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Difficulty: MediumThe War of 1812 and the Monroe Doctrine

“A war with Great Britain... will prove a sweepstake to all our commerce, and will completely prostrate our merchants and our ports. It is said that we must fight for our maritime rights and the protection of our seamen. But will a war restore our captured property, or release our impressed sailors? By entering this conflict, we run the risk of losing the very independence we achieved in our Revolution, all to satisfy the territorial ambitions of those who look hungrily toward the north.”

— Representative Samuel Taggart (Federalist from Massachusetts), speech in Congress, June 1812

Which of the following political developments during the War of 1812 best reflects a continuation of the regional anxieties described in the excerpt?

  1. The proposal of constitutional amendments by New England delegates at the Hartford Convention to limit the power of the federal government.Answer
  2. B
    The signing of mutual defense treaties with newly independent Latin American nations to protect Western Hemisphere trade.
  3. C
    The unified adoption of Alexander Hamilton’s financial policies by Democratic-Republicans to pay for wartime infrastructure.
  4. D
    The sudden collapse of Northeast textile manufacturing as merchants refused to invest capital in domestic factories.

Answer

The proposal of constitutional amendments by New England delegates at the Hartford Convention to limit the power of the federal government.
The correct option is the one stating that New England delegates proposed constitutional amendments at the Hartford Convention. This convention was the direct political manifestation of the commercial and regional anxieties expressed by New England Federalists like Samuel Taggart, who felt that the war unjustly harmed their region's trade while favoring the territorial goals of the South and West.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify the speaker's main concern.
Representative Samuel Taggart, a Federalist from New England, is expressing deep concern that the War of 1812 will devastate commercial interests in Northern ports and that the war is driven by Western and Southern territorial ambitions.
This establishes the historical context of regional and partisan division regarding the decision to go to war in 1812.
2
Relate the concerns in the stimulus to subsequent political events during the war.
New England Federalists continued to oppose the war, culminating in the Hartford Convention of late 1814 and early 1815.
The Hartford Convention was the direct political expression of the sectional and economic grievances felt by New Englanders during the war.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the development that matches this regional opposition.
The option describing the Hartford Convention delegates proposing constitutional amendments is the correct choice, while the other choices contain historical inaccuracies or misconceptions.
This identifies the correct historical consequence of New England's regional opposition to the War of 1812.

Key Concept

Sectional opposition to the War of 1812 and the Hartford Convention
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

The War of 1812 and the Monroe Doctrine

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