De Witt Clinton

De Witt Clinton was admitted to the New York State bar in 1788. After being elected to the state legislature in 1797 and serving in the state Senate from 1798 to 1802; he became a US Senator in 1802. Clinton in the same year, after his uncle appointed him mayor of New York. He ran for President in 1812, but was defeated by James Madison. Clinton remained Mayor of New York until 1815. Promoting the idea of building the Erie Canal, he was elected Governor of New York State in 1817. While in office, he supported Emma Willard's proposals for educational equality for women, even though those proposals were rejected by the state legislature. Clinton invited her to move her Connecticut school to New York, which she did in 1821. He fulfilled his ambition for the Erie Canal by overseeing its completion, and opening it in 1825. Clinton died in office in 1828.