CITY AND COUNTY OF ALBANY: INTRODUCTION

were Federalists. Federalist Jeronemus Hoogland charged Antifederalists with
planting a number of lists of Federalist nominees in the newspapers to divide
the Federalist vote (to Philip Schuyler, 1 March).
The city of Albany was a Federalist bastion, while most of the surrounding
country was strongly Antifederalist. The rural areas included the large manors
and estates of several Federalist families, such as the Schuylers, Van Rensselaers,
and Ten Broecks. Since both sides believed that a narrow margin of victory
would be likely, the campaign was hard fought. Federalist Leonard Gansevoort
described Antifederalists as "indefatigable in endeavouring to excite the Peo-
ple" against the Constitution (to Peter Gansevoort, 13 February), while Fed-
eralist Philip Schuyler indicated that Federalists "conducted the business with
great propriety, and Activity, and continue unremitting in their endeavours to
insure Success" (to Robert R. Livingston, 29 March). Leonard Gansevoort sug-
gested to his brother Peter that the district of Saratoga was heavily Federalist
and "if properly drawn forth" might determine the election (18 March).
Antifederalists were particularly effective at distributing their literature. Fed-
eralist William North complained to Henry Knox (13 February, RCS:N.Y., 766)
that "The Centinel, the farmers letters, & every other publication against the
Constitution are scattered all over the County, while the federalist remains at
New York, & not a single Piece ... is sent abroad." Likewise, in early April the
New York Federal Republican Committee recorded sending 380 copies of
Mercy Warren's "A Columbian Patriot," Observations on the Constitution
(CC:581) to John Lansing, Jr., in Albany for distribution (RCS:N.Y., 896). By
mid-April, Federalists had managed to get at least forty or fifty copies of volume
one of "Publius," The Federalist (Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James
Madison, RCS:N.Y., 137-43, 878-80) to Albany to aid the Federalist election
cause (Archibald M'Lean to Stephen Van Rensselaer, 10 April, and Leonard
Gansevoort to Stephen Van Rensselaer, 11 April, RCS:N.Y, 906-7, 913). Ap-
parently to counter an argument made by Albany Antifederalists that New York
City Scotsmen opposed the Constitution, an address dated 12 April and signed
by fifty-five New York City Scotsmen supported the Constitution and encour-
aged their Albany counterparts to do the same. Fifteen Albany Scotsmen en-
dorsed and subscribed to the address on 21 April. The address and the Albany
endorsement were printed together as a broadside that circulated in Albany
(21 April). The Albany Anti-Federal Committee questioned the validity of at
least one of the fifteen subscribers and asserted that forty-one Albany Scotsmen
"have declared in writing" their opposition to the adoption of an unamended
Constitution (c. 28 April).
After the election and prior to the counting of the ballots, uncertainty
reigned. Alexander Hamilton noted to James Madison on 11 May that "both
sides claim the victory" in Albany, which looked at that time to be the swing
county. William North believed that in the town of Schoharie Antifederalists
outnumbered Federalists three to one (to James Duane, 4 May); by contrast,
the Lansingburgh Federal Herald claimed on 5 May that "in this district, there
is a majority of near 300 federal voters. We are happy to add, that four-fifths
of the people in Lansingburgh are federal."
In the end, Antifederalists decisively swept the county. John Lansing, Jr.,
wrote to Abraham Yates, Jr., in New York City on 1 June that "the Event has

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