2. The Hartford Convention was an event happening
from December 15, 1814– January 4, 1815 in the Hartford,
Connecticut during the War of 1812 in which New England's
opposition to the war reached the point where secession
from the United States was discussed.
3. The Causes
Thomas Jefferson's anti-foreign trade policies,
particularly the Embargo Act of 1807 and James Madison's
Non-Intercourse Act of 1809, were very unpopular in the
northeastern United States, especially among merchants and
shippers. Jefferson's successor, President James Madison,
was even less popular in New England, particularly after his
prosecution of the War of 1812, which ended legal trade
with England.
4. When Madison was re-elected in 1812, the reaction in
New England was even more intense. The war turned against
the Americans, and the British effectively blocked the entire
east coast. Almost all naval activity (apart from smuggling)
was stopped and New England suffered.
6. So after Massachusetts and Connecticut both denied
their militias to be used by the War Department, President
James Madison threw them under the bus and decided not to
pay for their expenses.
7. So finally…
On October 10th
, 1814, the Massachusetts Legislature
decided to call for the Hartford Convention so that delegates
could meet to form new amendments to the Constitution so
that none of New England would have to secede.
9. Unfortunately, no records were kept of the secret
meetings as they continued on through January 4th
, 1815. We
do know that they chose George Cabot as president on the
convention, and Theodore Dwight as secretary. We also
know as well from letters that have survived since then that
Federalist representatives were trying to make sure that New
England seceded. When this was found out by the other
delegates, they had an army officer stationed conveniently
near them so that no treason could occur.
10. Constitutional Amendments
Prohibiting any trade embargo lasting over 60 days
Requiring a two-thirds Congressional majority for
declaration of offensive war, admission of a new state, or
interdiction of foreign commerce
Removing the three-fifths representation advantage of the
South
Limiting future Presidents to one term
Requiring each President to be from a different state than his
predecessor. (This provision was aimed directly at the ruling
Virginia Dynasty.)
11. Failure
Even after all of the meetings though, the amendments
brought forth by the Hartford Convention weren’t
reasonable enough and never got the positive attention by the
Democratic- Republican Congress to be passed.
Massachusetts even sent three commissioners to D.C. to try
and persuade them to pass the amendments. But when they
arrived, news had gotten around that Andrew Jackson had
won the Battle of New Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent was
signed shortly thereafter. Both of these overshadowed the
commissioner’s appeal, and they left, and the Federalist party
eventually disbanded because there name had become
synonymous with treason and disunion. Overall the Hartford
Convention was a total failure.
