Federalists, their opposition to the war of 1812, and the Hartford Convention.

This exhibit is dedicated to the Federalists' opposition to the War of 1812, why they opposed it, and how it destroyed them as a political party in the United States.

The United States and the empire of Great Britain found themselves once again in a war against each other. A war of territorial expansion and defense of maritime neutrality rights for the United States but a deeply unpopular war with those who lived in New England or identified with the Federalist party. The Federalists in New England had various reasons to oppose conflict with Great Britain. First this can be seen in the Embargo Act of 1807 and the economic impact it had on the United States but specifically how it affected New England and its unpopularity there. Then the exhibit will demonstrate how the Federalists opposed the actual War of 1812 and how their opposition to it would climax in the Hartford Convention of 1814. These demands were seen as ludicrous and were rejected, especially as news of the war ending and Andrew Jackson’s victory in New Orleans arrived. The Hartford Convention destroyed the image of the Federalist Party and thus killed it as it would be seen in the 1816 election and its total disappearance in the election of 1820.