[1] The New York General Assembly was first convened on October 17, 1683, during the governorship of Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick, which passed an act entitled "A Charter of Liberties" that decreed that the supreme legislative power under the Duke of York (later King James II) shall reside in a governor, council, and the people convened in general assembly; conferred upon the members of the assembly rights and privileges making them a body coequal to and independent of the English Parliament; established town, county, and general courts of justice; solemnly proclaimed the right of religious liberty; and passed acts enunciating certain constitutional liberties, e.g. taxes could be levied only by the people met in general assembly; right of suffrage; and no martial law or quartering of the soldiers without the consent of the inhabitants.

[2] The Assembly grew to twenty-seven members,[a] elected by voice vote by the people once every seven years and the districts they represented.

The Assembly had the sole right of originating all laws granting appropriations of money, and, during Governor William Cosby's administration, which was defined by political struggles and is known as one of the most oppressive royal placeholders, they withheld his compensation in an attempt to bring him closer to their desires.

[4] Reportedly, "these quarrels had considerably subsided before the revolution; but they doubtless had an influence beneficial to liberty, by introducing political discussions, and imparting a knowledge of the tendencies of irresponsible power.

Among its last acts was the adoption of petitions to the king and Parliament of Great Britain, in which, while they "professed a warm attachment to the royal person and government, they solemnly protested against the aggressions that had for years been gaining upon the rights of the people, and expressed, quite as strongly as was then avowed by the patriots of the day, the sentiments advocated in the revolution.