"
There were, then, three workingmen's parties in New York, none of
which, however, succeeded in gaining an influential position in
state politics. After 1830 all these parties disappeared, but not
without leaving a legacy of valuable experience. "The Working
Man's Advocate" discovered political wisdom when it confessed
that "whether these measures are carried by the formation of a
new party, by the reform of an old one, or by the abolishment of
party altogether, is of comparative unimportance."
In New England, the workingmen's political endeavors were joined
with those of the farmers under the agency of the New England
Association of Farmers, Mechanics, and Workingmen. This
organization was initiated in 1830 by the workingmen of
Woodstock, Vermont, and their journal, the "Working Man's
Gazette," became a medium of agitation which affected all the New
England manufacturing towns as well as many farming communities.
"Woodstock meetings," as they were called, were held everywhere
and aroused both workingmen and farmers to form a new political
party. "The Springfield Republican" summarized the demands of the
new party thus:
"The avowed objects generally seem to be to abolish imprisonment
for debt, the abolishment of litigation, and in lieu thereof the
settlement of disputes by reference to neighbors; to establish
some more equal and universal system of public education; to
diminish the salaries and extravagance of public officers; to
support no men for offices of public trust, but farmers,
mechanics, and what the party call "working men"; and to elevate
the character of this class by mental instruction and mental
improvement .
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