Letter to the Editor: Hartford Convention
March 18, 1815 White House Washington D.C.
To The Federalist Post,
I am going to get right to the point about a situation from December 15, 1814 - January 4, 1815 which has become known as the Hartford Convention. I read the lovely article that Mr. John Lowell happened to write last month concerning the Hartford Convention.
I would like to begin by asking why the Federalists of New England opposed the Embargo Act and the War of 1812, especially if it was bringing wealth to the New England area? Not only did your party refuse to surrender the militia to national service, but you also did not support the federal loan of 1814. This secret convention that you decided to be a part of during “My War” decided to secede from the Union (which you are lucky was rejected) and finally concluded that there should be constitutional amendments that would redress what the New Englanders considered the unfair advantage given to the South under the Constitution. What were you thinking? The treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812 was developed a week before you addressed these amendments. If the war ended, then what did you and your fellow federalists still have to cry about?
To inform you, your proposal became a dead letter because of your bad timing with the Treaty of Ghent. Yet its only importance to the United States is it is continuing the view of states’ rights as the refuge of sectional groups, and it sealed the destruction of your unworthy Federalist Party, which to me, will never gain back its prestige.
Sincerely, James Madison President James Madison
Now What?
Back to Main Page
To Jason's Next Article