DeWitt Clinton was a remarkable man, most remembered for his promotion of the construction of the Erie Canal, which changed the fate of New York City, the Great Lakes region, and indeed the entire nation. He was a legendary mayor of New York and later, state governor.
DeWitt Clinton was the nephew of New York's first governor (and later, Thomas Jefferson's vice president), George Clinton. He was born in New Britain, New York in 1769 and he graduated from Columbia College in 1786. Three years after graduating, he was admitted to the bar, and he served as secretary for George Clinton, with whom he shared Anti-Federalist politics. His law practice quickly led to a political career, serving as a state senator from 1798-1802 and again from 1806-1811, a U.S. senator from 1802-1803, mayor of New York (1803-1815 except for two one-year terms) and governor from 1817-1823 and from 1825 until his death in 1828. In 1812, he lost the national presidential election to James Madison.
His most famous accomplishment, the construction of the Erie Canal, was amazing for the sheer scope of the undertaking. The canal was 363 miles long, containing 82 locks altogether, and it allowed ships to travel from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean - through the port of New York City. New York benefited tremendously; already the commercial center of the United States, with the wealth attained from shipping, its status as the U.S.'s economic capital was assured for years to come.
Clinton's advocacy was the primary impetus behind the digging of the canal, and during his two year hiatus from the governorship, he served as a commissioner overseeing the project. It was completed during the first year of his third term as governor.
Prior to the creation of the Erie Canal, one of Clinton's greatest accomplishments was the creation of New York City's public schools, as well as his role in creating the state's public school system. Other achievements in the city were the removal of voting restrictions against Catholics and the establishment of public welfare programs in the city.
One of his most important acts during his mayoralty was the establishment of a grid pattern for Manhattan's streets, which was a huge undertaking, leveling hills and filling ponds to force the island to conform to this vision. The streets are straight, with twelve avenues stretching the length of the island, north to south, and 155 east-west streets. Their numbering system, in lieu of names, was symbolic of the ideal of democracy in the young nation. The grid allowed for quick growth of the city, with real estate already divided into easily-traded blocks, and it assured that the city would remain navigable with future growth.
DeWitt Clinton, tall, gifted with rhetoric, and accomplished, was nicknamed "Magnus Apollo" in New York, and the name is appropriate - he did more to influence the city's history than anyone before or since. His impact on New York was immense; indeed, it's impossible to imagine what the city would have become without him.