Wright became a member of the
Albany Regency, the coterie of friends and supporters of
Martin Van Buren who led New York's Democratic Party beginning in the 1820s. As his career progressed, he served in the United States House of Representatives (1827–1829), as State Comptroller (1829–1833), and U.S. Senator (1833–1844). In the Senate, Wright became chairman of the
Finance Committee, a post he held from 1836 to 1841. In 1844, Van Buren lost the Democratic presidential nomination to
James K. Polk; Polk supporters nominated Wright for vice president as a way to attract Van Buren's support to the ticket, but Wright declined. Later that year he was elected governor, and he served one two-year term. Defeated for reelection in 1846, he retired to his home in Canton. He died in Canton in 1847, and was buried at Old Canton Cemetery.
Wright was an exceptional student, and received his teaching credentials when he was thirteen.[6] He taught school in
Rutland and Addison Counties from 1808 to 1810 while preparing to attend college.[7] In 1811 he began attendance at
Middlebury College.[8] Following his graduation with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1815,[5][9] Wright moved to
Sandy Hill, New York to
study law, first at the law firm headed by
Henry C. Martindale, and then with the firm of
Roger Skinner, with whom he a formed a close friendship that lasted until Skinner's death.[10] Through Skinner, Wright became acquainted with
Martin Van Buren and other members of the group known as the
Albany Regency, which came to dominate the
Democratic Party in New York.[11] Wright was
admitted to the bar in 1819 and began to travel through upstate New York looking for a place to establish himself in a legal career.[12]
Start of career
Upon arriving in
Canton, Wright met Medad Moody, a family friend from Weybridge who persuaded him to settle there.[13] Wright began a law practice and was soon involved in politics as a
Democratic-Republican, and served in local offices including justice of the peace, overseer of roads, town clerk, and school inspector.[14][15] For several years he served as Canton's postmaster.[16] He was
surrogate of
St. Lawrence County from 1821 to 1824.[17]
Military service
In 1822, several of Canton's young men formed a militia company, which they elected Wright to lead with the rank of
captain.[18] When his company was grouped with several others to form the 7th Regiment in 1825, Wright was appointed commander with the rank of
major.[18][19] In 1826 he was promoted to
colonel.[18] In 1827 his regiment was organized as part of the militia's 49th Brigade, 12th Division and the brigade's officers unanimously elected him as commander, which resulted in his promotion to
brigadier general.[20] Wright resigned in 1829, when his assumption of the
New York State Comptroller's post required him to spend the majority of his time in Albany.[19]
State senator
In 1823, the Democratic-Republican county convention in St. Lawrence County nominated Wright for the
New York State Senate.[21] The convention was dominated by supporters of Governor
DeWitt Clinton and Wright was known to be a member of the
Bucktails faction (adherents of
Martin Van Buren), but St. Lawrence County's Democratic-Republicans were anxious to end the Clinton-Van Buren rivalry prior to the 1824 presidential election.[21] As a result, the Clintonians in St. Lawrence County supported Wright.[21] The
Federalist Party had all but disappeared, but Clintonians in
Washington County nominated Allen R. Moore.[22] The district covered six counties and while Moore ran well in most, Wright's large majority in St. Lawrence County (he received every vote in Canton but his own) was sufficient for him to prevail in the general election.[22] He was elected to a four-year term.[22]
When Wright took his seat in January 1824, he became involved in an Albany Regency effort to remove DeWitt Clinton from the
Erie Canal Commission.[23] Clinton had long been identified as the main proponent of the project, and though his political career was at an ebb, voter outrage over his removal propelled Clinton's return to the governorship in 1825.[23]
In 1826, Senator Jasper Ward was accused by the press of corruption in the legislature's approval of acts of incorporation for two insurance companies.[24] Ward requested that the senate investigate, and Wright was named chairman of the committee that examined the question.[25] Wright's committee concluded that most of the charges in the newspapers were false, but that there was enough truth in them to recommend that Ward be expelled from the senate.[26] Ward resigned, and the senate took no further action.[26]
Congressman
In 1826, Wright was elected to the U.S. House as a Bucktail.[27] In the two-member 20th District, Wright and his running mate
Rudolph Bunner defeated Clintonians
Nicoll Fosdick and Elisha Camp.[27] Wright served in the
20th Congress, March 4, 1827 to February 16, 1829. In the House, Wright supported the
protectionist Tariff of 1828 (the
Tariff of Abominations), though he later changed his stance and became an advocate of low tariffs to fund the federal government - "for revenue only" in the political language of the day.[28]
Wright was a candidate for reelection to the
21st Congress in 1828, but appeared to lose to
George Fisher.[29] Wright contested the results, but Fisher was seated and served from March 4, 1829, to February 5, 1830, when the contest was decided in Wright's favor.[29] Already serving as state comptroller, Wright declined to qualify for the House seat, which remained vacant until
Jonah Sanford was seated following a special election in November 1830.[29]
State comptroller
In January 1829, incumbent
William L. Marcy resigned as
