Today Not Quite in Vermont History - December 15, 1814

200 years ago today the secret Hartford Convention called by Federalists of the New England states to discuss the possibility of those states seceding from Union began their three week meeting. The Vermont legislature sent no representatives to the meeting, although one Windham County resident paid his own way to attend; there is no record of what, if any, contributions he made since the proceeding records remained secret.

The ostensible reason for the secession discussion was the inordinate losses being suffered by the shipping interests of the New England states as a result of the War of 1812. Vermont, having no significant shipping interests as well as maintaining good relations with its Canadian neighbors via smuggling, didn't really have a dog in the fight. In August of 1814 negotiations began between the U.S. and Britain to end the conflict which culminated with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814 rendering the purpose for the convention moot. The British ratified the treaty on December 27, 1814, while the U.S. did so on February 17, 1815.

The only lasting result of the Hartford Convention, in which Vermont took no active part, was the demise of the Federalist Party.

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