Hartford Convention

Hartford Convention, (December 15, 1814–January 5, 1815), in U.S. history, a secret meeting in Hartford, Connecticut, of Federalist delegates from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont who were dissatisfied with Pres. James Madison’s mercantile policies and the progress of the War of 1812 (“Mr. Madison’s War”), as well as long resentful over the balance of political power that gave the South, particularly Virginia, effective control of the national government.

The more extreme delegates raised the possibility of secession, but others sought only to dictate amendments to the Constitution that would protect their interests. Ultimately, the convention adopted a strong states’ rights position and expressed its grievances in a series of resolutions against military conscription and commercial regulations (along with some stringent criticisms of Madison’s administration) that were agreed to on January 4, 1815.

Even as the convention finished its business, however, a British sloop of war was beating its way across the Atlantic with dispatches containing the peace terms that had been agreed to in the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war. Moreover, as the convention’s emissaries approached Washington, D.C., they were met by the news of Gen. Andrew Jackson’s unexpected victory in the Battle of New Orleans. By the time the emissaries arrived, it was no longer possible to serve the kind of ultimatum contained in the convention’s report. The war, along with the national crisis it had brought about, had ended. The secrecy of the Hartford proceedings also contributed to discrediting the convention, and its unpopularity was a factor in the demise of the Federalist Party.