14. Rebelling against New York’s feudal landowning structure, the ultimately successful Anti-Renters included the son of the then-President of the United States
Opposing the manorial system of land ownership – wherein a patroon enjoyed the rights to large tracts of lands and leased these possessions out in a manner akin to the feudal system of Medieval Europe – the Anti-Rent War, also known as the Helderberg War, was a rebellion in upstate New York from 1839 to 1845. Instigated by the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer III, a lenient landowner who had allowed deferred payments of rents and was regarded as “benevolent” by his tenants, Rensselaer’s will stipulated all outstanding rents were to be collected by his heirs. Impoverished and unable to repay collectors, facing eviction and destitution the tenants revolted.
Issuing a declaration on July 4, 1839, proclaiming an end to the corrupt and abusive system, in December the rebels had formed a coalition of five hundred soldiers including John Van Buren, the son of President Martin Van Buren. Although forced to surrender by a superior force commanded by New York’s Governor, resistance to the institution endured. Charging the leaders with a litany of crimes, the trials became so acrimonious that the two leading counsels began a fist-fight in the courtroom. Pardoning those convicted, in 1846 the New York Constitution was amended abolishing feudal tenures and outlawing lifetime leases.