Whigs have a distinguished history in the State of New York.  Six Whigs served as Governor:

William H. Seward (1839-1842): an outspoken opponent of slavery, he also served as US Senator (1849-1861) and Secretary of State (1861-1869) under presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson; while in that capacity he arranged for the  purchase of Alaska from Russia in March 1867 for $7.2 million (2 cents an acre, or about $100 million in current dollars).

John Young (1847-1849): also served as Congressman and United States Assistant Treasurer.

Hamilton Fish (1849-1850): also served as Congressman (1843-1845), Secretary of State (1869-1877) under President Ulysses Grant, and trustee of Columbia University for 53 years.

Washington Hunt (1851-1852): also served as Congressman (1843-1849).

Myron H. Clark (1855-1856): the last Whig governor of New York was a strong supporter of Prohibition.

Other notable Whig New Yorkers include:

Horace Greeley, founder and editor of the New York Tribune, one of America's best newspapers from 1841 until it merged with the New York Herald in 1924.  In its heyday, the Tribune was known as a leading voice of Whig opinion, as well as for its accurate reporting, thoughtful editorials and rejection of sensationalism. 

Ambrose L. Jordan, the first New York State Attorney General to be elected by popular ballot.

Ogden Hoffman, served as Congressman (1837-1841), United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1841-1845), and New York State Attorney General (1854-1855).

William H. Seward

The New York Modern Whig Party held its first meeting at the historic Thayer Hotel at West Point in May 2009. We are currently organizing, recruiting and planning for our first convention to be held no later than the fall of 2011 in New York City.

Our State Chairman is Gene Chaas, born in Rochester, educated in political science and international relations at Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps.

The goal of the New York Modern Whigs is simple: to fundamentally reform the currently dysfunctional State government so that it can once again fulfill its role of fostering healthy economic activity and efficiently providing public services to its citizens. 

We plan to do this by replacing incompetent and corrupt incumbents now entrenched in Albany with a new breed of Whig citizen-legislators who are elected to serve strictly based on merit, and who are committed to solving problems by using sound methodology instead of partisan ideology.

If you like what you've learned about us and are intrigued by our mission, then JOIN US!  Our State and our Country need your help.  The Modern Whigs are ready to take on and overthrow the unseemly status quo. Are you?

Horace Greeley