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2. New Hampshire 1793 Governor's Council, Grafton County
3. New Hampshire 1793 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
4. New Hampshire 1793 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
5. New Hampshire 1793 Governor's Council, Strafford County
6. New Hampshire 1794 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
7. New Hampshire 1794 Governor's Council, Grafton County
8. New Hampshire 1794 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
9. New Hampshire 1794 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
10. New Hampshire 1794 Governor's Council, Strafford County
11. New Hampshire 1795 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
12. New Hampshire 1795 Governor's Council, Grafton County
13. New Hampshire 1795 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
14. New Hampshire 1795 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
15. New Hampshire 1795 Governor's Council, Strafford County
16. New Hampshire 1796 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
17. New Hampshire 1796 Governor's Council, Grafton County
18. New Hampshire 1796 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
19. New Hampshire 1796 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
20. New Hampshire 1796 Governor's Council, Strafford County
21. New Hampshire 1797 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
22. New Hampshire 1797 Governor's Council, Grafton County
23. New Hampshire 1797 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
24. New Hampshire 1797 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
25. New Hampshire 1797 Governor's Council, Strafford County
26. New Hampshire 1798 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
27. New Hampshire 1798 Governor's Council, Grafton County
28. New Hampshire 1798 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
29. New Hampshire 1798 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
30. New Hampshire 1798 Governor's Council, Strafford County
31. New Hampshire 1799 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
32. New Hampshire 1799 Governor's Council, Grafton County
33. New Hampshire 1799 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
34. New Hampshire 1799 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
35. New Hampshire 1799 Governor's Council, Strafford County
36. New Hampshire 1800 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
37. New Hampshire 1800 Governor's Council, Grafton County
38. New Hampshire 1800 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
39. New Hampshire 1800 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
40. New Hampshire 1800 Governor's Council, Strafford County
41. New Hampshire 1801 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
42. New Hampshire 1801 Governor's Council, Grafton County
43. New Hampshire 1801 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
44. New Hampshire 1801 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
45. New Hampshire 1801 Governor's Council, Strafford County
46. New Hampshire 1802 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
47. New Hampshire 1802 Governor's Council, Grafton County
48. New Hampshire 1802 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
49. New Hampshire 1802 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
50. New Hampshire 1802 Governor's Council, Strafford County
51. New Hampshire 1803 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
52. New Hampshire 1803 Governor's Council, Grafton County
53. New Hampshire 1803 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
54. New Hampshire 1803 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
55. New Hampshire 1803 Governor's Council, Strafford County
56. New Hampshire 1804 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
57. New Hampshire 1804 Governor's Council, Grafton County
58. New Hampshire 1804 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
59. New Hampshire 1804 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
60. New Hampshire 1804 Governor's Council, Strafford County
61. New Hampshire 1805 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
62. New Hampshire 1805 Governor's Council, Grafton County
63. New Hampshire 1805 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
64. New Hampshire 1805 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
65. New Hampshire 1805 Governor's Council, Strafford County
66. New Hampshire 1806 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
67. New Hampshire 1806 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
68. New Hampshire 1806 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
69. New Hampshire 1806 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
70. New Hampshire 1806 Governor's Council, Strafford County
71. New Hampshire 1807 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
72. New Hampshire 1807 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
73. New Hampshire 1807 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
74. New Hampshire 1807 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
75. New Hampshire 1807 Governor's Council, Strafford County
76. New Hampshire 1808 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
77. New Hampshire 1808 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
78. New Hampshire 1808 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
79. New Hampshire 1808 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
80. New Hampshire 1808 Governor's Council, Strafford County
81. New Hampshire 1809 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
82. New Hampshire 1809 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
83. New Hampshire 1809 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
84. New Hampshire 1809 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
85. New Hampshire 1809 Governor's Council, Strafford County
86. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
87. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
88. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
89. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
90. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Strafford County
91. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
92. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
93. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
94. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
95. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Strafford County
96. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
97. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
98. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
99. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
100. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Strafford County
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Attitudes toward New Hampshire's form of government were shaped by the state's relationship with England and by a series of royal governors. The debate erupted in the mid-1770s and continued during the war. The fundamental ideological disagreement focused on local control versus state authority. Moreover, the competition for power among three distinct regions of New Hampshire (the seacoast and Piscataqua Valley, Merrimack Valley, and the Connecticut River Valley) animated the public debate further.
