The Federalist Party Implodes! | The Hartford Convention and War of 1812

In this episode, we discuss how and why the Federalist Party disintegrated after the War of 1812, taking America’s First Party System down with it. By the end of the Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, there was little left to separate the Hamiltonian Federalists from Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans because Jefferson had flat-out adopted most of the Federalist agenda.
Then James Madison and the War Hawk faction of his party launched a foolish war against Great Britain that burned the first party system down. After a disaster of a war that saw the British burn the White House, the Federalists then blundered into the political disaster of the Hartford convention that made the party look like a den of traitors and successionists. The Federalists imploded, destroying America’s First Party System.
The collapse of the First Party System taught America it’s first lesson about how and why political parties and party systems break. With the great ideological debate over the early republic now in practice dead, there was little left to unite Federalists and Democratic-Republicans into a party. With party binds so weak, all it took was one damaging scandal to see a political coalition break as ambitious politicians, with nothing left to hold them to an empty and meaningless party brand now turned toxic, fled the doors.
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[@xoferwalken]

Thank you so much for doing this series! No one does in depth history of the political parties like this!

[@manch6262009]

No discussion of us policy towards Haiti and the differences between Federalists and D-R. The Federalists were the first antislavery party.

[@johnweber4577]

Calling the Federalist Party anti-slavery is a pretty big stretch given the fact that the wealthiest slaveholders actually tended to be Federalists. South Carolina in particular was dominated by the party in this era because it not only had the one major commercial coastal city in the region, Charleston to be precise, but also because it contained the highest concentration of low country planters. The South Carolinian Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a national leader within the party, as was his brother Thomas, and twice its presidential candidate with the backing of its founder Alexander Hamilton both times. Guys like him were the driving force for the 3/5ths Compromise and pushing the date the Constitution would allow for the ending of the country’s participation in the Transatlantic Slave Trade from the originally intended 1800 to later on in 1808. Even the conflict over Haiti, the differences over which mainly amounted to talk rather than action in practice, had more to do with their pre-existing policy commitments whether foreign or domestic than anything else. The Jeffersonian Republicans having aligned with France since their revolution, they still saw Napoleon as the best strategic ally in their continuing struggle against the British Empire despite most being disappointed that he crowned himself emperor, while the Federalists wanted to maintain the existing high levels of commercial relations they had with the island. Keeping their rival out of Haiti would also undoubtedly weaken them and several Federalists, including many pastors associated with the party, also worried that the island could serve a launching ground for a French invasion of the United States. These trends carried on from the First Party System into the Second where the planter elite, extending out into the wider Black Belt following the invention of the Cotton Gin, generally became Whigs instead of Jacksonian Democrats. Though of course, there were several others involved in the institution who were Jeffersonian Republicans and Jacksonian Democrats as well. People understandably want slavery to have been a defining wedge issue from early on in a way it just wasn’t up until the Mid-1850’s.

[@InnerSunshine]

Frank you gave me an insight. When John Adams perceived the Federalists as illegitimate, this was a classic example of male one-sided thinking. If you are not with us, you are against us. It's a wonder the Founding Fathers were abel to do as much good as they did with their one-sided thinking. Then thinking progressed to accepting two parties as normal. In Europe to Parliaments of multiple parties as normal. Yet as we come forward in time, the Oligarchs buy all teh politicians and become the same unitary shadow party. Thanks.

[@arnoldkanarek3585]

I am teaching this part of history and you explain it very clearly, Thank you!

[@leodigiosia9418]

Thanks for the series!

[@tracyfrazier7440]

Thank you. I learn so much from your talks.

[@leodigiosia9418]

awesome content

[@kylewolfe_]

This video feels like it's on 1.5x speed

[@adog433]

he looks like Joe gatto

[@Bazzable]

im the first comment

[@sherrylhendrickson6861]

Superbly paced , thorough detail and thankfully, no backgrpund distractions in sound or visual.

[@Bazzable]

@@sherrylhendrickson6861 indeedified