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502. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Strafford County
503. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 1
504. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 10
505. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 11
506. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 12
507. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 2
508. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 3
509. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 4
510. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 5
511. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 6
512. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 7
513. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 8
514. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 9
515. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer
516. New Hampshire 1818 Governor
517. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
518. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
519. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
520. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
521. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Strafford County
522. New Hampshire 1818 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
523. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 1
524. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 10
525. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 11
526. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 12
527. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 2
528. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 3
529. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 4
530. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 5
531. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 6
532. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 7
533. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 8
534. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 9
535. New Hampshire 1819 Governor
536. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
537. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
538. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
539. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
540. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Strafford County
541. New Hampshire 1819 House of Representatives, Concord
542. New Hampshire 1819 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
543. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 1
544. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 10
545. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 11
546. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 12
547. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 2
548. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 3
549. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 4
550. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 5
551. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 6
552. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 7
553. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 8
554. New Hampshire 1819 State Senate, District 9
555. New Hampshire 1819 Treasurer
556. New Hampshire 1820 Governor
557. New Hampshire 1820 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
558. New Hampshire 1820 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
559. New Hampshire 1820 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
560. New Hampshire 1820 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
561. New Hampshire 1820 Governor's Council, Strafford County
562. New Hampshire 1820 House of Representatives, Concord
563. New Hampshire 1820 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
564. New Hampshire 1820 House of Representatives, Portsmouth, Ballot 2
565. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 1
566. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 10
567. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 11
568. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 12
569. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 2
570. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 3
571. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 4
572. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 5
573. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 6
574. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 7
575. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 8
576. New Hampshire 1820 State Senate, District 9
577. New Hampshire 1820 Treasurer
578. New Hampshire 1821 Commissary General
579. New Hampshire 1821 Governor
580. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
581. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County, Nomination
582. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County, Nomination, Ballot 2
583. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County, Nomination, Ballot 3
584. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County, Nomination, Ballot 4
585. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County, Nomination, Ballot 5
586. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Cheshire County, Nomination, Ballot 6
587. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
588. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
589. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
590. New Hampshire 1821 Governor's Council, Strafford County
591. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 1
592. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 10
593. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 10, Nomination
594. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 10, Nomination, Ballot 2
595. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 11
596. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 12
597. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 2
598. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 3
599. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 4
600. New Hampshire 1821 State Senate, District 5
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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.