The Hartford
Convention
By
Albert E. Van Dusen
The
War of 1812, described by the editor of the Courant as
one in which the United States had everything to lose and nothing
to gain, was very unpopular in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island. Dissatisfaction in Massachusetts, laboring under
severe trade restrictions, was so intense by 1814 that leading
Massachusetts Federalists called for a meeting of delegates from
all New England states to discuss grievances, means of common
defense, and possible changes in the Federal Constitution.
When
the delegates assembled in the Old State House in Hartford "to
confer," not secede and form a political confederation,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut had official delegates,
while Vermont
and New Hampshire had unofficial representatives. Connecticut's
delegation, chosen by the assembly, consisted of seven well-known
Federalists: Lieutenant Governor Chauncey Goodrich(1759-1815);
Calvin Goddard (1768-1842); James Hillhouse (1754-1832); Roger
Sherman, (1773-1844), nephew of the signer; Nathaniel Smith (1762-1822);
Zephaniah Swift (1759-1823); and former governor John Treadwell
(1745-1823). Meeting in secret sessions from December 15, 1814,
to January 5, 1815, the convention issued a report which vigorously
denounced many of the Madison administration's policies and recommended
seven amendments to the Constitution, including requiring a two-thirds
vote of Congress to declare war or admit a new state, limiting
the president to one term, apportioning taxes and representatives
according to population, and prohibiting any state from providing
two successive presidents.
The
convention was confident that its proposals would strike fear
into the hearts of Madisonians. However, news of Jackson's great
victory at New Orleans, followed quickly by a peace treaty, completely
overshadowed everything else. The Hartford Convention soon became
an object of ridicule and disgrace. The general public wanted
to think the worst--that it was a treasonable body. Even publication
a few years later of the hitherto secret proceedings failed to
silence charges of treason. Actually, the convention mirrored
only strong grievances and political opposition, not secession
or disloyalty.
Many
years later a visitor from the South, walking into the Old
State
House, asked to see the room where the Hartford Convention met.
It was the room used as the state Senate chamber and above
the
president's chair hung Gilbert Stuart's brightly colored portrait
of Washington. Looking at the painting, he asked whether Washington
hung there during the convention "Certainly," replied
the guide. "Well," said the southerner, looking at it
again, "I'11 be damned if he's got the blush off yet."
For
Further Reading
Dwight,
Theodore. History of the Hartford Convention. New York,
1833.
Baldwin
Simeon E. "The Hartford Convention,” New Haven Historical
Society Papers 9 (1918): 1-28.
*
Entry under revision.
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