms the core of New York
City; Staten Island, also a borough of New York City; and Long Island, which
extends 190 km (118 mi) east from the southern tip of the state. On its western
end, Long Island contains two more boroughs of New York City, Brooklyn and
Queens.
A | Natural Regions |
New York’s roughly triangular area
encloses eight different natural regions, or physiographic provinces, of the
United States. These provinces are: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a subdivision of
the Coastal Plain; the New England Upland province, the Piedmont Plateau, the
Ridge and Valley province, the Appalachian Plateaus, the Adirondack province,
and the St. Lawrence Valley province, all subdivisions of the Appalachian
Region; and the Central Lowland, a sub-division of the Interior Plains.
The Coastal Plain of New York is part of
a long, low coastal band that stretches from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Mexico.
In New York state it is seen chiefly in Long Island and Staten Island. These
islands belong to the embayed section of the plain that is indented with many
bays and estuaries because of the partial submergence of the land. Both islands
were built up by a glacier, which, as it melted and retreated, left deposits
called moraine. Long Island received two separate deposits of moraine, running
almost its entire length. Over most of Long Island the two deposits are
virtually indistinguishable from each other. The eastern tip of Long Island,
however, resembles a fishtail on the map, because at this point the two moraines
are separated by water. Parts of the island are almost pure sand, supporting
only scrub pines and oaks.
The New England Upland province is
composed of moderately rough, rolling land with smoothly rounded hilltops. The
bedrock is very old metamorphic rock, although some valleys are underlain with
limestone. New York City is the point where the New England province meets the
Atlantic Coastal Plain. Manhattan belongs to the Seaboard Lowland section of the
New England province, and the strength of the bedrock there has permitted the
construction of the city’s numerous skyscrapers. A prong of the Seaboard Lowland
crosses the Hudson River, forming the Hudson Highlands near West Point. A
well-known feature of this highland area is Storm King, a peak 413 m (1,355 ft)
above sea level. The Taconic section of the New England province, being mainly a
mountainous section, is higher than the Seaboard Lowland. The Taconic section is
seen in Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as in New York state, where it is
represented by a thin strip of highlands to the east of the Hudson River called
the Taconic Range.
Only the northern tip of the Piedmont
Plateau, called the northern Piedmont lowland, extends into New York State,
mainly in Rockland County. Although basically a lowland area, one of the
distinctive features there is the Palisades, the rocky cliffs that rise abruptly
from the Hudson’s western shore. They were formed by molten basalt lava that was
pushed up through the earth’s crust to form a tall rocky wall extending for some
distance along the New Jersey-New York shore.
The Ridge and Valley province, which is
more extensive in Pennsylvania and the Southern states, is confined to a
relatively narrow valley in New York. This area, the northern part of which is
called the Hudson Valley section, forms the Hudson River corridor. The valley is
underlain by soft limestone, but much of the surface materials are sands, clays,
and loams deposited as a result of glacial action. The general appearance of the
valley is rural, and only in the southern part of this region is there any
evidence of the folded mountainous terrain that is so characteristic of the
Ridge and Valley province elsewhere.
The Appalachian Plateaus is a large
natural region lying west of the Hudson lowlands and south of the Mohawk River
valley and the Lake Ontario-Lake Erie plains. The plateau is underlain with
nearly horizontal rock strata, and all of it was covered by a glacier as
recently as 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Ice and the force of rivers have
dissected or cut into the bedrock, giving the whole region a rugged, hilly
aspect. The plateau is highest in the eastern part of the state, where it forms
the Catskill Mountains. The northeastern side of the Catskills near Albany is
marked by a series of steep limestone escarpments called The Helderbergs. The
average elevation of the hills in the Catskill region is 900 m (3,000 ft), but
westward elevations are generally lower. Slide Mountain, in the Catskills,
reaches an elevation of 1,281 m (4,204 ft). The local relief in both the
Catskills and the western portion of the plateau amounts to 150 m (500 ft) or
more from the hilltops to the bottom of rivers that have cut wide valleys.
The section of the Appalachian Plateaus
south of the Ontario Lake Plain and west of the Catskills is sometimes called
the glaciated Allegheny Plateau. This area has elevations of from 370 to 610 m
(1,200 to 2,000 ft), although the land is much lower around the Finger Lakes, in
the north of the section. Glaciers carved these long narrow lakes from the soft
limestones and shales that prevail in the area. The Finger Lakes are edged by
steep valley walls over which tributary streams have created some spectacular
waterfalls. Near the southern end of Cayuga Lake is the highest continuous
waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains, Taughannock Falls, which, at 66 m (215
ft), is even higher than Niagara Falls.
Another distinct region of the
Appalachian Plateaus is the Mohawk section, encompassing the Mohawk River
valley. It separates the rest of the Appalachian Plateaus from the Adirondack
Mountains to the north. The Mohawk River valley extends eastward from Rome to
the Hudson River valley, permitting easy passage between the Hudson River and
Lake Ontario. The Black River valley, north of Utica, forms a northwestern
continuation of the Mohawk section. Both valleys are important dairy regions
developed on excellent lands for pasture and growing hay.
The Adirondack province consists of a
large highland area occupying 26,000 sq km (10,000 sq mi) in the northeastern
quarter of the state. The region is domelike in shape, with the higher
elevations toward the east. The western Adirondack province is more a rugged
hill region and not truly mountainous. Geologically, this area is related to the
Laurentian Upland, or Canadian Shield, which lies north of the St. Lawrence
River, for it is composed of the same very old igneous rocks, principally
granite and anorthosite in the high peaks section. The Adirondacks contain many
of the higher peaks of the eastern United States, including Mount Marcy, at
1,629 m (5,344 ft), the highest point in the state. This region is heavily
forested, and its geologic structure has created wild and rugged scenery, with
many waterfalls and spectacular vistas.
The Adirondack Mountains descend to the
St. Lawrence River valley on the north and are bordered on the east by the
lowlands around Lake Champlain. The two lowlands are connected by the Valley of
the Richelieu River. This area is known as the St. Lawrence Valley province. The
St. Lawrence River outlines the northwestern boundary of the state where it
passes across the granitic rock of the Laurentian Upland. The Frontenac axis,
the same geologic rock structure that connects the Canadian Shield and the
Adirondacks, is seen as the Thousand Islands, which lie in the St. Lawrence
River where it leaves Lake Ontario.
South of Lake Ontario and east of Lake
Erie is a single connected plain extending inland for about 8 km (about 5 mi) to
more than 60 km (40 mi). It is called the Eastern Lake section of the Central
Lowland. Along most of the Lake Erie shore the plain is narrow, but it widens as
it approaches Buffalo. An interesting feature is the large number of drumlins
between Syracuse and Rochester. Drumlins are elongated hills or ridges composed
of glacial debris. This drumlin formation is one of the best known in the United
States. For the visitor, however, Niagara Falls is the region’s most distinctive
feature.
B | Rivers and Lakes |
The largest rivers in the state of New
York are the St. Lawrence, Hudson, Mohawk, Genesee, Susquehanna, Allegheny, and
Delaware rivers. The Hudson River, New York’s largest river, rises in Lake Tear
of the Clouds, in the southeastern Adirondacks. North of Troy the Hudson is a
relatively narrow river, but from Troy south to New York City it widens. The
Hudson River, with its major tributary, the Mohawk River, has played a
significant role in the development of the state and the nation. The rivers
provided an important lowland route through the Appalachians.
The western Catskill Mountains are
drained by the Delaware River, which cuts through the southern portion of the
mountains and separates them from the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The
Susquehanna River rises in Otsego Lake northeast of Binghamton and enters the
Atlantic through the Chesapeake Bay. The Genesee River flows almost due north,
rising near the southern boundary of New York state and emptying into Lake
Ontario. There are falls along its course, and those near Rochester have been
harnessed to provide power for the city. The Allegheny River, flowing southward
to Pittsburgh, makes only a small loop into western New York from Pennsylvania.
The shortest but perhaps one of the most famous rivers in the state of New York
is the Niagara River. Measuring 56 km (35 mi), it crosses an escarpment, forming
the Niagara Falls. These falls constitute not only a valuable scenic and tourist
attraction but are a great source of hydroelectric power. The St. Lawrence
River, which rises in Lake Ontario, forms New York state’s boundary with eastern
Ontario. In this stretch lie the Thousand Islands and, farther east, the
International Rapids section. The St. Lawrence is a vital transportation artery
and a major source of hydroelectric power.
New York’s natural lakes number in the
thousands. Two of the Great Lakes—Lake Erie and Lake Ontario—lie along the
state’s western border. The largest lake lying wholly within the state is Oneida
Lake, covering 210 sq km (80 sq mi) and located northeast of Syracuse. Lake
Champlain, a much larger and deeper lake, forms part of the boundary between New
York and Vermont. Just south of Lake Champlain is Lake George. Lake Placid,
Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, and many others on the northern rim of the
Adirondacks are popular resorts. Along the northern edge of the Appalachian
Plateaus are the well-known Finger Lakes, the largest of which are Cayuga Lake
and Seneca Lake. Also of glacial origin in the western portion of the state is
Chautauqua Lake, well known as the birthplace of the Chautauqua Institution,
where summer lectures and concerts are held. Among the largest reservoirs in New
York are Great Sacandaga Lake and Allegheny, Ashokan, Pepacton, and Cannonsville
reservoirs.
Nineteen reservoirs, principally in the
Catskill Mountains, provide pure, untreated water to New York City and its 8
million people. As New York City’s only source of fresh water, protection of
these reservoirs from agricultural, industrial, and residential pollution is
extremely important to the city’s government. Because of land use controls
imposed by the city, the reservoir system is also an important political issue
for residents of the Catskill region. Although most of the upstate reservoirs
are used for urban water supplies, some serve flood control duties.
C | Climate |
The climate of New York is generally
humid. Variations in terrain, elevation, and exposure to bodies of water cause
variations in climate. The coastal area has higher temperatures, less frost,
less cloudiness, and fewer storms. Upstate lowlands are subject to considerable
extremes in temperature, especially during winter when cold air from Canada and
the interior invade the state. In summer, warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico
and southeastern United States may bring rains, although cloudless skies
generally prevail. Average January temperatures range from -9°C (16°F) in the
Adirondacks to 1°C (33°F) in New York City. The July average is 19°C (66°F) in
the Adirondacks and 25°C (77°F) in New York City.
The Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, and
the Atlantic Ocean are important modifiers of temperature. Whereas the
Adirondacks have an average growing season, or period without killing frosts, of
only 100 days a year, the Finger Lakes area, the Great Lakes shores, and the
Hudson Valley have a much greater number of frost-free days. New York City and
most of Long Island have a growing season of more than 200 days.
Most of the state normally has 1,000 mm
(40 in) of rain annually. Precipitation is quite evenly distributed throughout
the year, with sufficient amounts of rain during the growing season to support
agriculture. There are, however, occasional dry periods. The wettest areas are
the southern slopes of the Adirondacks and the Black River valley, where the
normal average precipitation exceeds 1,320 mm (52 in) per year. The driest areas
are found in northern and western areas, along Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence
River, and Lake Ontario. The plains of the Eastern Lake section from Buffalo
east to the Adirondacks frequently are subjected to blizzard-like storms, and a
single storm may pile up more than 1 m (3 ft) of snow. The Tug Hill upland south
of Watertown and directly east of Lake Ontario receives the largest annual
snowfall. More than 8,900 mm (350 in) of snowfall has been recorded there in a
single winter.
D | Soils |
The soils in the state fall generally into
the groups classified as spodosols. They are acid in reaction and generally
light in both color and texture. They are not superior agricultural soils, but
because of the proximity of New York’s agricultural areas to its heavily
populated consuming centers, many of the better soils are intensively
cultivated. The soils over much of the Appalachian Plateaus are gray-brown
soils, which are frequently very thin. However, the valleys of the plateau have
developed more fertile soils, both on glacial till and on the alluvium washed
down from the higher region. The soils of the Adirondacks are generally called
orthents, which are very thin stony soils that have developed on the glacial
debris of the area. These soils are little used for agriculture. The soils on
the plains of the Eastern Lake section have developed on the deposits laid down
in glacial lakes. These soils are heavier and of better quality than the other
soils of the state.
E | Plant Life |
Almost all of New York was once forested.
Forests now cover 61 percent of the state’s land area, most of which is
second-growth timber. Some small stands of virgin forest lands are found in the
Catskills and the Adirondacks. The forests of the state are a rich mixture of
deciduous and coniferous species, the more common trees being white pine,
spruce, and hemlock, among the softwoods, and maple, beech, yellow birch,
hickory, and several species of oak, among the hardwoods.
About 1,900 species of plants are native
to New York. Many species of flowering plants can be found on the dry forest
floors, including Dutchman’s breeches, gentians, violets, bellflowers,
bellworts, Soloman’s-seal, hapaticas, trillium, and trout lily (yellow adder’s
tongue). Common native field flowers are the goldenrod, Michaelmas, daisy,
thistle, aster and Joe-Pye-weed. In wetter areas, cattails, mayapples,
Jack-in-the-pulpit, impatiens, and marsh marigolds (cowslips) are common.
Numerous native species of ferns and grass-like sedges are also found.
F | Animal Life |
Almost all the mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians, and fish that are common in the northeastern United States are found
in New York. Native mammals include skunk, raccoon, striped gray squirrel, red
and gray fox, Virginia opossum, eastern chipmunk, eastern cottontail, varieties
of hare, woodchuck, three species of weasel, mink, and American (or pine)
marten.
Eastern coyote, bobcat, river otter,
beaver, muskrat, and porcupine are found in many parts of the state, while small
rodents, such as mice and voles, and insectivores, such as the shrew and mole,
are abundant. Northern and southern flying squirrel are residents of the state,
as are eight species of bat. The black bear is still found in forested and
upland areas, and moose are common in the north, while the white-tailed deer
appears everywhere in the state except for the city boroughs. The marine waters
around New York City and Long Island are the habitat of whales, several species
of dolphins, and five species of seals.
Amphibians include 18 species of
salamander, as well as frogs and toads. Of the reptiles found in the state,
there are 3 species of lizards, 14 species of freshwater turtles, 5 species of
sea turtles, and 14 species of harmless snakes. Of the venomous the timber
rattlesnake is a threatened species and is fully protected under New York’s
Environmental Conservation Law. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake, sometimes
erroneously called the “pygmy,” is in even greater danger of extinction and is
listed as an endangered species. The copperhead of southeastern New York is an
unprotected snake, and is less venomous than the other two.
Birdlife is abundant, and game birds of
northeastern North America that migrate through New York or reside in the state
are the ruffed grouse, wild turkey, mallard and many other species of ducks, and
Canada and snow geese. Songbirds that rely on forested areas for habitat are
doing well in the state, while the number of meadow birds is declining. The
American robin, ruby-throated hummingbird, mourning dove, killdeer, chipping
sparrow, yellow warbler, blue jay, and house wren are found in most areas in
summer. The eastern bluebird, the state’s official bird, is commonly seen once
again.
By the mid-1960s in New York there were
no longer any successfully breeding pairs of the American bald eagle, a native
of the state. Their demise was due largely to habitat loss and to the pesticide
DDT, which was banned in 1972. The New York State Bald Eagle Restoration
Project, begun in 1976, has led to the successful reintroduction of the American
bald eagle to the state. The peregrine falcon has found a near perfect home
among the skyscrapers and high bridges of New York City, with food provided by
the numerous pigeons, blue jays, and other birds of the city. There is found 60
percent of the state’s breeding population, and perhaps the world’s highest
urban concentration of this spectacular bird of prey.
G | Conservation |
The New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, established in 1970, unites the natural resource
protection functions of the former Conservation Department and the environmental
quality tasks formerly performed by the Department of Health. Since it was
formed, the DEC’s activities have multiplied as new laws and programs were
developed to solve emerging environmental problems. As a result, New York state
residents of today enjoy the benefits of cleaner air and water, thriving
wildlife and forests, accessible recreation, and farsighted waste management
policies.
New York was one of a number of states
facing acute problems of pollution of its rivers and of the Great Lakes. Also
pressing, particularly for the urban area around New York City, was the need to
preserve land and water for recreational purposes and scenic enjoyment in the
face of demands by an ever-growing population for more housing and commercial
structures. To this end New York uses modern techniques to manage fish and
wildlife resources and state lands. It uses permits to control pollution of air
and water, transport and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, pesticide use,
mining, and mined-land reclamation. Environmental remediation programs provide
help to local governments in construction of wastewater treatment plants as well
as overseeing the cleanup of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites.
In 2006 New York had 86 hazardous waste
sites on a national priority list for cleanup due to their severity or proximity
to people. The densest concentration of such sites is associated with the
industrialized area in Erie and Niagara counties between Buffalo and Niagara
Falls-Lewiston. Two other concentrations of hazardous-waste sites are north of
Syracuse on Onondaga Lake, and in the vicinity of New York City, Long Island,
and Westchester, Dutchess, and Orange counties. Progress was being made in
efforts to reduce pollution; in the period 1995–2000 the amount of toxic
chemicals discharged into the environment was reduced by 32 percent.
III | ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES |
New York surpasses all other states except
California in total personal income, and it ranks fourth in the nation in income
generated by manufacturing. It is the commercial and financial leader of the
country as well as a leading distribution center. Its ports—including New York
City, Buffalo, and Albany—handle much of the foreign trade of the United States.
Many of the nation’s leading industrial firms have their headquarters in the
state, most of them in New York City’s borough of Manhattan. Wall Street is
justly famous as the world’s financial center, and upstate cities also have
important financial resources. Such financial institutions, when combined with
insurance and real-estate companies, contribute almost one-third of the state’s
gross product. Following that sector in order of value are the services, trade,
and manufacturing sectors.
In 2006 some 9,499,000 people were
employed in New York. By far the largest portion of them, 43 percent, worked in
service industries such as dry cleaners and restaurants. Another 18 percent held
jobs in wholesale or retail trade; 17 percent in federal, state, or local
government, including those serving in the military; 21 percent in finance,
insurance, or real estate; 6 percent in manufacturing; 17 percent in
transportation or public utilities; 4 percent in construction; 1 percent in
farming, fishing, or forestry; and only a small fraction of 1 percent in mining.
In 2005, 26 percent of New York’s workers were members of labor unions, the
largest percentage of any state.
A | Agriculture |
In 2005 there were 35,600 farms in New
York. Of those, 50 percent had annual sales of more than $10,000. Most of the
remaining farms were sideline operations for farmers who also held other jobs.
Farmland occupied 3.1 million hectares (7.5 million acres), of which 63 percent
was cropland. The rest was mostly pasture or woodland.
Dairying is New York’s most important
farming activity. More than one-half of the state’s farm income comes from the
production of milk and cream. Most of the dairy production is sold as fluid
milk, although butter and cheese are important products as well. The dairy areas
are located in the Hudson, St. Lawrence, Black, and Mohawk valleys. Cattle and
calves are also raised for beef production. Poultry products, including eggs,
are also important. Poultry farms are concentrated on Long Island, which is
famous for its ducks. Chickens and turkeys are also raised.
In the production of potatoes, New York
ranks among the top dozen states. About one-third of the output comes from Long
Island.
The production of fruit is important in
the state. In the late 1990s New York ranked second among the states in
production of apples and in the top three states in production of grapes. Tart
cherries, pears, and plums are also important crops. Most New York apples are
grown in Wayne County east of Rochester and in the mid-Hudson Valley. The grapes
come from vineyards along the Lake Erie shore and in the Finger Lakes region,
although significant amounts of grapes for wine are grown in eastern Long
Island. New York state’s wines are among the best wines produced in the United
States.
In maple syrup production, New York
competes with Vermont for top place among the states. The other important crops
grown in New York include corn, onions, cabbage, and hay. The Ontario Lake plain
south of Lake Ontario is the state’s vegetable-growing area and also has
numerous flower and plant nurseries. Many of the vegetables grown there are
canned or frozen.
B | Fishing and Forestry |
Commercial and recreational fishing is
carried on in the lower Great Lakes and in the waters surrounding Long Island.
The lower Great Lakes system yields lake perch, bullheads, pike, and eel. Trout
species such as lake, brown, and rainbow inhabit this system, along with coho
and chinook salmon. Walleye and smallmouth bass are native to these waters, and
muskellunge thrive in the upper Niagara and the St. Lawrence rivers, the
connecting channels of the system. Long Island Sound is noted for its yield of
oysters and clams; other sea-life taken in the sound include bluefish, striped
bass, flounder, scup, and lobster. Water quality in the Hudson River has
improved since the mid-1970s, so that alewife, blueback herring, striped bass,
and Atlantic sturgeon are once again found there in number. American shad
continue to run in the Hudson River each spring. In 2004 the total fish catch
brought $46.4 million into the state’s economy.
