The Federalists Discredited 181the national debt—which he promptly
sold to European investors. If Hamilton
had not established the nation’s credit so
soundly, such a large issue could never
have been so easily disposed of.
It was ironic—and a man as perceptive
as Hamilton must surely have recognized
the irony—that the acquisition of Louisiana
ensured Jefferson’s reelection and further
contributed to the downfall of the
Federalists. The purchase was popular
even in the New England bastions of that
party. While the negotiations were pro-
gressing in Paris, Jefferson had written
the following of partisan political affairs:
“If we can settle happily the difficulties of
the Mississippi, I think we may promise
ourselves smooth seas during our time.”
These words turned out to be no more
accurate than most political predictions,
but the Louisiana Purchase drove another
spike into the Federalists’ coffin.
The Louisiana Purchaseat
myhistorylab.com
The Louisiana Purchaseat
myhistorylab.com
Fisher Ames on the
Louisiana Purchaseatmyhistorylab.com
The Federalists Discredited
As the election of 1804 approached, the
West and South were solidly for Jefferson,
and the North was rapidly succumbing to
his charm. The addition of new western
states would soon further reduce New
England’s power in national affairs. So complete did
the Republican triumph seem that a handful of
diehard Federalists in New England began to think of
secession. Led by former secretary of state Timothy
Pickering, a sour, implacable conservative, a group
known as the Essex Junto organized in 1804 a
scheme to break away from the Union and establish a
“northern confederacy.”
Even within the dwindling Federalist ranks the
junto had little support. Nevertheless, Pickering
and his friends pushed ahead, drafting a plan
whereby, having captured political control of New
York, they would take the entire Northeast out of
the Union. Since they could not begin to win New
York for anyone in their own ranks, they hit on the
idea of supporting Vice President Aaron Burr, who
was running against the “regular” Republican can-
didate for governor of New York. Although Burr
ReadtheDocumentReadtheDocumentSeetheMapdid not promise to bring New York into their con-
federacy if elected, he encouraged them enough to
win their backing. The foolishness of the plot was
revealed in the April elections: Burr was over-
whelmed by the regular Republican. The junto’s
scheme collapsed.
The incident, however, had a tragic aftermath.
Hamilton had campaigned against Burr, whom he
considered “an embryo Caesar.” When he contin-
ued after the election to cast aspersions on Burr’s
character (not a very difficult assignment, since
Burr, despite being a grandson of the preacher
Jonathan Edwards, frequently violated both the
political and sexual mores of the day), Burr chal-
lenged him to a duel. It was well known that
Hamilton opposed dueling in principle, his own son
having been slain in such an encounter, and he cer-
tainly had no need to prove his courage. But heThe pistols used in the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Before the
duel Hamilton’s lawyer drew up a contract specifying the terms: The duelists were to
shoot at ten paces, and the barrels of the guns were to be no longer than 11 inches.
Witnesses claimed that Hamilton never fired his fine pistol, but Burr took deadly aim,
firing a .54-caliber ball that hit Hamilton in the chest. It ricocheted off his rib, punctured
his liver, and lodged in his backbone. Hamilton died the next day.