Hartford Convention facts for kids
The Hartford Convention was a series of secret meetings held in Hartford, Connecticut, from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815. During these meetings, leaders from the Federalist Party in New England gathered to talk about their problems with the ongoing War of 1812. They were also worried about the United States government gaining too much power.
The convention discussed several ideas. These included changing how states were counted for representation in Congress and requiring a two-thirds vote in Congress for big decisions. Such decisions included admitting new states, declaring war, or making laws that limited trade. The Federalists also shared their concerns about the Louisiana Purchase and the Embargo of 1807.
However, just weeks after the convention ended, exciting news arrived. Major General Andrew Jackson had won a huge victory at the Battle of New Orleans. This news made the Federalists look bad and led to their decline as a major political party in the country. Many historians believe the convention played a big part in the Federalist Party's downfall. One reason was the controversial idea that New England, where the Federalists were strongest, might leave the United States and form its own country.
Contents
Why the Hartford Convention Happened
Trouble with Great Britain
After the American Revolution, the United States tried to trade with both France and Great Britain. But during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, both countries started causing problems for American ships. When Thomas Jefferson became president, he wanted to make trade easier. To pressure Britain, he passed laws like the Embargo Act of 1807 and the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809. These laws stopped American trade with other countries. Many merchants and shippers in New England did not like these rules. President James Madison, who followed Jefferson, continued these policies.
The Federalist Party, which was against these trade limits, became stronger, especially in New England and New York.
Disagreement Over the War of 1812
When President Madison was re-elected in 1812, people in New England became even more unhappy. By 1814, the War of 1812 was going badly for the Americans. Great Britain had finished its war with France and could send more soldiers and ships to North America. They had blocked the entire eastern coastline of the United States.
British forces occupied parts of Maine, which was then part of Massachusetts. In August, the White House and the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. were burned. By September, the British were moving further into Maine and near Lake Champlain in New York. People in Boston even expected a naval attack.
Trade had almost stopped, and many people lost their jobs. The U.S. government was also running out of money.
New England governors did not want to give much support to the national government for the war. Most requests for state militia (citizen soldiers) were turned down. New Englanders wanted their militia to defend their own coasts from British attacks, not to be sent elsewhere.
The feeling against the war was very strong in Massachusetts. In September 1814, Governor Caleb Strong refused a request to send 5,000 troops to take back land in Maine.
Because Massachusetts and Connecticut refused to let the U.S. War Department control their militia, President Madison would not pay for their expenses. This made many people in New England feel that Madison had left them to face the British alone. The Massachusetts Legislature then decided to spend $1 million to create its own state army of 10,000 men. Harrison Gray Otis, a key leader, suggested that the eastern states should meet at a convention in Hartford.
Talks of Leaving the Union
Some Federalists in New England had talked about leaving the United States as early as 1804 if the government became too controlling. This idea came up again in 1814–1815. Most leading Federalist newspapers in New England supported a plan to remove the western states from the Union.
Otis, the main leader of the Hartford Convention, stopped more extreme ideas. These included taking over federal customs houses or declaring New England neutral in the war. Otis believed that President Madison's government was about to collapse. He felt that if moderate leaders like himself did not take charge, more radical people who wanted to leave the Union might gain power.
Historians today generally believe that the New England Federalists were not truly planning to leave the United States. All the states, especially Connecticut, had more to lose than gain by separating. The delegates chosen for the convention were mostly moderates, and the final report did not suggest leaving the Union.
However, President Madison's government was still worried. Federalists were already making it hard to pay for the war. There were fears that New England might make a separate peace with Great Britain. This would have been very damaging to the country. Madison even moved troops to Albany so they could quickly go to Massachusetts or Connecticut if needed to keep federal control.
Calling for the Convention
Because of the war crisis, Massachusetts Governor Strong called a special meeting of the General Court (their legislature) on October 5, 1814. Governor Strong's message was given to a committee led by Harrison Gray Otis, who was seen as a moderate leader.
Three days later, Otis's committee suggested resisting any British invasion. They also criticized the national leaders who had brought the country close to disaster. Most importantly, they called for a convention of New England states to discuss their shared problems and how to defend themselves. The Massachusetts Senate approved this idea on October 12, and the House approved it on October 16.
A letter was sent to the other New England governors, inviting them to send delegates to a convention in Hartford, Connecticut. The letter said the convention's goal was to suggest changes to the U.S. Constitution. These changes would protect New England's interests and help them arrange their own military defense with the federal government.
Massachusetts chose twelve delegates. Connecticut's legislature also criticized Madison's "disastrous war" and chose seven delegates. Rhode Island's legislature selected four delegates to discuss how to work together for defense and protect their rights under the Constitution.
New Hampshire's governor did not call its legislature into session, and Vermont's legislature voted not to send delegates. However, two counties from New Hampshire and one from Vermont each sent one delegate. This brought the total number of delegates to 26. On December 15, 1814, the delegates met in the Connecticut Senate's room at the Old State House in Hartford.
Here are the states and the names of the twenty-six people who attended:
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Secret Meetings
All twenty-six delegates attended the secret meetings. No detailed records of what was said were kept. The meetings continued until January 5, 1815. After choosing George Cabot as president and Theodore Dwight as secretary, the convention stayed in closed session for three weeks. Cabot's journal, when it was finally opened, only had a brief outline of the formal events. It did not record who voted for what, or who suggested which changes. This makes it impossible to know what individual delegates said or how they voted.
Convention Report
The convention ended with a report and a list of resolutions. All the delegates signed this report, which was adopted the day before the meetings ended. The report stated that New England had a "duty" to stand up against any actions by the government that went against the U.S. Constitution. This idea was similar to what Jefferson and Madison had said in 1798. It would also appear later as "nullification" in a different context.
The Hartford Convention's final report suggested several changes to the U.S. Constitution. These changes aimed to limit the power of the ruling Democratic-Republican Party. The proposals included:
- Stopping any trade embargo from lasting longer than 60 days.
- Requiring a two-thirds vote in Congress to declare an offensive war, admit a new state, or stop foreign trade.
- Removing the three-fifths rule, which gave Southern states more power in Congress because of their enslaved population.
- Limiting future presidents to only one term in office.
- Requiring each president to be from a different state than the president before them. (This rule was directly aimed at the "Virginia Dynasty" because presidents from Virginia had held the office since 1800).