While forestry is no longer a leading
industry in the state, it is still important, particularly by supplying raw
material for the state’s pulp and paper industry as well as hardwoods for
furniture and veneers. Some softwoods are cut, including pines, spruces, and
hemlocks, but most of the timber harvest consists of hardwoods, such as maple,
birch, ash, and oak. It is these hardwoods that are used in the furniture
industry. Beech, though widespread, suffers from an introduced disease and has
little commercial value.
C | Mining |
The mineral industry of New York is
devoted principally to the production of nonmetallics. Leading this group are
crushed stone, cement, salt, and sand and gravel for construction. Stones for
both construction and ornamental uses are mined, the most important being
limestone and dolomite. Salt, of which New York is one of the nation’s leading
producers, comes from both mines and salt wells, in Livingston, Tompkins,
Schuyler, Onondaga, Wyoming, and Yates counties. Sand and gravel are abundant in
the glacial deposits of the state. Gypsum is mined in Erie and Genesee counties.
Clay deposits are worked and used in the manufacture of bricks and pottery. Talc
is recovered in several mines around Gouverneur, in St. Lawrence County.
Garnets, used as an abrasive, are also mined in the southeastern Adirondacks.
Other nonmetallic minerals produced include emery, lime, and wollastonite, which
is used in ceramics, paints, and plastics.
Zinc deposits are worked in St. Lawrence
County. Some lead is also extracted from these lead-zinc ores, and a little
silver is recovered as a by-product of the ore. New York ranks third in zinc
production. When it is profitable, iron ore is mined in Essex and St. Lawrence
counties in the Adirondacks. There are natural gas wells in the southwestern
portions of the state, in Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, and Chautauqua
counties.
D | Manufacturing |
New York’s leading industries, in terms
of value added by manufacturing, are the printing and publishing industry, the
manufacture of instruments, the production of electric and electronic devices,
the chemical industry, the construction of industrial machinery, food
processing, apparel and other textile manufacturing, and the fabrication of
metal products. While the state remains one of the industrial powerhouses of the
nation, manufacturing was in decline as a segment of the New York economy by the
1970s. Employment in the state’s industries fell by nearly one-quarter between
1983 and 1993. The decline was especially drastic in New York City, which lost
more than two-fifths of its manufacturing jobs. Yet New York City, with its 1.7
million jobs, continues to dominate state employment. Contributing to the
decline in manufacturing employment was the movement by some large corporations
of their headquarters or operations from New York to neighboring New Jersey and
Connecticut or to Southern and Western states. Between 1983 and 1993 the state
lost about 328,000 manufacturing jobs. The decline is expected to continue into
the next century, with estimates by the United States government anticipating a
drop in manufacturing employment of more than 1 percent each year until the year
2005.
The New York City metropolitan area,
including parts of eight counties, has many of the industrial workers in the
state and generates much of the state’s industrial income. Buffalo, Rochester,
Syracuse, Albany-Schenectady-Troy, Utica-Rome, and Binghamton are the other
manufacturing centers of significance.
Printing and publishing are the leading
source of industrial jobs. The high-value printing and publishing industry is
heavily concentrated in the New York City metropolitan area.
The instruments industry is centered at
Rochester, which is noted for its cameras and optical goods. Other instruments
manufactured in quantity in New York are those used in navigation, surgery and
medicine, and measuring electricity.
The electrical and electronics industry
is a large single source of manufacturing jobs in New York. New York City,
Nassau and Suffolk counties, Syracuse, Schenectady, and Utica are major centers
of this industry. Schenectady, the home town of the General Electric Company, is
a center for the production of electric generators and other major electrical
equipment.
The production of chemicals ranks high
among New York’s industrial activities. Chemicals produced include
pharmaceuticals, a variety of goods for the household bath, plastics, and
synthetic rubbers.
The manufacture of industrial machinery
is led by the construction of refrigeration and heating equipment. Many workers
are employed building turbines and generators, while other machines built
include internal combustion engines, air and gas compressors, and peripheral
equipment for computers.
The food-processing industry is also
important. Buffalo is a leading flour-milling center and has some meat-packing.
Wine, cheese, butter, cereals, and bakery and brewery products are processed at
numerous locations. There are huge sugar refineries and coffee and spice
warehouses in Brooklyn, New York City.
The apparel industry, though declining,
is still a major source of jobs and continues to thrive in low-wage immigrant
areas of New York City, which remains a center for the manufacture of women’s
clothes and fur garments. Outside of New York City, Rochester was long noted for
men’s and boys’ clothing, while Binghamton, Endicott, and Johnstown were centers
for leather products. Troy was famous as a shirt-making center.
E | Electricity |
Except for its minimal production of
natural gas, New York state lacks mineral fuels. However, its hydroelectric
power resources are extensive. Two of the largest hydroelectric developments in
the western world are at Niagara Falls and on the St. Lawrence River. The St.
Lawrence Power Project was developed jointly by New York state and the province
of Ontario, Canada, at the same time that the St. Lawrence Seaway was under
construction. Hydroelectric plants generate 18 percent of the electricity
produced in the state. Another 52 percent of it comes from steam plants burning
fossil fuels, and the remainder comes from nuclear plants. In 2006 New York had
6 nuclear power plants in operation. Three nuclear plants were at Scriba, two
were at Indian Point, and one was at Oswego.
F | Transportation |
The transportation industry is of major
economic importance to the state. In 2004 New York had 182,405 km (113,341 mi)
of public highways, of which 2,694 km (1,674 mi) were part of the national
system of interstate highways. The Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, which has
become part of the interstate system, was one of the first limited-access
routes.
The fact that New York City lies mostly
on islands has created the need for many transwater connections, including
numerous bridges and tunnels to connect the various boroughs with one another
and with New Jersey. Some interstate bridges link New Jersey with Staten Island.
Tunnels under the lower Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge across it
are also interstate facilities. Ontario, Canada, is linked with New York state
by a number of bridges across the Niagara River and by three highway bridges
across the St. Lawrence River.
The railroads of New York were long its
economic lifelines. In 2004 there were 5,718 km (3,553 mi) of track. The
railroads play an especially important role in transporting commuters between
New York City and neighboring suburban areas. New York City is honeycombed
underground with the world’s most extensive subway system.
Some 23 airports serve New York state.
They vary from small single landing strips to New York City’s giant Kennedy
International Airport and La Guardia Airport, in 1996 the nation’s 19th and 20th
busiest, respectively.
The Hudson River is an important traffic
artery between Albany and New York City. A channel is maintained by the United
States Corps of Engineers as far north as Waterford, north of the mouth of the
Mohawk River. The New York State Canal System joins the Hudson at Albany. This
canal was completed in 1918 to replace the historic Erie Canal. Today the canal
system carries minor tonnages of mostly bulk commodities. The barge canal
consists of 800 km (500 mi) of waterways that follow the course of the old Erie
Canal. Spurs connect the canal with Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain, and the larger
Finger Lakes. Having in 1994 assumed responsibility for the canal system, the
New York State Thruway Authority is working with private financial assistance to
redevelop the canal system. When completed the system is envisioned as being
primarily for recreational use and a historical attraction.
The state has gained a northern “coast”
as a result of the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, although its overall
economic impact has been minimal. The seaway was built along the St. Lawrence
River in order to provide a channel for oceangoing vessels.
The port of New York City has one of the
world’s largest and best natural harbors. Buffalo is New York’s second most
important port, even though it lost most of its port functions following the
opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. Other port facilities are located at
Albany, Port Jefferson Harbor, and Hempstead Harbor.
IV | THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK |
A | Population Patterns |
New York is the third most populous state
in the Union. New York led all the states in population from 1820 until 1963,
when it was surpassed by California and then by Texas in 1994. If trends
continue, New York will rank fourth in population after California, Texas, and
Florida by the year 2020. The population of New York in 2000 was 18,976,457, an
increase of 5.5 percent over the 1990 census figure of 17,990,455. New York
remains one of the most densely populated states, with 158 persons per sq km
(409 per sq mi) in 2006.
In 1990 nearly 16 percent of the state’s
total population had been born abroad, and many of them resided in New York
City. Whites constituted 67.9 percent of the population in 2000, blacks 15.9
percent, Asians 5.5 percent, and Native Americans 0.4 percent. Native Hawaiians
and other Pacific Islanders numbered 8,818. Those of mixed heritage or not
reporting race were 10.2 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 15.1
percent of the people.
B | Principal Cities |
The New York City-Northeastern New Jersey
urbanized area, extending east on Long Island and north up the Hudson Valley,
had 21.2 million people in 2000. Other big urbanized areas were Buffalo,
Rochester, Albany-Schenectady-Troy, and Syracuse. In 2000, 87 percent of the
total population was urban.
New York City, one of the world’s leading
commercial, financial, and cultural centers, is the largest city in the United
States, with a population (2006) of 8,214,426. It is subdivided into five
boroughs: Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Manhattan. A center
for finance and commerce for the United States and much of the world, the city
is also remarkable for its fusion of many cultures. Much of the nation’s
domestic and international trade is arranged in New York City’s offices. Wall
Street, home to the New York Stock Exchange, is synonymous with business. The
city is at the heart of the nation’s cultural life. Broadway is world renowned
for its theaters, and museums such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art are among the best in the world. As a manufacturing
center, New York is a national leader in such sectors as printed materials,
processed food, and the production of clothing.
Buffalo, a major port and important
commercial and industrial center in western New York state, is New York’s second
largest city, with a population of 276,059 in 2006. The city, which has
extensive harbor facilities, is one of the country’s largest rail junctions.
Rochester, a major manufacturing center for photographic equipment, optical
parts, hospital supplies, and scientific instruments, and a processing and
distributing point for an extensive fruit-growing region, had a population of
208,123. Yonkers, with 197,852 inhabitants, is a manufacturing and commercial
center, principally producing plastics and chemicals. Syracuse, a distribution
and manufacturing center for electrical and transportation equipment, had a
population of 140,658. Albany, the capital of New York, had a population of
93,963. Utica (59,082), New Rochelle (73,446), Mount Vernon (68,395), and
Schenectady (61,560) all are small manufacturing centers.
C | Religion |
By membership, New York’s chief religion
is Roman Catholicism, claiming about 45 percent of religious adherents.
Protestants are the second largest group, followed by Jews. More than
one-quarter of the Jews in the United States live in New York. Baptists and
Methodists are the largest Protestant groups.
