Early on in the the struggle for American liberties he as a leader of the Albany's Patriots. Even though he did not sign the Albany Sons of Liberty constitution of 1766, he did become prominent in the Albany opposition to the Stamp Act. Between 1771 and 1775 Yates was a member of the Albany board of aldermen. Pre-Revolution he considered himself a Whig, whose vigilance against corruption and emphasis on the protection of liberty appealed to many in the all Thirteen Colonies. By 1774, he had joined the Albany Committee of Correspondence and stood among its first members when the committee's activities became public in 1775. During this time he remained a member of the Albany common council, even though it purpose was being replaced by the extra-legal Committee of Correspondence, Safety, and Protection.
Beginning in the spring of 1775, he was elected to represent Albany in each of the four New York Provincial Congresses. The first three Provincial Congresses met in New York while the last one, convened after the Declaration of Independence, met in locations throughout the Hudson Valley, due to British forces in and around New York City. A the representative for the second ward on the committee, he was in close contact with the ward from his subsequent offices until it ceased operations in 1778. While representing the second ward, he also served as secretary of the Board of Indian Commissioners, a post requiring him to travel to the frontier (western edge of organized and explored territories). Once the American Revolution broke out, Yates served on the Albany committee of safety and represented his county in four provincial congresses and in the convention of 1775-77. At the convention he sat on various committees, including the committee in 1776-1777 that drafted the first Constitution for the State of New York that was subsequently ratified on April 20, 1777. He also served as a member of the, "Secret Committee for Obstructing Navigation of the Hudson." to disrupt British movements on the Hudson.
In October 1777, Yates was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court. Through the darkest days of the struggle, Yates travelled the state, sitting on the court and otherwise aiding the American cause. Although he often was away from Albany, his family continued to grow as two sons were born during the war years. At the end of the war, Robert Yates's family moved into a new home on upper State Street. Though he served principally an associate justice of the state Supreme Court, Yates did maintain a modest legal practice as well continuing to survey. During the 1780s, Robert yates political status continued to rise as he spoke against of Governor George Clinton in the potential increase in the size of a national government.
In 1787, along with John Lansing, Jr. and Alexander Hamilton, he selected to represent the State of New York during the Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. Upon arriving in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, Yates and John Lansing he felt the idea to form an entirely new government was beyond what the scope their granted authority. Robert Yates kept detailed notes during his participation in the Convention (Robert Yates Notes on the Convention of 1787). But he eventually soured on what was taking place in Philadelphia and subsequent sent a letter to Governor Clinton urging opposition to the new Constitution. Robert yates and John Lansing both left the Convention on July 10 and never returned. His personal notes from the Philadelphia convention were published in 1821.
During the Ratification debates in New York, fellow New Yorkers Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, with James Madison wrote the the 85 essays of the Federalist Papers. Along with the Federalist Papers, a series of Essays from the Anti-federalists were also published. Among these was the pseudonym of Brutus, believed to have been written by Robert Yates. Brutus published 16 essays between October 18, 1787 and April 10, 1788 (link to 16 Brutus essays). The objective of Brutus and the Anti-Federalists was to prevent the ratification of the Constitution, at the very least with our certain Amendments. He opposed any concessions to the federal congress, such as the right to collect impost duties, that might diminish the sovereignty of the states.Even though the anti-Federalists and Brutus failed to prevent any State from ratifying the Constitution, they did help cause enough questions about it that resulted in several States demanding Amendments to the Constitution in exchange for their ratification, including New York. As a an Anti-Federalist member in opposition to the Constitution in the New York Ratification Convention, we witnessed New York became the 11th State to ratify the Constitution on July 26, 1788. Upon ratification, he felt it was his Patriotic Duty to accept and support the new Constitution.
As a Revolutionary leader, Robert Yates enjoyed a long and distinguished career in both law and in public service. He enjoyed great stature and notoriety during his lifetime. Even though he was prominent as an anti-federalist he was widely regarded as the most moderate of the Antifederalists. In 1801 he died at the age of sixty three in Albany, New york. His wife Jannetje Van Ness Yates died in 1818. Their son, jurist John Van Ness Yates, succeeded to Robert Yates's legal practice and lived in the State Street home.
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/y/ryates.html
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/delegates/yates.html
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/B/yates/yates.htm
No comments :
Post a Comment