Beginning December 15, 1814, delegates from the five New England states, representing the Federalist Party, met at Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss the alleged encroachments of the national government. The convention was primarily a protest of the War of 1812 (1812-15), and much has been made of the fact that the delegates discussed secession from the Union. Although such drastic steps were not taken, the Hartford Convention still made its mark by declaring the rights of states to deny the legitimacy of government acts that they believed were unconstitutional.
Some tension had begun prior to the start of the war, as New England Federalists had opposed the embargo of 1807 and other government measures against the British. Since their ECONOMY was closely linked to Britain, New Englanders were understandably alarmed by the declaration of war between the United States and Great Britain in June 1812. However, the increased wartime demand for provisions was quite a benefit, and many New Englanders ignored the embargo Congress had passed and sold supplies to British troops. On the other hand, the war was harmful to other foreign commerce and to the fishing industry. In spite of whatever profits there were to be gained from the conflict, Federalist leaders believed the interests of New England were being pushed aside for the interests of the southern states and the Democratic-Republican Party. Some New England states began to try to hinder the war effort, initially by refusing to supply militia to the federal government, and they did not support the federal loan of 1814. Finally, in 1814, several leaders in Massachusetts issued a call for a convention to address the regional grievances.
In December that year, 26 Federalists representing Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, sent by their state legislatures, and New Hampshire and Vermont, chosen by the Federalist Party, met in Hartford, Connecticut. George Cabot, a moderate Federalist from Massachusetts, presided, while Theodore Dwight served as secretary of the convention. The underlying aim of the convention was to protect the privileges of the individual states against apparent violations by the federal government. The meetings were held in absolute secrecy. Although the moderates prevailed at the convention, some extremists proposed secession from the Union and others suggested a separate peace between New England and Great Britain. The proposal to secede was ultimately rejected, but the delegates did produce a final report that was critical of James Madison and the war. The convention also recommended several changes to be enacted through constitutional amendments that would remedy the advantage New Englanders felt the South had gained. The convention urged that taxation and representation in each state should be proportionate to its free population, that no naturalized citizens should be allowed to hold office in the federal government, that the presidency should not exceed one term and the president should never be chosen twice successively from the same state, and that Congress should not interfere with foreign commerce or declare offensive war except by a two-thirds vote.
Unfortunately for the cause of the Federalists, their recommendations had little power, because the Treaty Of Ghent had been signed on December 24, 1814, while the convention was still in session. The futile Hartford Convention, which concluded on January 15, 1815, signaled the approaching end of the Federalist Party, which was already in decline because of its pro-British reputation.
Further reading: James M. Banner, Jr., To the Hartford Convention: The Federalists and the Origins of Party Politics in Massachusetts, 1789-1815 (New York: Knopf, 1970).
—Crystal Williams
Prehensive guidebook to facilitate their migration west. Therefore, throughout the winter of 1843, he composed The Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California, which he had published in Cincinnati in 1844. Among the routes the book discussed was the so-called Hastings Cutoff to Northern California, which the author knew of but had never personally traveled. In 1846 the unfortunate Donner party attempted this route, became stranded in the High Sierras during wintertime, and lost half of its 80 members. That same year Hastings himself led the first party of California migrants across the Salt Desert to Fort Bridger. There he joined Colonel John C. Fremont’s California Battalion and served capably during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48.
In 1849 Hastings served as a territorial delegate to the state constitutional convention, and throughout the ensuing gold rush he resumed his legal activities in Northern California. In the late 1850s he relocated to Arizona City (Yuma) to recover his health. During the Civil War years Hastings sided with the Confederacy. His most memorable act on its behalf was an elaborate but hopelessly futile scheme to capture California, Arizona, and New Mexico for the South. After the war ended, Hastings fled to Brazil, where he again became active in colonization efforts, this time along the Amazon River. In 1867 he returned to Alabama to publish an emigrant’s guide to the region. He died the following year on a voyage to recruit prospective settlers. Despite his quixotic nature, Hastings is regarded as an important force in the drive toward western migration in the 1840s.
Further reading: Charles Kelly, Salt Desert Trails: A History of the Hastings Cutoff (Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1996).
—John C. Fredriksen
Hastings, Lansford W. (1819-1868) developer of Hastings Cutoff
The influential pioneer Lansford Warren Hastings was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1819, where he studied law and became a practicing attorney. In 1842 he encountered Dr. Elijah White, then passing through town with a party of emigrants bound for Oregon, and he joined the group. Hastings adapted quickly to pioneer life. Once in Oregon, he helped to survey the settlement of Oregon City for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
After delving into work as a fur trader and a salmon packer, Hastings quit Oregon and ventured to Northern California, where he settled in the area of present-day Sacramento to become a business partner to John Sutter. It dawned on him that business could be greatly expanded if prospective settlers back east had a com-
World History