V | EDUCATION AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS |
A | Education |
New York has the oldest state system of
education. In 1784 a governing body, called the board of regents of the
University of the State of New York, was authorized to control secondary and
higher education. In 1812 a common school system was established, with school
districts in each town. These two agencies were combined in 1904 to form the
state education department, headed by the board of regents. The board sets
educational policy for the state’s public and private elementary and secondary
schools, public and private colleges and universities, proprietary schools,
libraries, museums, and public broadcasting facilities. In addition, the board
appoints the commissioner of education, licenses and regulates 38 professions,
and certifies public school teachers, counselors, and administrators. The state
education department serves as the administrative arm of the board. Attendance
in most New York schools is compulsory for children from age 6 to 16; the
majority of the state’s school districts have the option to require attendance
to age 17. In 1999 private and parochial schools enrolled 17 percent of New
York’s school-age children, one of the highest rates in the country.
In the 2002–2003 school year New York
spent $13,316 on each student’s education, compared to a national average of
$9,299. There were 13.3 students for every teacher (the nation as a whole
averaged 15.9 students per teacher). Of those older than 25 years of age in the
state in 2006, 84.1 percent had a high school diploma, while the national norm
was 84.1 percent.
A1 | Higher Education |
In its 78 public and 229 private
institutions of higher learning, New York enrolls more students than any other
state except California. Of these, 64 units are part of the State University of
New York, an agency created in 1948 to supervise all tax-supported colleges,
including 30 two-year community colleges. There are state university centers
(which include graduate schools) in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook
on Long Island.
The first institution of higher
education in the state was King’s College (now Columbia University), in New York
City, which was incorporated under a royal charter in 1754. In addition to
Columbia University, which encompasses Barnard College, other schools include
New York University, the Juilliard School, The Rockefeller University, Yeshiva
University, Pratt Institute, Fordham University, Wagner College, St. John’s
University, and the New School for Social Research, in New York City; the United
States Military Academy, in West Point; Cornell University and Ithaca College,
in Ithaca; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy; Skidmore College, in
Saratoga Springs; Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson; Hamilton College, in
Clinton; Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in Geneva; Colgate University, in
Hamilton; Union College, in Schenectady; Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie;
Syracuse University, in Syracuse; Sarah Lawrence College, in Yonkers; and the
University of Rochester, in Rochester.
B | Libraries |
New York has the most extensive library
facilities in the United States, including the New York Public Library, the
nation’s largest public library. The distinguished libraries of Columbia
University, in New York City, and of Cornell University, in Ithaca, are among
the largest collections in the world. Other educational centers have also built
up notable collections. Among the special libraries in the state are the Sibley
Music Library, in Rochester, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, in Hyde Park,
and the Pierpont Morgan Library, in New York City. The state is served by 751
tax-supported library systems. The libraries circulate each year an average of
6.9 books for every resident.
C | Museums |
New York City is the center of the state’s
tremendous museum resources, with its world-famous Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History. Upstate museum
facilities are in Buffalo and Rochester; both have outstanding science and art
museums.
Some of New York’s many museums of special
interest are the Fenimore Art Museum, showcasing the historical arts of the
region; the Farmers’ Museum, a reconstructed 1845 settlement; and the National
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, all in Cooperstown. Other museums of special
interest include the George Eastman House, a restored mansion and museum of
photography, in Rochester; the Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning; the New York
State Museum in Albany, with a fine Native American collection among its
historical displays; and Fort Ticonderoga, a restored military post and museum
on Lake Champlain.
D | Communications |
New York state has played a leading part in
developing mass communication. The idea of a penny newspaper originated in 1833
with the New York Sun, which emphasized sensational news to gain
circulation. Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune in the 1840s became the
first newspaper with a national reputation for high standards of news coverage.
In 2002 New York had 77 daily newspapers. The New York Times is one of
the world’s principal newspapers, and the Wall Street Journal, also
published in New York, is among the most influential newspapers in the country.
Other important dailies include the Times Union, published in Albany; the
Buffalo News; Newsday, published in Nassau County; the New York
Daily News and the New York Post (one of the oldest
newspapers in the United States); the Democrat and Chronicle, published
in Rochester; and the Syracuse Herald-Journal and the
Post-Standard, both published in Syracuse. New York City also is the main
book- and magazine-publishing center in the United States.
In 1922, station WGY, at Schenectady,
became the state’s first radio station. Six years later it operated the nation’s
first experimental television station. However, commercial televising did not
begin in New York until 1941, when WNBT (now NBC4), the nation’s first
television station, was licensed in New York City. The three biggest U.S.
television networks—ABC, CBS, and NBC—have their headquarters in New York City.
In 2002 New York was served by 134 AM and 247 FM radio stations and 50
television stations.
E | Music and Theater |
New York offers a wide variety of musical
and dramatic activities, with New York City having its well-known venues—the
theater district of Broadway; off-Broadway; off-off-Broadway; Carnegie Hall; the
Brooklyn Academy of Music; and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, home
of New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, the Metropolitan Opera,
and New York City Opera—as major attractions. Outside New York City, dramatic
productions are presented by regional and university groups, as well as by
summer theaters. Professional organizations such as Artpark, in Buffalo, the
Skaneateles Festival, near Syracuse, and the Caramoor International Music
Festival, in Westchester County, all present extensive summer programs. Summer
festivals are also held at Lake George and Lake Placid. The unique Chautauqua
Institution, near Jamestown, combines elements of the arts, education, religion,
and recreation in an outstanding summer program. Rochester’s cultural life is
enriched by the presence of the Eastman School of Music and the Philharmonic
Orchestra. Buffalo, Albany, Long Island, and Syracuse also have symphony
orchestras, while the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in Saratoga Springs, is
the summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Ballet. The
Glimmerglass Opera offers repertory American and European opera each summer at
the Alice Busch Opera Theater, located at the northern end of Otsego Lake.
VI | RECREATION AND PLACES OF INTEREST |
The combination of scenic beauty, a colorful
history, and the attractions of New York City and other cities have made New
York a very popular vacation state. Whether viewed from the Adirondacks’
mile-high Mount Marcy or from New York City’s famous Empire State Building, New
York’s panoramas are unusual and impressive. Perhaps the state’s most famous
spectacle is Niagara Falls, which draws millions of visitors each year.
Other striking features of the state are
the towering Palisades of the Hudson River, the steep gorge of the Genesee
River, and the chasm formed by the Ausable River. Visitors are also attracted to
the series of caves in Howe Caverns, the mineral waters of Saratoga Springs, the
sandy beaches on Long Island, the scenic Finger Lakes, and the Thousand Islands
in the St. Lawrence River. The state’s resorts at these and other sites offer a
wide variety of entertainment and recreation.
A | National and State Parks |
The National Park Service administers a
variety of national historic sites and monuments in New York state, representing
the region’s rich history of people and events. The Statue of Liberty National
Monument contains one of the country’s most recognizable icons in addition to
Ellis Island, the place an estimated 12 million immigrants first stepped on
United States soil. Also in New York City are Federal Hall National Memorial,
home of the first U.S. Congress; Castle Clinton National Monument, which was
originally built as a fort but has served many purposes during the nation’s
history; General Grant National Memorial, with the tomb of and exhibits on the
general and 18th president Ulysses S. Grant; and the Theodore Roosevelt
Birthplace National Historic Site, birthplace of the 26th president. On Long
Island at Oyster Bay is the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, where Theodore
Roosevelt made his home. Many places of national significance are in the Hudson
River Valley. The Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves Val-Kill,
the noted first lady’s private retreat. Also nearby in Hyde Park is the Home of
Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, birthplace home of the 32nd
president, as is Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, a huge home built by
the financial and industrial leader Frederick Vanderbilt. Saint Paul’s Church
National Historic Site in Mount Vernon interprets First Amendment Rights of
religion, speech, press, and assembly. The retirement home of the eighth
president is preserved at the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in
Kinderhook. In Rome in the central portion of the state is the Fort Stanwix
National Monument, a reconstructed fort from the American Revolution
(1775-1783). The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, where the
presidential oath was administered, is in Buffalo. Saratoga National Historical
Park was the scene of a decisive Revolutionary War battle (see Saratoga,
Battles of). The birth of the movement for women’s rights at Seneca Falls,
associated with the activities of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in
1848, is commemorated in the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. Fire
Island was designated a national seashore in 1964 (See also Fire Island
National Seashore). Gateway National Recreation Area was established in 1972 in
New York Harbor, and two sections of the Delaware River have been declared a
Wild and Scenic River (see Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational
River).
The state has developed nearly 200 parks
and several forest preserves. The park system of New York enjoys many firsts,
including the first state park (Niagara Reservation, 1885), first publicly-owned
historic site (Washington’s Headquarters, 1850), first nature trail (Harriman
State Park, 1925), and the first statewide system of Urban Cultural Parks
(1982). Within the boundaries of the Adirondack Park are 2 million hectares (6
million acres) of public and private lands, making it not only the nation’s
largest state park but larger than the combined areas of the Grand Canyon,
Yellowstone, and Glacier national parks. Saltwater bathing is enjoyed at several
state parks, including Jones Beach, Sunken Meadow, and Heckscher state parks. Of
historic interest are Fort Niagara State Park, Newtown Battlefield Reservation,
and Battle Island State Park. A state park devoted to the creative and
performing arts opened in 1974 at Lewiston north of Niagara Falls. Palisades
Interstate Park, operated by New York and New Jersey, lies along the scenic
Hudson River. The newest park in the state includes 15,800 acres of Sterling
Forest, a rugged woodland area forty miles northwest of New York City. The land,
long sought after by conservationists, was purchased from private owners in
1998.
The state preserves numerous historical
monuments. Two outstanding examples of colonial architecture are Philipse Manor
in Yonkers and Schuyler Mansion in Albany. State-owned sites dating from the
Revolution include Washington’s Headquarters at Newburgh, the Continental Army’s
final encampment at New Windsor Cantonment, and the home of General Nicholas
Herkimer on the Mohawk River. Other state historic sites are the Walt Whitman
House, near Huntington Station; the cottage in Wilton where President Ulysses S.
Grant died; and the John Jay House, in Katonah.
B | Other Places to Visit |
At the United States Military Academy at
West Point, visitors may view regimental and brigade parades from mid-April
through May, and from mid-September to early November. The legend of Sleepy
Hollow has been perpetuated in the area around Tarrytown, where the home of
Washington Irving, an old Dutch Reformed church, and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are
located. Perhaps the country’s most famous sports shrine, the National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum, is in Cooperstown. Religious places of interest include
a shrine in Auriesville that marks the scene of the martyrdom of America’s first
Roman Catholic saints; the Mormon historic sites, such as the Joseph Smith Home,
near Palmyra; and the Russian Orthodox Monastery, in Jordanville.
