ANTI-RENTERS
\ˈantiɹˈɛntəz], \ˈantiɹˈɛntəz], \ˈa_n_t_i_ɹ_ˈɛ_n_t_ə_z]\
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A name given about 1840 to the tenants of the large estates in New York granted to patroons by the Dutch Company and James II. These tenants held deeds of the land, but paid rent annually, an arrangement which caused much dissatisfaction. In 1839, on the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer, one of the principal landholders, his tenants refused to pay rent to his successor. Open revolt followed, sometimes attended by riot and bloodshed. Attempts to collect rents by military aid led to the Helderberg War. In 1847 and 1848 the Anti-renters showed themselves as a political power in the State. The Court of Appeals in 1852 gave a decision in the main sustaining the tenants, and practically ended the anti-rent movement.
By John Franklin Jameson