New England Federalists

As it was commonly referred to, the War of 1812 was fought between the US and Great Britain which at that time was referred to as the British empire during that period. The war which lasted up to 1815 was mainly fought on the Atlantic Ocean, land, waterways and coasts in North American. The United States government was the first to declare war on Britain for some reasons it deemed as provocative and hence the need for war. However, this war was not very popular especially with the federalists whose reaction to it highlighted the volatility that characterized American politics (Heidler and Heidler, 376). The reaction of the federalists also demonstrated the divergence of various sectional interests and the union's fragile nature.

A convention of delegates met between 1814 and 1815 to plan a regional opposition with regards to the federal policies of the Republican Party. Majority of the convention's delegates hailed from New England. The members had the main aim of bringing to end the cycle of defeats for the New England Federalists. Another objective that they sought to accomplish was the support of the government to be increased in order to grapple with its destabilization of the ongoing War of 1812. New England was different from Virginia since it relied heavily on federal politics and this kept it at loggerheads with Virginia.

President's Thomas Jefferson's purchase of Louisiana left New Englanders with the fear that southerners would settle in the area and make it a Republican stronghold. These differences highlighted the volatile characteristics of American politics. Jefferson's foreign trade embargo which was his stepping stone to win his second stint as president undermined greatly the economy of New England. New England thus had no other option than to oppose the war of 1812. One member of the Hartford delegation even wanted the union forces to taste defeat at the hands of British this showed how the union had a fragile nature. The signing of the Treaty of Ghent on Christmas 1814 and the victory of Andrew Jackson's forces, the delegates in Hartford were tagged as "traitors" and were accused of trying to break the union apart (Beime, 114). The Federalist Party a vital player in founding of the republic was destroyed and by the end of the decade it had vanished.