C | Sports |
The New York Yankees baseball team, which
uses Yankee Stadium in the Bronx (New York City), is one of the world’s best
known professional sports teams. Other professional sports teams in the state
include the Buffalo Bills (football); the New York Knicks (basketball); the New
York Mets (baseball); and the New York Rangers, New York Islanders (based in
Uniondale), and Buffalo Sabres (ice hockey). (The New York Jets and New York
Giants professional football teams play at the Meadowlands, in New Jersey.)
Madison Square Garden Center, in New York City, is a site for sports and
entertainment events and for conventions.
D | Annual Events |
With more ski centers than any other
Eastern state, New York celebrates the winter sports season with numerous
carnivals. One of the best known is the Winter Carnival at Saranac Lake in early
February, with competition in bobsledding, ice skating, skiing, and other winter
sports. Horse racing has been a popular summer attraction at Saratoga and Goshen
for more than a century. There are also race tracks at Canandaigua, Batavia,
Vernon, Monticello, and Hamburg, while three large tracks operate in the New
York metropolitan area. Boat races at such resorts as Saranac Lake, First Lake,
and North Creek attract many spectators, while others are drawn to the Hudson
River White Water Derby in North Creek in May.
New York City is renowned for its
parades, particularly the massive Thanksgiving Day and Saint Patrick’s Day
parades. Other events represent the diverse nature of the urban region, from the
Rockaways Fall Festival in September, centered on arts and crafts, to Harlem
Week each August, celebrating the Harlem area of Manhattan, to the Westminster
Kennel Club Dog Show in February, one of the most prestigious in the world.
Festivals and events across the state are no less diverse. The season begins in
Waterford each May with the Waterford/RiverSpark Canalfest, an annual salute to
opening of the Erie Canal boating season with food, crafts, and canal rides. The
Harbor and Carousel Festival in Rochester celebrates the city’s waterfront and
menagerie carousel each June. The Strawberry Festival in Mattituck, also in
June, pays homage to the berry with ethnic foods, dancing, and amusement rides.
Firefighters demonstrate their skills during a competition and field day each
June in Hudson, featuring contests and an antique firefighting apparatus show.
The Peaceful Valley Bluegrass Festival, with stage shows, workshops, and square
dances, occurs each July in Downsville. The Thousand Islands region commemorates
its French Canadian heritage with the French Festival each July in Cape Vincent.
The New York State Woodsmen’s Field Days hosts championship competitions in tree
falling and other timber tasks each August in Boonville. The Empire State Games,
one of the largest amateur athletic events in the country, also is held each
August, the same month the longest consecutively running rodeo east of the
Mississippi River takes place in Gerry. Lockport’s Apple Country Festival waits
until the fruit harvest is complete in October to celebrate the region’s
bounty.
VII | GOVERNMENT |
The first constitution of 1777 was replaced
by new ones in 1822, 1846, and 1894. There have been nine constitutional
conventions, the last one held in 1967. Its proposals were overwhelmingly
defeated by the voters. However, the voters have accepted many of the amendments
submitted to them after passage by two consecutive sessions of the
legislature.
A | Executive |
The executive branch of the government is
headed by the governor, who is elected for a four-year term. Also elected for
four years are the lieutenant governor, the comptroller, and the attorney
general. The governor appoints officials, some with and some without the
approval of the senate. The governor is also chief of the state militia and is
responsible for delivering an annual state of the state address to the people.
B | Legislative |
The state legislature has a senate of 62
members and an assembly of 150 members; all state legislators are elected for
two-year terms. The most important legislative leader in the senate is the
temporary president. The chief officer in the assembly is the speaker. The
legislature convenes each year in January.
C | Judicial |
At the lowest level are justices of the
peace, village magistrates, police justices, and magistrates’ courts that have
jurisdiction over minor civil and criminal cases. Above these are the country
courts: the surrogate’s, county, family, city, and district courts. New York
City has its own civil court, like county courts elsewhere, and a special
criminal court. Voters in 12 judicial districts elect the supreme court
justices, who have charge of most criminal and civil cases. The state supreme
court has an appellate division. There is a separate court of claims that
handles cases involving claims brought against the state. New York’s highest
court is the court of appeals.
D | Local Government |
There are 57 counties in New York plus
the 5 counties that compose New York City that no longer have functioning county
governments. The 57 counties are governed by boards composed of town and city
supervisors or by elected legislatures. Counties with legislatures may also have
an elected executive. There are also 62 cities, 928 towns, and 554 villages.
Most towns with more than 10,000 people and some others are towns of the first
class, governed by a town board consisting of a supervisor and four council
members. The town boards of second class towns usually have a supervisor, town
justices of the peace, and two council members.
E | National Representation |
New York elects two U.S. senators and 29
members of the House of Representatives, giving the state 31 electoral votes in
presidential elections.
VIII | HISTORY |
A | Early Inhabitants |
The first human settlement of the area
that is now New York probably occurred about 10,500 bc, after glaciers that had covered the
region retreated. Archaeological sites from Staten Island to Lake Champlain
indicate that the Paleo-Indians, who hunted mammoths and other prehistoric
animals, existed until about 8000 bc. They gave way to the Archaic
culture, lasting until about 1000 bc, whose people depended on deer, elk,
birds and plants from the woodlands they inhabited. After that, the Northeast
culture developed, and at some point hunting and gathering was replaced by
agriculture as the main source of food.
Sometime after ad 1000, two major Native American
language groups emerged in New York, the Algonquian and the Iroquoian. For
several centuries the dominant group was the Algonquian-speaking tribes,
including the Mahican, Delaware, and Wappinger, who lived in the southeast
section of New York and up the Hudson River valley to Lake Champlain. The
Algonquian tribes were primarily farmers who raised corn, squash, and beans, but
they also caught fish, hunted game, and gathered berries, nuts, and roots.
Historians and archaeologists disagree
on whether the Iroquois developed in the New York-Great Lakes region or migrated
there from the mid-Mississippi Valley. Five of the tribes—the Mohawk, Oneida,
Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca—united in about 1570 to form the Iroquois
Confederacy, known as the Five Nations. From their base in central New York the
Iroquois extended their domain, and during the 17th century they subdued almost
all the tribes in a vast region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Mississippi River and from the St. Lawrence River to the Tennessee River.
Sometime in the early 1700s, the Tuscarora, an Iroquoian tribe that had migrated
to New York from North Carolina, were formally admitted to the confederacy, and
the name of the league was changed to the Six Nations.
The Iroquois, like the Algonquian
people, had an agricultural economy, based mainly on corn. Families lived
together in large bark-covered dwellings called longhouses. Each community was
governed by a ruling council and a village chief. The entire confederacy was run
by a fairly democratic common council of delegates, elected by members of
various tribes. The league as a whole had no single leader, and decisions were
usually made by a unanimous vote of the council.
Powerful in their relations with other
tribes, the Iroquois began coveting guns, whiskey, and other provisions after
they came in contact with Europeans. To gain these goods, the Iroquois traded
beaver and other furs, first with the Dutch, then with the English. After the
Iroquois wiped out the beaver in their original lands, they looked for new
supplies, often attempting to conquer new tribes and territories. In the 18th
century, the Iroquois often ceded land to the British and French for provisions
or political concessions. The Iroquois Confederacy continued to play a central
role in American history until after the American Revolution (1775-1783).
B | European Exploration |
Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian ship
captain in the service of France, entered New York Harbor in 1524 but did not
really explore the region. In 1603 the northern boundaries of present-day New
York were explored by Samuel de Champlain and a party of French fur traders. In
1609 the French explorer discovered what is now Lake Champlain. That same year
an Englishman, Henry Hudson, sailed up the river that bears his name as far as
the region around present-day Albany. Hudson’s report to his Dutch employers
aroused much interest, and several Dutch trading vessels returned to the Hudson
Valley for furs.
C | Dutch Colony |
The first settlements in New York were
made in 1624, when the Dutch West India Company sent out a boatload of
colonists. Most of the settlers established themselves in the northern Hudson
Valley, near the future site of Albany, at Fort Orange. Soon more colonists
arrived and made their home on the lower tip of Manhattan, at a site that came
to be known as New Amsterdam. In 1626 the governor of the colony, Peter Minuit,
purchased Manhattan from the local Native Americans for trinkets valued at about
$24. The Dutch colony, called New Netherland, grew slowly at first, because the
Dutch West India Company neglected the northern outposts in favor of its
holdings in the rich West Indies. A handful of traders supplied the Native
Americans who brought in furs, the region’s prime resource. In 1629, however,
the company offered its members large estates, called patroonships, if they
would send settlers to New Netherland. Most of these ventures did not succeed,
because few Dutch wanted to leave their homeland.
In 1637 the company appointed Willem
Kieft director-general of New Netherland. A dictatorial leader, Kieft drove the
colony into war in 1641 with the Algonquian tribes of the area. After a series
of disputes arose between settlers and natives over land ownership, Kieft tried
to impose a tax on the Native Americans to help pay for fortification of the
settlements. When the tribes refused, Kieft caused the massacre of more than 100
native inhabitants. Four years of raids and reprisals by both sides followed, in
which more than 1,000 Native Americans and settlers were killed.
Kieft was replaced in 1647 by Peter
Stuyvesant. Although honest and efficient, Stuyvesant also used dictatorial
methods in governing the colonists, who opposed high taxes on imports and
demanded a voice in the government. Meanwhile, English colonists had expelled
Dutch settlers from the Connecticut Valley and founded settlements on
present-day Long Island. In 1650 Stuyvesant was forced to cede all of Long
Island east of Oyster Bay to Connecticut, an English colony.
D | English Colony |
In 1664 King Charles II of England
decided to take over the entire region, basing his claim on the explorations
made for England by explorer John Cabot in 1497 and 1498. Charles granted to his
brother James, Duke of York and Albany, all the land between the Connecticut and
Delaware rivers. To enforce the English claim, Colonel Richard Nicolls sailed
into New York Harbor with four ships and 400 soldiers. Stuyvesant wanted to
fight, but the citizens of New Amsterdam were unwilling to resist. New
Netherland and New Amsterdam were renamed New York. Beverwyck, the settlement
that grew up around Fort Orange, became known as Albany.
In 1665 Nicolls, the first English
governor of the colony, called a meeting of the representatives of settlers
living on Long Island and in what is now Westchester County. He refused their
request for an assembly, but he gave them some degree of local self-government.
A document, called the Duke’s Laws, provided for the election of town boards and
constables and guaranteed freedom of worship. Later these rights were granted to
the rest of the province.
