Results navigation
602. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
603. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
604. New Hampshire 1810 Governor's Council, Strafford County
605. New Hampshire 1810 Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County
606. New Hampshire 1810 Registry of Deeds, Grafton County
607. New Hampshire 1810 Secretary of State
608. New Hampshire 1810 Speaker of the House
609. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 1
610. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 10
611. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 11
612. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 12
613. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 2
614. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 3
615. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 4
616. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 5
617. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 6
618. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 7
619. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 8
620. New Hampshire 1810 State Senate, District 9
621. New Hampshire 1810 Treasurer, Cheshire County
622. New Hampshire 1810 Treasurer, Grafton County
623. New Hampshire 1810 U.S. House of Representatives
624. New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate
625. New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
626. New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3
627. New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4
628. New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Special
629. New Hampshire 1811 Clerk of the House of Representatives
630. New Hampshire 1811 Governor
631. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
632. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
633. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
634. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
635. New Hampshire 1811 Governor's Council, Strafford County
636. New Hampshire 1811 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
637. New Hampshire 1811 Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County
638. New Hampshire 1811 Registry of Deeds, Grafton County
639. New Hampshire 1811 Registry of Deeds, Hillsborough County
640. New Hampshire 1811 Registry of Deeds, Rockingham County
641. New Hampshire 1811 Registry of Deeds, Strafford County
642. New Hampshire 1811 Secretary of State
643. New Hampshire 1811 Speaker of the House
644. New Hampshire 1811 Speaker of the House, Ballot 4
645. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 1
646. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 10
647. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 11
648. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 12
649. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 2
650. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 3
651. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 4
652. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 5
653. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 6
654. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 7
655. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 8
656. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 8, Ballot 2
657. New Hampshire 1811 State Senate, District 9
658. New Hampshire 1811 Treasurer, Cheshire County
659. New Hampshire 1811 Treasurer, Grafton County
660. New Hampshire 1811 Treasurer, Hillsborough County
661. New Hampshire 1811 Treasurer, Rockingham County
662. New Hampshire 1811 U.S. House of Representatives, Ballot 2
663. New Hampshire 1812 Electoral College
664. New Hampshire 1812 Governor
665. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
666. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
667. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
668. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
669. New Hampshire 1812 Governor's Council, Strafford County
670. New Hampshire 1812 Governor, Ballot 2
671. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Francoia, Landaff and Lincoln
672. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Francoia, Landaff and Lincoln, Ballot 2
673. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Francoia, Landaff and Lincoln, Ballot 3
674. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Francoia, Landaff and Lincoln, Ballot 4
675. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Francoia, Landaff and Lincoln, Ballot 5
676. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
677. New Hampshire 1812 House of Representatives, Portsmouth, Ballot 2
678. New Hampshire 1812 Moderator, Portsmouth
679. New Hampshire 1812 Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County
680. New Hampshire 1812 Registry of Deeds, Grafton County
681. New Hampshire 1812 Registry of Deeds, Hillsborough County
682. New Hampshire 1812 Registry of Deeds, Rockingham County
683. New Hampshire 1812 Speaker of the House
684. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 1
685. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 10
686. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 11
687. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 12
688. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 2
689. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 2, Ballot 2
690. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 3
691. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 4
692. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 5
693. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 6
694. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 7
695. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 8
696. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 8, Ballot 2
697. New Hampshire 1812 State Senate, District 9
698. New Hampshire 1812 Treasurer, Cheshire County
699. New Hampshire 1812 Treasurer, Grafton County
700. New Hampshire 1812 Treasurer, Hillsborough County
Results navigation
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.