Daniel D. Tompkins

Daniel D. Tompkins
Official Portrait c. 1817
6th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
PresidentJames Monroe
Preceded byElbridge Gerry
Succeeded byJohn C. Calhoun
4th Governor of New York
In office
July 1, 1807 – February 24, 1817
LieutenantJohn Broome
DeWitt Clinton
John Tayler
Preceded byMorgan Lewis
Succeeded byJohn Tayler (acting)
Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature
In office
July 2, 1804 – July 1, 1807
Succeeded byWilliam W. Van Ness
Member of the New York State Assembly from New York County
In office
July 1, 1802 – June 30, 1803
Personal details
Born
Daniel Tompkins

(1774-06-21)June 21, 1774
Scarsdale, Province of New York, British America (now New York, U.S.)
DiedJune 11, 1825(1825-06-11) (aged 50)
Castleton, Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Resting placeSt. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Spouse
(m. 1798)
Children8, including Minthorne
EducationColumbia University (BA)
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fourth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.

Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins practiced law in New York City after graduating from Columbia College. He was a delegate to the 1801 New York constitutional convention and served on the New York Supreme Court from 1804 to 1807. In 1807, he defeated incumbent Morgan Lewis to become the Governor of New York. He held that office from 1807 to 1817, serving for the duration of the War of 1812. During the war, he often spent his own money to equip and pay the militia when the legislature was not in session, or would not approve the necessary funds.

Tompkins was the Democratic-Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in the 1816 presidential election. The ticket of James Monroe and Tompkins easily prevailed over limited Federalist opposition. He served as vice president from 1817 to 1825, and was the only 19th century vice president to serve two full terms. In 1820, he sought another term as Governor of New York, but was defeated by DeWitt Clinton. After the War of 1812, Tompkins was in poor physical and financial health, the latter condition stemming largely from his spending for the military effort during the War of 1812. He fell into alcoholism and was unable to re-establish fiscal solvency despite winning partial reimbursement from the federal government in 1823. He died 99 days after completing a second term and leaving office at the age of 50.


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