In 1682 Thomas Dongan was made
governor. He called a representative assembly, which in 1683 adopted the Charter
of Liberties and Privileges. This charter called for an elected legislature to
levy taxes and make laws, and it guaranteed trial by jury and freedom of
worship. Dongan gave New York and Albany charters providing for limited home
rule and trading rights. He also cultivated the goodwill of the Iroquois, who
were a buffer between New York and the French colony in Canada.
The guarantees of the charter never
went into effect. In 1685 the Duke of York and Albany became king as James II,
and he included New York within the Dominion of New England, a colony that
incorporated most of New England under the close control of a royal governor.
New Yorkers were infuriated when James dismissed Dongan and placed them under
Sir Edmund Andros, the dominion’s governor, who ruled from Boston.
D1 | Land Grants |
The English governors of New York
gave huge tracts of land to their friends, which resulted in only a small number
of landowners. Many of these landlords were more interested in land speculation
than in settlement, so the colony’s population grew slowly outside the major
towns. Of special importance in New York’s history were the manors, large land
holdings whose owners had almost unlimited power over them. Six such manors
covered more than half of present-day Westchester County. The only successful
Dutch patroonship, Rensselaerswyck, became a manor under the English. Located
near Albany, it consisted of more than 280,000 hectares (700,000 acres). The
Manor of Saint George, on Long Island, was more than 80 km (50 miles) long and
covered the central part of the island from shore to shore.
The landholding aristocracy and the
wealthy merchants of New York City controlled colonial affairs. Among the most
prominent and influential families were the Livingstons, Schuylers, De Lanceys,
and Van Cortlandts. Most of New York’s small farmers were located on Long Island
and along the Hudson River in what is now Ulster County.
D2 | Leisler’s Rebellion |
In 1689 news arrived in New York that
James II had been overthrown in England’s Glorious Revolution and that Andros,
governor of the Dominion of New England, had been captured by Boston rebels. A
group of armed New Yorkers called on Jacob Leisler, a German-born merchant, to
take command of the colony. Leisler was stubborn and ill-tempered, but he
championed the people’s rebellion against the local aristocracy of landlords and
merchants. He won control over the whole colony and established an
assembly.
In 1691 King William III, who had
replaced James II, sent Colonel Henry Sloughter to take charge of New York.
Sloughter listened to the charges of Leisler’s enemies and immediately set up a
special court that convicted Leisler of treason. Leisler was executed, and for
20 years the colony remained split into two camps with hostile interests.
D3 | Anglo-French Wars |
New York’s location made it important
in a series of wars fought between the English and French after 1689 for
domination of the North American colonies. The side that controlled lakes
Champlain, Ontario, and Erie and the Mohawk and Hudson rivers had a commanding
position in North America. The Iroquois, situated near many of these waterways,
occupied a strategic position between the two antagonists, and both sides sought
their aid. In the first wars, the Iroquois Confederacy usually remained neutral,
although respected frontier trading agents, such as Sir William Johnson,
sometimes secured their aid for the English. In the last war, the French and
Indian War (1754-1763), some Iroquois were persuaded to side with the British,
while other tribes were allied with the French. With the Iroquois’s help,
Britain won the war in 1763, expelling France from North America.
However, with the threat of war gone,
land speculators and settlers entered much of the Iroquois territory, provoking
clashes with the Native Americans. Under the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768, the
Iroquois ceded to New York all lands east of a line drawn southward from
present-day Rome, New York.
E | American Revolution |
To repay its heavy debts from the wars
with the French and to meet the costs of keeping British troops in frontier
forts, Great Britain passed a series of laws restricting trade and imposing
higher taxes in the colonies (see Navigation Acts, Sugar and Molasses
Acts, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts). These measures led to violent protests by
colonists, and many New York merchants and professional men formed patriotic
groups.
About half of New York’s 186,000
inhabitants in 1771 were of British descent, and many of them remained loyal to
the British crown. These Loyalists, or Tories, gained control of the assembly,
where they opposed the revolutionary mood within the colony. They rejected the
embargo on British goods imposed by the First Continental Congress in 1774. The
next year the rebel elements in New York formed a provincial congress in
defiance of the assembly and sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress.
After receiving news of the battles of Lexington and Concord, which began the
American Revolution in April 1775, rebellious New Yorkers took up arms to
support the Massachusetts militia (see Lexington, Battle of and Concord,
Battle of). In October Governor William Tryon fled New York, followed by many
Tories, and the provincial congress took steps to set up a provisional
government.
In July 1776 the New York congress
ratified the Declaration of Independence and changed its own name to the
Convention of Representatives of the State of New York. The next year, New
York’s first constitution was drafted, and the first legislature met in
Kingston. George Clinton, who had served as a delegate to the Second Continental
Congress, was elected the state’s first governor.
Almost one-third of the military
engagements in the American Revolution (1775-1783) took place in New York state.
In the early stages of the fighting, the Americans captured Fort Ticonderoga and
Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. In September 1776, after the battles of Long
Island and Harlem Heights, the British occupied New York City and held it until
the war ended. The American victory at Saratoga in October 1777 was a turning
point in the war, thwarting the British plan to occupy Albany, control the
Hudson River and cut off New England from the other colonies.
When the revolution broke out, the
powerful Iroquois Confederacy could not agree on whether to side with the
Americans or the British, or to remain neutral. But some of the individual
tribes joined the British, and Mohawk chief Joseph Brant led bands of his people
and Tories in raids on unprotected frontier settlements in New York. In the
summer of 1779, American generals James Clinton and John Sullivan marched
against Native American villages near the Finger Lakes and present-day Elmira
and decisively defeated a combined force of Tories and Native Americans.
Clinton took harsh measures against the
Tories. By the end of the revolution more than 30,000 British sympathizers,
including more than half of New York’s landholding aristocracy, had fled to
Canada. The state seized their estates and sold the land to speculators and
farmers. Most of the Iroquois who had sided with the British also settled in
Canada. Those who remained signed treaties that confined them to reservations,
and by 1800 they had signed away most of their land.
F | Ratification of the Constitution |
After the revolution ended, many New
Yorkers opposed establishing a strong national government, preferring to retain
the weaker structure created under the Articles of Confederation. The proposed
national constitution prohibited states from taxing interstate commerce, a
provision that would end New York’s power to collect customs duties on goods
entering from New England and New Jersey. When the Constitution of the United
States was drawn up in 1787, Alexander Hamilton was the only New York delegate
at the constitutional convention to sign the final draft.
In 1788 New York elected a convention
to consider ratification of the Constitution. The forces who opposed
ratification were led by Governor Clinton and included 46 delegates. Supporters
of the Constitution numbered only 19. But they were led by two major statesmen
of the time: Hamilton, a prominent lawyer and leading advocate of a strong
central government, and John Jay, former chief justice of the state and the
nation’s secretary for foreign affairs. Hamilton and Jay conducted a skillful
campaign for ratification, publishing their arguments in a series of articles
known as The Federalist.
While the New York convention was
meeting, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, in
June 1788, which put it into effect. New York faced isolation if it did not join
the Union, and prominent men in New York City hinted at secession from the state
if the convention did not ratify. On July 26, 1788, the convention ratified the
Constitution, making New York the 11th state.
From 1785 to 1790 New York City served
as the temporary national capital. At the city’s Federal Hall, George Washington
was inaugurated as the nation’s first president on April 30, 1789.
G | Early Political Conflicts |
Two political parties vied for power in
early New York state. The Federalist Party, led by Hamilton, favored a strong
federal government that would be controlled mostly by wealthy commercial
interests. The Federalists held power in New York from 1795 to 1800, while John
Jay served as governor. Then their power dwindled, and by 1815 they were no
longer a major party.
After 1800 leadership of the state
passed to the quarreling factions of the Anti-Federalists. They considered
themselves followers of Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party,
which advocated states’ and individual rights and appealed to the nation’s
farmers. They were led by four men who each had a popular following and high
ambitions: George Clinton, his nephew De Witt Clinton, Daniel D. Tompkins, and
Aaron Burr. Of the four, all but Burr served terms as governor, and George
Clinton, Tompkins, and Burr all served as vice presidents of the United
States.
In 1798 Burr gained control of the
patriotic and charitable organization called the Tammany Society, organizing it
as a personal political machine that helped elect Jefferson president and Burr
vice president in 1800. But Burr failed to win renomination as vice president in
1804 and also failed to win the governorship because of forceful opposition by
Hamilton, his bitter rival. Burr’s political career came to an end in 1804, when
he challenged and killed Hamilton in a duel.
While the other Anti-Federalist leaders
served in national offices, De Witt Clinton became the most important man in
state politics. From 1803 to 1815, except for two years, he was mayor of New
York City. In 1812 he ran unsuccessfully for president, although he carried many
Northern states. From 1817 to 1828, except for one term, he was governor of the
state and won fame for promoting construction of the Erie Canal.
H | War of 1812 |
Much of the War of 1812 (1812-1815)
between the United States and Britain was fought along New York’s frontiers with
Canada. During the war, which was fought over the maritime rights of neutral
nations, the British navy blockaded U.S. ports. Many New York merchants opposed
the war because the blockade interfered with trade.
Attempts by the United States to invade
British territory in Canada were unsuccessful, and in 1814 the British launched
an offensive against Niagara and Lake Champlain. In a decisive naval battle,
Americans under Captain Thomas Macdonough defeated the British near Plattsburgh,
on Lake Champlain, thwarting the British invasion of the northern United
States.
I | Growth of the State |
In the last years of the 18th century
large tracts of land in central and western New York had been opened for
settlement. An area extending from just below Ithaca to Lake Ontario, called the
Military Tract, was reserved for veterans of the American Revolution. Lands west
of Seneca Lake that had formerly been owned by Massachusetts were turned over to
New York and sold to business leaders and speculators. After the revolution, New
England’s farmers, discouraged by stony soil and high taxes, moved west into New
York. In 1820 half the state’s inhabitants were New Englanders or their
descendants. Central and western New York were quickly settled, but the north
country remained a sparsely populated wilderness for many years.
From the 1820s to 1860, New York state
and especially New York City were transformed by a flood of immigrants and
unprecedented urban growth. The United States experienced a wave of immigration
from Europe, starting in 1820 and reaching a peak in 1845. For most immigrants,
their point of entry was New York City, and huge numbers of them stayed there.
By 1860 New York was the nation’s largest city, with a population of 1 million,
and nearly half of those residents were foreign-born. New York state’s
population also exploded during this period, from 340,120 people in 1790 to more
than 3.8 million in 1860. Nearly one-fifth of those residents were foreign-born.
