Manuscript Speech to New York State Republicans

Peter Buell Porter was a military hero from the War of 1812 against British and successful negotiator with the Seneca Tribe of New York State, before becoming a member of Congress and leading light of the Democratic-Republican Part of New York.  Porter was Secretary of War under President J. Q. Adams and member of the Electoral College for the Whig Party in 1840.   A member of Tammany Hall, Porter represented the interests of the growing urban centers against the land owning families of Clinton and Livingston and argued for greater representation in state government.  Although not an official candidate for Governor of New York against Dewitt Clinton, Porter polled over 1300 votes and established himself as a state wide politician with clout in the emerging Whig then Republican Party.

In this speech, Porter condemns the control that the Clintons and Livingstons had on New York State politics and gives as evidence their influence in the defeat of Aaron Burr for governor and the victory of Morgan Lewis for the post.  This interparty squabble caused a split which resulted in the evolution of Tammany Hall as a force in state politics.  In the strongest possible language Porter accused the Clintons and Livingstons of concert with the devil and denounced their treachery as the most significant threats to the responsible government and the vote of the people. 

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography V, p. 78.  Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Peter Buell Porter".