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502. New Hampshire 1815 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
503. New Hampshire 1815 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties, Ballot 2
504. New Hampshire 1815 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
505. New Hampshire 1815 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
506. New Hampshire 1815 Governor's Council, Strafford County
507. New Hampshire 1815 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
508. New Hampshire 1815 Speaker of the House
509. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 1
510. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 10
511. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 11
512. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 11, Ballot 2
513. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 12
514. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 2
515. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 3
516. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 4
517. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 5
518. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 6
519. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 7
520. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 8
521. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 9
522. New Hampshire 1816 Clerk of the House of Representatives
523. New Hampshire 1816 Governor
524. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
525. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
526. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
527. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
528. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Strafford County
529. New Hampshire 1816 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
530. New Hampshire 1816 House of Representatives, Portsmouth, Ballot 2
531. New Hampshire 1816 Senate President
532. New Hampshire 1816 Senate President
533. New Hampshire 1816 Speaker of the House
534. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 1
535. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 10
536. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 11
537. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 11, Ballot 2
538. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 12
539. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 12, Ballot 2
540. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 2
541. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 3
542. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 4
543. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 5
544. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 6
545. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 7
546. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 8
547. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 9
548. New Hampshire 1817 Governor
549. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
550. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
551. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
552. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
553. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Strafford County
554. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Strafford County, Ballot 2
555. New Hampshire 1817 Secretary of State
556. New Hampshire 1817 Speaker of the House
557. New Hampshire 1817 Speaker of the House, Ballot 2
558. New Hampshire 1817 Speaker of the House, Ballot 3
559. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 1
560. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 10
561. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 11
562. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 12
563. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 2
564. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 3
565. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 4
566. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 5
567. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 6
568. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 7
569. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 8
570. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 9
571. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer
572. New Hampshire 1818 Governor
573. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
574. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
575. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
576. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
577. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Strafford County
578. New Hampshire 1818 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
579. New Hampshire 1818 Speaker of the House
580. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 1
581. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 10
582. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 11
583. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 12
584. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 2
585. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 3
586. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 4
587. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 5
588. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 6
589. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 7
590. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 8
591. New Hampshire 1818 State Senate, District 9
592. New Hampshire 1819 Clerk of the Senate
593. New Hampshire 1819 Governor
594. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
595. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
596. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties, Ballot 2
597. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
598. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
599. New Hampshire 1819 Governor's Council, Strafford County
600. New Hampshire 1819 House of Representatives, Concord
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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.