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802. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 6
803. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 7
804. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 8
805. New Hampshire 1815 State Senate, District 9
806. New Hampshire 1815 Treasurer, Cheshire County
807. New Hampshire 1815 Treasurer, Grafton County
808. New Hampshire 1815 Treasurer, Hillsborough County
809. New Hampshire 1815 Treasurer, Rockingham County
810. New Hampshire 1816 Clerk of the House of Representatives
811. New Hampshire 1816 Electoral College
812. New Hampshire 1816 Governor
813. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
814. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
815. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
816. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
817. New Hampshire 1816 Governor's Council, Strafford County
818. New Hampshire 1816 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
819. New Hampshire 1816 House of Representatives, Portsmouth, Ballot 2
820. New Hampshire 1816 Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County
821. New Hampshire 1816 Registry of Deeds, Grafton County
822. New Hampshire 1816 Registry of Deeds, Hillsborough County
823. New Hampshire 1816 Registry of Deeds, Rockingham County
824. New Hampshire 1816 Registry of Deeds, Strafford County
825. New Hampshire 1816 Senate President
826. New Hampshire 1816 Senate President
827. New Hampshire 1816 Speaker of the House
828. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 1
829. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 10
830. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 11
831. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 11, Ballot 2
832. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 12
833. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 12, Ballot 2
834. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 2
835. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 3
836. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 4
837. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 5
838. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 6
839. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 7
840. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 8
841. New Hampshire 1816 State Senate, District 9
842. New Hampshire 1816 Treasurer, Cheshire County
843. New Hampshire 1816 Treasurer, Grafton County
844. New Hampshire 1816 Treasurer, Hillsborough County
845. New Hampshire 1816 Treasurer, Rockingham County
846. New Hampshire 1816 Treasurer, Strafford County
847. New Hampshire 1816 U.S. House of Representatives
848. New Hampshire 1816 U.S. Senate
849. New Hampshire 1816 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
850. New Hampshire 1816 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3
851. New Hampshire 1817 Governor
852. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
853. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
854. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
855. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
856. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Strafford County
857. New Hampshire 1817 Governor's Council, Strafford County, Ballot 2
858. New Hampshire 1817 Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County
859. New Hampshire 1817 Registry of Deeds, Grafton County
860. New Hampshire 1817 Registry of Deeds, Hillsborough County
861. New Hampshire 1817 Registry of Deeds, Rockingham County
862. New Hampshire 1817 Secretary of State
863. New Hampshire 1817 Speaker of the House
864. New Hampshire 1817 Speaker of the House, Ballot 2
865. New Hampshire 1817 Speaker of the House, Ballot 3
866. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 1
867. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 10
868. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 11
869. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 12
870. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 2
871. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 3
872. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 4
873. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 5
874. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 6
875. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 7
876. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 8
877. New Hampshire 1817 State Senate, District 9
878. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer
879. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer, Cheshire County
880. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer, Grafton County
881. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer, Hillsborough County
882. New Hampshire 1817 Treasurer, Rockingham County
883. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate
884. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 13
885. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
886. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3
887. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4
888. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 5
889. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 6
890. New Hampshire 1817 U.S. Senate, Ballot 7
891. New Hampshire 1818 Governor
892. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Cheshire County
893. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Coos and Grafton Counties
894. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Hillsborough County
895. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Rockingham County
896. New Hampshire 1818 Governor's Council, Strafford County
897. New Hampshire 1818 House of Representatives, Portsmouth
898. New Hampshire 1818 Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County
899. New Hampshire 1818 Registry of Deeds, Grafton County
900. New Hampshire 1818 Registry of Deeds, Hillsborough 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.