Before passage of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, New Hampshire was the only province in New England without a formal charter of incorporation. New Hampshire was without legal government when the last royal governor, John Wentworth, fled in the summer of 1775 and the personal safety and future of Loyalists was in question. New Hampshire declared its independence six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.
The Federalists, an elite party concerned about commercial interests and monetary policy for the new nation, regained power in New Hampshire in 1813 under John Taylor Gilman, who did not cooperate with President Madison's administration and did not support the war. Power for the Federalists was short-lived, as a declining economy lead to the resurgence of the Republican Party after the war.
The nature of state government that evolved in New Hampshire during the nationalization of America had its roots in the desire to impose checks on state control, creating a political structure that was and continues to be decentralized. The governor heads a weak executive branch held in check to this day by a five-member Executive Council elected from five regions of the state. Moreover, the large House of Representatives, known as the General Court (400 members), ensures strong local representation and is the third largest legislative body in the world after Parliament and the United States Congress. A 24-member state Senate rounds out a bicameral legislative body.
New Hampshire remains one of two states with two-year terms for governor, for members of the Executive Council, and for legislative office. The struggle in the early national period focused on local control, on limiting state and federal power, and on the proper distribution of authority. Although New Hampshire became the keystone of the federal government by voting as the ninth and ratifying state to adopt the United States Constitution in 1789, it has always cast a wary eye on federal power over states and on state power over local government.
Local elections of delegates and representatives to constitutional conventions included the tactic of "binding instructions" to ensure that local representation would not be sacrificed to the state or federal government. This proved unpopular because a constitutional convention requires public discussion and reasoned decisions based on varying points of view raised at the convention. Hence the delegates need flexibility, not binding instructions. However, New Hampshire's political culture continues to be steeped in the desire to preserve local, community interests. The method of voting began with voice votes at town meetings, but by 1804 New Hampshire had directed in state statute that town clerks be chosen by ballot. Ballots were hand written, although by the 1830s, printed ballots came into use.
Early in the new republic, the right to vote reflected the tension between the Federalists, those property owners with a "stake in society," and the Republicans (Democratic-Republicans), who wanted to expand democratic participation as broadly as possible—so broadly, in fact, that some feared "mob rule" at the other end of the spectrum. By 1800 New Hampshire was one of just three states (the others were Kentucky and Vermont) that had universal white manhood suffrage, having done away with the requirement of property ownership. All of New England except Connecticut allowed African Americans to vote without significant restriction. New Hampshire endorsed the principle that the more people taking part in the democratic process, the better. This engaged political culture continues to this day, with high voter participation in New Hampshire's well-known first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
Bibliography
- Daniell, Jere R. 1981.
Colonial New Hampshire—A History. Millwood, NY: KTO Press. - Gardner, William M., Mevers, Frank C., Upton, Richard F. 1989.
New Hampshire: The State That Made Us A Nation. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher. - Turner, Lynn Warren. 1983.
The Ninth State: New Hampshire’s Formative Years. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Governor's Council
In Crown colonies and dependencies of Great Britain, a body assisting the governor in an executive or legislative capacity, or in both. This survives in some of the United States, as in Massachusetts and Maine, in the advisory body called the Governor's Council. Though called Council, the position in Vermont was the same as Governor's Council in other states and was part of the Executive Branch of the Government.
Oxford English Dictionary
1790 - 1824: Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Vermont
Office Scope: State
Role Scope: State / County (New Hampshire)