New York State Comptroller in order to accept a judgeship.[30] The comptroller was elected by a joint ballot of the state legislature for a three-year term and the legislators selected Wright to fill the vacancy.[30] In this office, Wright was also an ex officio member of the state canal commission, and his duties included oversight of the state canal system as well as management of the state's general fund.[31] During his term, he focused on the Bucktail priority of avoiding debt, arguing for limited canal maintenance and construction paid for from available funds rather than financing more expansive improvements over time.[31] He was reelected in February 1832 and served until January 4, 1833, when he resigned to accept election to the U.S. Senate.[32]
U.S. Senator
After DeWitt Clinton's death in 1828, Van Buren's Bucktail supporters became known as Jacksonians (followers of
Andrew Jackson at the national level) and the Jacksonians eventually adopted the name Democrats.[33] In 1833, Wright was the successful Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of
William L. Marcy.[34] He was reelected in 1837 and served from January 4, 1833, to November 26, 1844.[35]
An opponent of centralized banking, Wright defended
Andrew Jackson's removal of federal deposits from the
Second Bank of the United States during the
Bank War and opposed the recharter of the
United States Bank.[39] He also opposed Clay's plan to distribute surplus federal funds to the states.[40] When Van Buren succeeded Jackson as president in 1837, Wright supported his plan for an
Independent Treasury to replace the Bank of the United States.[41]
Wright voted no when
John C. Calhoun moved to stop receiving petitions to abolish slavery in the
District of Columbia, but voted yes on excluding anti-slavery materials from U.S. mail in the slave-holding states.[42] In 1838, Wright opposed
William Cabell Rives' resolution declaring that citizens of the states had no right to interfere with slavery in the federal territories and that the residents of the territories had jurisdiction.[43]
During the administration of President
John Tyler, Wright voted against the treaty for the
annexation of Texas, believing immediate annexation would cause unrest on the slavery issue.[44] In 1844, Wright declined Tyler's offer to appoint him to a vacancy on the
United States Supreme Court.[38]
1844 Democratic national convention
Wright had campaigned for Martin Van Buren
in 1840, when Van Buren lost his bid for reelection as president.[45]In 1844, Wright again supported Van Buren for president.[38] Van Buren was initially the front runner at the party's May
national convention, but his opposition to Texas annexation cost him support among southern delegates who favored the expansion of slavery, and he could not obtain the two-thirds majority required under the convention's rules.[46] Upon learning that some delegates were considering him as a compromise choice for the presidential nomination, Wright sent a letter to a New York delegate asking to be withdrawn from consideration and pledging his continued support for Van Buren.[47]
When dark horse
James K. Polk won the presidential nomination, southern Democrats attempted to appease Van Buren supporters by nominating Wright for vice president.[38]Samuel Morse was in Washington, DC to demonstrate the telegraph, which he used to send and receive convention updates from
Baltimore.[48] Upon being informed by telegraph of his selection, Wright declined the nomination, partly from refusal to support a ticket backing the annexation of Texas, and partly to avoid accusations of intriguing against Van Buren to benefit himself.[49] Skeptical delegates then dispatched a committee to Washington by train to confirm the news in person.[48] When Wright told the emissaries his refusal was firm, they returned to Baltimore, then spent the next day sending messages by telegraph in an effort to get him to reconsider.[48] Finally persuaded that he would not change his mind, delegates nominated
George M. Dallas for vice president.[49] Despite his misgivings on the Texas question, Wright campaigned for the Polk-Dallas ticket, which won the general election and took office in 1845.[49]
Governor
In August 1844, the New York state Democratic convention
nominated Wright for governor.[49] He accepted, and entered the general election contest against
Whig nominee
Millard Fillmore.[50] Wright defeated Fillmore, and took office in January 1845.[50]
As governor, Wright continued his conservative approach to state finances, vetoing a bill appropriating money for work on the state's canals because he thought the amount was excessive.[51] He also took the side of the
patroon landlords in New York's
Anti-Rent War.[52] When anti-rent tenants caused unrest in
Delaware County, Wright declared a state of insurrection and dispatched the militia to restore order.[52] He was an unsuccessful candidate for
reelection in 1846, losing to
Whig nominee
John Young, who was supported by the anti-rent tenants.[53]
Death and burial
On August 27, 1847, Wright suffered a heart attack or stroke while at the post office in Canton, which his friends believed was brought on by overwork while tending to outdoor chores at his farm in hot weather.[54] In addition, Wright had recently given up alcohol after years of heavy drinking, and quitting suddenly may have had a negative effect on his health.[55] Medical attention was summoned, and he was soon well enough to walk home, but he collapsed again and died shortly after reaching his house.[54] He was buried at Old Canton Cemetery.[56] Wright's death was sudden and surprised his political supporters, who had been planning to offer him as a candidate in the
1848 presidential election.[57]
Family
In 1833, Wright married Clarissa Moody (1804–1870), the daughter of the family friend who had persuaded him to settle in Canton.[58] They had no children.[58]
The people of
Weybridge, Vermont erected a monument to Wright; it includes sculptures by
Erastus Dow Palmer and stands in the center of town along
Vermont Route 23.[60] The Wright memorial inspired the name of a nearby dairy, Monument Farms.[60]