Historic New York

The anti-rent agitations of the 1830's and 1840's originated in the landowning system of colonial New York. Grants of extensive estates in the 17th and 18th centuries gave to the Van Rensselaers, Livingstons and other owners considerable power over land and tenants. Many of their manorial privileges lasted into the 19th century.
Hardworking farmers, who could not purchase land on the manors but could only obtain perpetual leases, objected to the powers exerted by the aristocratic landlords. Periodic outbursts of unrest culminated in the "Anti-Rent Wars." Down-rent sentiments inflamed Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Schoharie, Ulster and Columbia Counties, and hostility became particularly vehement in Delaware County.
Men disguised themselves with masks and calico cloaks. Blasts on tin horns rallied these "calico Indians" to block with force attempts by sheriffs to collect rents or evict defaulters. After a deputy was killed in 1845, Governor Silas Wright sent the militia to restore order in Delaware County.
Following that peak of excitement, anti-rent disputes became immersed in politics. The Legislature and the State Constitutional Convention of 1846, acting on the anti-rent complaints, abolished the landowners' privileges and limited the terms of future leases. Other manorial rules gradually disappeared.
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Department · State of New York · 1966 · Department of Public Works

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