In contrast to colonial times, when most New Yorkers lived on farms, by 1860
about half of them lived in cities and towns.
The largest group of immigrants was the
Irish, especially after a devastating potato famine struck their homeland in the
1840s. Many settled in New York City, while German immigrants tended to settle
upstate, especially in Buffalo and Rochester. This influx of people included
skilled European craftsmen and a huge pool of low-wage laborers that enabled New
York to develop diverse industries. But low wages, long hours, and harsh working
conditions made life difficult for many industrial workers. To try to improve
their conditions, many skilled artisans and factory workers, who were mostly
women and children, joined labor unions. With such rapid population growth, New
York City and other urban areas faced problems of inadequate water supplies,
sanitation and housing.
By 1830 New York ranked first among the
states in population, manufacturing, trade, commerce, and transportation. New
York City emerged as the primary center for textile manufacturing and ready-made
clothing, banking, imports, insurance, and the stock exchange. From 1825 to the
late 1850s the Genesee Valley was a national center for growing wheat. Other
important products included livestock, corn, barley, oats, and hops. When the
Midwest became the major source of grain, New York’s farmers turned to dairy
products, fruits and vegetables. They supplied great quantities of milk, butter,
cheese, and other perishable goods to the growing cities.
J | Growth of Transportation |
Inexpensive transportation and a
strategic location were vital elements in New York’s growth. Canals, railroads
and new types of ships were developed, enabling the state’s manufactured
products to reach a vast market throughout the nation. All trade from New
England to the West and South had to pass through New York state, and the Mohawk
Valley was the best route for westward migration.
Before 1860 the state’s system of
natural waterways, with outlets to the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, was
the most important means of transporting goods and passengers. Soon after
inventor Robert Fulton successfully tested the first efficient steamboat on the
Hudson River in 1807, steamboats were operating on lakes Champlain, Ontario, and
Erie; on Long Island Sound; and on the Hudson River. Shipbuilders on the East
River in New York City built clipper ships that carried goods to the West Coast
of the continent and to Asia. New York City was the center of all trade between
Europe and the United States; even cotton from the South passed through the city
on its way to England.
The Erie Canal, built between 1817 and
1825, was the state’s most important water route. The 584-km (363-mi) canal
linked the Great Lakes with the Hudson River, making New York City the marketing
outlet for agricultural and industrial products from upstate New York and the
Great Lakes regions. It also carried immigrants from New York City to settle on
the newly opened farmland of the Midwest. By 1857 nearly 1,450 km (900 mi) of
secondary canals linked such places as Binghamton and Oswego with the Erie
Canal. The Champlain Canal connected Lake Champlain to the Hudson River and was
an important factor in spurring the development of the lumber industry in the
Adirondack region.
In 1831 New York’s first railroad began
operations between Albany and Schenectady. Within ten years, lines were running
from Albany to Buffalo. In 1851 the Erie Railroad was completed, connecting the
counties of southern New York with Lake Erie and the Hudson River. It was an
important factor in the economic development of the region.
The state also chartered many turnpike
companies to build toll roads between important points. By 1825 more than 6,400
km (4,000 mi) of turnpike roads were in use. Although these early roads were
crude, they greatly helped farmers move their produce to market. It was not
until the development of the automobile that roads became as important to New
York as water and rails.
K | Politics (1820-1860) |
From 1820 to 1860, a growing number of
Americans participated in government affairs, as many states extended the right
to vote and established more direct elections for governor and president. In
1821 New York gave almost all white men of legal age the right to vote,
eliminating a requirement that voters be property owners. A property requirement
continued to apply to free blacks until 1874, limiting the number who could
vote. During this period a new two-party political system emerged in the United
States. The parties became important forces in organizing voters to support
candidates and issues. New York played a crucial part in this process.
The ruling Democratic-Republican Party
in New York state had two factions. The Clintonians, led by Governor De Witt
Clinton, tended to advocate a strong government led by wealthy commercial
interests and favored internal improvements to aid the growth of business.
Opposing the Clintonians was the Albany Regency, led by lawyer and legislator
Martin Van Buren. It favored states’ rights and had the general support of the
farmers, mechanics, and small business owners. The regency supported the
presidential campaign of war hero Andrew Jackson, who claimed to be the champion
of the common people. In elections in 1828, Van Buren won the New York
governor’s race and Jackson was elected president. Their party, known from that
point as the Democratic Party, pioneered the use of many political techniques:
massive rallies and parades, campaign workers to get out the vote, newspaper
publicity, and buttons and hats with the candidate’s name and face on them. Van
Buren became vice president under Jackson in 1832 and in 1836 was the first New
Yorker to be elected president of the United States.
In New York City, the regency had the
support of the Tammany Society, the local political machine. The society,
founded as a charitable and patriotic group, gained more and more influence as
immigrants settled in the city. Tammany Society politicians helped the newcomers
adjust to American life, become naturalized citizens, and often get city jobs.
In return, Tammany received their loyalty and their votes.
New York also gave rise to the
Anti-Masonic Party, which formed to oppose the influence of Freemasons, a
fraternal group, in politics. It claimed the Freemasons, whose members took an
oath of secrecy and practiced mysterious rituals, were antidemocratic.
Opposition to the Freemasons began after William Morgan, a Freemason who was
about to reveal the secrets of the order, disappeared in 1826 in western New
York and was widely believed to have been kidnapped and murdered by fellow
Freemasons. The party developed a national following but dissolved about 1834 to
become part of the Whig Party, a conservative, business-oriented group. Whigs in
New York, under the leadership of Thurlow Weed, held many state offices in the
1840s.
By 1850 both the Whigs and the
Democrats had split into factions over the issue of slavery. Two former Whig
leaders, New York City newspaper editor Horace Greeley and former New York
Governor William Seward, played roles in organizing the national Republican
Party, a coalition of groups that opposed slavery.
Another change in the political makeup
of New York occurred in the 1840s with the end of the manorial system, one of
the last remnants of colonial New York. In 1839 the Antirent War broke out when
farmers on the Van Rensselaer estate in the Albany region refused to pay back
rent. The rebellion spread to farmers on neighboring estates and won the support
of many politicians. As a result, in 1846 the state constitution was amended to
break up the holdings of the landed aristocracy, and small farmers were able to
own their own farms.
L | Civil War |
The 1860 presidential election divided
the generally antislavery Northern states from the proslavery Southern states.
New York gave its 35 electoral votes to Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party
in this crucial election. However, not all New Yorkers favored Lincoln’s efforts
to save the Union. Mayor Fernando Wood of New York City and many merchants,
caring little about slavery, wanted the city to remain neutral so it could
maintain its commercial ties with the Southern states, as well as with the
North. Poor immigrants also opposed Lincoln’s policies, especially his stand
against slavery. They feared free blacks would compete with them for jobs and
bring them economic ruin.
However, most citizens rallied to the
Union cause in the American Civil War (1861-1865), which began a month after
Lincoln was inaugurated and Southern states had started to secede. One-third of
the casualties of the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 were soldiers from
New York. But as the war dragged on, enthusiasm declined. In 1863 Congress
passed the first military draft law, but allowed exemptions for men who could
pay $300 or hire substitutes. This provision, called the “Rich Man’s Exemption,”
caused widespread anger among the poor workingmen of New York City, especially
Irish immigrants. When the law took effect in July 1863, a mob burned the draft
headquarters, then rampaged through the city, lynching blacks, burning
neighborhoods, and looting. Federal troops had to be pulled off the battlefield
to end the Draft Riots, in which more than 1,000 people were killed and about $2
million in property was damaged.
The Civil War strongly affected New
York’s development. Although some industries boomed, the rate of industrial
growth slowed down. Factories making war goods ran extra shifts, but cotton
mills cut back to half time. Factory workers suffered a cut in buying power
because prices rose faster than wages. On the other hand, rural New York
prospered because of rising farm prices. This boom was offset in the long run,
however, because the countryside lost thousands of young men to the Army and,
after the war, to the cities. The war also brought with it a considerable amount
of corruption and illegal profit making. The war did little to improve the
conditions for the free blacks of New York. Discrimination kept them in the
lowest-paying jobs and poorest neighborhoods, and politicians paid little
attention to their plight.
M | Immigration and Labor |
A second major period of immigration,
which began after the Civil War and peaked in the first two decades of the 20th
century brought about 30 million people into the United States. While the
earlier immigrants had come mostly from northern Europe, many of the immigrants
in this period were Russians, Italians, Poles, and others from eastern and
southern Europe, including many Jews. The majority of immigrants first set foot
in America on Ellis Island, in New York Harbor. As before, many remained in New
York City or settled in cities upstate. From 1890 to 1920 the population of New
York state grew from 6 million to 10.4 million. From its pre-Civil War
population of 1.2 million, New York City grew to nearly 5 million by 1910.
The new immigrants provided a steady
supply of workers for the state’s growing industries: the steel and heavy metal
manufacturing plants around Buffalo, the new photography industry that inventor
George Eastman established in Rochester, the electric and locomotive plants in
Schenectady, and the garment industry in New York City. The population shift
from the farms to the cities, begun before the Civil War, continued at a faster
rate. This meant laborers were also needed to build city streets, apartment
buildings, subways, and electric trolley and railway lines. Free public
education, established throughout the state in 1867, helped the immigrants
adjust to their new country.
But life for many foreign-born
Americans was difficult. They lived in overcrowded slum tenements—many without
heat, lighting, or sanitation—for which they often paid high rents. In factories
and garment sweatshops, they worked long hours for low wages, often in unsafe or
unhealthful conditions. As workers tried to improve their lives, the labor
movement grew and national unions were founded, such as the American Federation
of Labor (AFL) led by Samuel Gompers. Two unions in the garment industry, the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) (see UNITE HERE:
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union) and the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union, had a strong influence on New York state. As
pioneers in welfare unionism, they built apartment houses and provided health
clinics, concerts, and summer camps for their members.
The grim working conditions for garment
workers were dramatically demonstrated in 1911, when a fire at the Triangle
Shirtwaist Company in New York City killed 146 women trapped in the factory.
Reform efforts after the fire led New York to adopt some of the most progressive
labor laws in the nation, including laws regulating sweatshops, factory safety,
and the employment of women and children.
N | Corruption and the Progressives |
The corruption that was characteristic
of the United States in the years after the Civil War flourished in New York. In
New York City, William M. Tweed became an important figure in the Tammany
Society, the Democratic political machine, and formed the Tweed Ring with other
politicians. The ring openly bought votes, encouraged judicial corruption, and
controlled New York City politics, costing the city an estimated $30 million to
$200 million. Tammany Hall, the society’s headquarters, became a synonym for a
corrupt political machine.
Upstate politicians and legislators
from both parties matched “Boss Tweed” in their enthusiasm for graft but lacked
his success. The two major parties were dominated by bosses who cared mostly
about patronage, the practice of giving out jobs for political advantage.
Tammany Hall, even after Tweed’s downfall in 1872, remained a power in
Democratic politics. The Republicans were ruled by men like U.S. Senator Roscoe
Conkling and Thomas C. Platt, experts in using the spoils system, under which
they bestowed jobs and political offices on their friends and supporters rather
than appointing the most qualified candidates.
Periodically, reformers succeeded in
restoring honest government to New York State. Samuel J. Tilden, a New York City
lawyer, led the exposé of the Tweed Ring and in 1874 was elected governor of New
York. Corruption was so widespread throughout the country that in 1876 Tilden’s
reputation for honesty formed a basis for him to run for president on the
Democratic ticket. Although Tilden won more popular votes than his Republican
opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, the electoral vote was contested in several
states and an electoral commission declared Hayes the winner. In 1882 Grover
Cleveland was elected governor on a reform ticket and was elected to the
presidency in 1884 and 1892.
In addition to politicians, New York
business leaders also practiced gross corruption, especially during the
unprecedented industrial growth that occurred from 1877 to 1893. Because New
York was the financial, commercial, and industrial center of the nation,
financial misdeeds there were more spectacular than in other areas of the
country. Through widespread bribery, the major corporations all but controlled
the New York legislature. Stock manipulation and legislative bribery helped
create fortunes for railroad barons such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould,
Daniel Drew, and James Fisk.
By the end of the 19th century a
progressive movement developed to combat corruption, regulate trusts, expand
democracy, and reform the worst abuses of urban industrial life. Theodore
Roosevelt was elected in 1898 as New York’s first important progressive
governor. Because of his reform efforts and his independence from the Republican
Party machine, the party boss, Thomas Platt, arranged to get him out of state
politics by having him made the party’s vice presidential nominee in 1900. This
led Roosevelt to the presidency after the assassination of President William
McKinley in 1901.
Even more successful than Roosevelt in
passing progressive measures was Charles Evans Hughes, an independent
Republican, who was New York governor from 1907 to 1910. Hughes brought the
public utilities and the railroads under stricter government control, sponsored
legislation to tighten state regulation of banking and finance companies, passed
a law to compensate workers injured on the job, and championed measures to
improve social welfare and public health. He also instituted important
administrative reforms.
Hughes resigned as governor in 1910 to
become an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. During
the next four years, while the Democratic Party controlled the governor’s
office, laws were passed to regulate the Wall Street securities industry, create
direct primary elections, revise and strengthen workers’ compensation, and
advance social welfare programs.
O | Black Migration |
Beginning in World War I (1914-1918),
large numbers of Southern blacks began migrating to the state to escape
prejudice and poverty. Settling mostly in New York City, blacks were subjected
to less discrimination in New York than in the South but were regarded by many
people as second-class citizens. The New York City neighborhood of Harlem became
the center of black cultural life, attracting many writers and artists.
A similar migration of blacks from the
South occurred during and after World War II (1939-1945), as New York became an
important producer of military supplies for the defense industry. Large numbers
of Puerto Ricans also arrived in the 1950s and 1960s seeking jobs, and most
settled in New York City.
P | Liberal Political Tradition |
During the 1920s New York became known
for its progressive government. Under Democratic Governor Alfred E. Smith
(1919-1921 and 1923-1929), state government was reorganized and consolidated,
the power of the governor was increased, the state park system was expanded, and
cities were given wider power to govern themselves. Far-reaching social
legislation was enacted, including an eight-hour workday and state aid for
health and education.
In 1928 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was
elected governor. The Great Depression, the economic hard times that began in
1929, prevented Roosevelt from continuing Smith’s reform policies. But as
governor, Roosevelt was able to experiment with many programs that became part
of the New Deal, his economic strategy for battling the Depression, after he
became president in 1933.
Roosevelt was succeeded as governor by
Herbert H. Lehman, a wealthy banker with strong liberal convictions. While
maintaining a balanced budget, he worked to alleviate mass unemployment and
cooperate with Roosevelt’s social programs. New Deal public works projects hired
many of New York’s unemployed.
In 1936 the small but influential
American Labor Party was founded, largely by leaders of the two major garment
workers unions. Ten years later, the party split and one faction formed the
Liberal Party. Working usually with the Democrats but sometimes with the
Republicans, the Liberals helped nominate progressive candidates for political
office. The Liberal Party would remain the third party on the state ballot until
it was replaced by the Conservative Party in the 1960s.
In 1942 Thomas E. Dewey, a
crime-fighting district attorney, was elected governor, the first Republican to
hold that office in 20 years. Dewey continued the social programs of his
Democratic predecessors. In 1945 he supported passage of the Ives-Quinn Act, the
nation’s first state law to outlaw discrimination in employment. Dewey also
began the construction of the New York Thruway, which in 1964 was renamed the
Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway.
In 1954 Democrat William Averell
Harriman was elected governor. In the same year, work was begun on the St.
Lawrence Seaway and Power Project. Completed in 1959, it enabled oceangoing
vessels to reach New York ports on the Great Lakes by way of the St. Lawrence
River. Hydroelectric projects greatly expanded power-generating capacity.
In 1958 Republican Nelson A.
Rockefeller defeated Harriman in the election for governor. Rockefeller, who
served until 1973, governed in the liberal tradition established by his
predecessors. He increased many of the state’s social services, especially aid
to education. The state university system, founded in 1948, expanded rapidly,
and the state also aided private colleges. It encouraged the construction of
sewage disposal plants and enrolled in Medicaid. To finance such spending, taxes
were raised, a state lottery was adopted, and the government borrowed
heavily.
In 1964 the United States Supreme Court
ruled that state election districts had to be apportioned according to the
principle of “one man, one vote.” Reapportionment two years later gave New
York’s cities, and especially the suburbs, more representation in the
legislature.
In 1971 the bloodiest prison rebellion
in U.S. history resulted in the deaths of 43 people at the Attica State
Correctional Facility.
Q | Recent Developments |
From 1950 to 1970, New York’s
population increased by about 3.4 million to a total of 18.2 million. It was the
nation’s most populous state until the 1960s, when California surpassed it.
During the 1970s, the population of New York declined by more than 680,000, as
residents moved to other regions of the country that offered better economic
opportunities. The state’s major cities, including New York City, were hardest
hit, as residents moved to the suburbs, a trend that began after World War II
(1939-1945). By the early 1980s, suburban New York City was home to more than 25
percent of the state’s population, which by 2000 had rebounded to nearly 19
million.
As the suburbs grew, the urban
population became more heavily black and Puerto Rican. Chronically high
unemployment and a series of social problems, such as rising crime rates,
emerged as major concerns by the 1980s. Federal and state welfare programs
became a lifeline for the cities’ poorest residents, but the price was higher
taxes as benefits were raised to keep people above the poverty level.
Behind the state’s growing social
problems was New York’s economic transformation. Like other Eastern and
Midwestern states in the “Rust Belt,” New York saw its old industrial base
shrink in the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1972 and 1987, jobs in manufacturing
decreased by nearly 500,000. Industries such as steel, clothing, leather, and
printing declined dramatically as demand for goods fell and some companies moved
to more favorable Sun Belt locations. Expansion in service, retailing, and
communications only partially filled the gap, with jobs that usually paid lower
wages and did not offer the benefits and security that union organization had
won for workers in the older industries. Union membership dropped across the
state, and by the early 1980s more public employees belonged to unions than did
workers in the private sector. Large corporations laid off many workers, adding
to the economic dislocation in New York state.
New York’s political leaders had to
grapple with the state’s social and economic problems. Democratic Governor Hugh
L. Carey, who succeeded Rockefeller in 1973, faced a financial crisis in state
and local government. Only emergency aid from federal and state governments,
organized by Carey’s administration, prevented the bankruptcy of New York City,
Yonkers, and several state agencies in 1975 and 1976. Carey pursued other
policies designed to adjust the tax structure, encourage business investment,
and stimulate the state’s economy. At the same time, he kept intact New York’s
safety net of programs to help the poor and the unemployed. To combat crime, he
sponsored a law in 1978 that increased penalties for violent crimes and provided
that older juveniles accused of serious crimes would be tried in adult
courts.
Governor Mario Cuomo (1983-1995)
continued the Democratic Party’s liberal tradition on social welfare and tried
to stabilize and expand the state’s economy. He also supported and won bond
issues to maintain and repair New York’s infrastructure. But Cuomo was weakened
politically by rising crime rates, increasing welfare costs, taxes that many
residents felt were too high, and lagging business investment. A phased-in tax
cut could not be completed as scheduled because of growing state deficits. In
1994 Cuomo was defeated in his bid for a fourth term by Republican George
Pataki, a fiscal conservative and proponent of smaller government. Pataki
immediately announced a program to trim the state’s bureaucracy and regulatory
functions, begin tax cuts, and improve New York’s business climate. In 1995 he
approved a bill that restored the death penalty for certain crimes, similar to
legislation Carey and Cuomo had vetoed repeatedly. Pataki resolved to reduce the
share of state financing for public higher education and advocated the
reorganization of the State University of New York. By 2001 crime had been
dramatically reduced, and the population of the state was again on the rise.
On September 11, 2001, New York City
became the site of a devastating terrorist attack (see September 11
Attacks). Two hijacked passenger jets crashed into the 110-story twin towers of
the World Trade Center, located in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district.
As people evacuated the buildings, both towers collapsed completely, killing
thousands. The same morning, another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon
outside of Washington, D.C., and a fourth hijacked plane crashed in
Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks, which
were the deadliest in United States history. See Terrorism.
Pataki did not seek a fourth term as
governor in 2006. Voters elected Democrat Eliot Spitzer, attorney general of New
York, as the next governor. Spitzer pledged to fund development projects in an
effort to reverse the economic decline of cities in upstate New York, but his
administration ended abruptly in March 2008 after he was implicated in a
prostitution scandal. It was the first time since 1913 that a New York governor
was forced to resign. Spitzer was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor David A.
Paterson, who became the state’s first black governor.
The History section of this article was
contributed by Robert F. Wesser. The remainder of the article was contributed by
Thomas J. Gergel.
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