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The Rocky Road to Ratification - Part II

© Christina Coruth

The New Hampshire Federalist

Economics and geography also played an important role in the making of the Federalist movement. Trade was the mainstay of the seacoast and the Connecticut Valley areas. Since each state had the power to tax, New Hampshire merchants found themselves subject to tariffs on goods either sent to or sent through Massachusetts. Shipping to and from foreign ports was risky business. Without the presence of a government able to bring diplomatic force to bear or send its navy to the rescue, New Hampshire ships were easy prey to foreign navies. For instance, when Captain Horatio Nelson of the British Navy seized a merchant ship in the West Indies, the owners, two Portsmouth men, had no recourse.

Many of the political leaders of New Hampshire had served in the Continental Congress and, therefore, had been part of the process that eventually led to the writing of a new Constitution. Mostly made up of professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and clergymen, this group found widespread support among their brethren. They firmly believed that the proposed Constitution was necessary to maintain the freedom which was won with the American Revolution. Without it, the thirteen states were in peril and often working against each other. Reverend Jeremy Belknap of Dover, writer of the first New Hampshire history, expressed what the Federalists generally thought of the thirteen sovereign states. He likened them to a "room containing thirteen clocks, all going at once, each ticking away to a different beat and ringing the hours on bells with different pitches of sound, a maddening bedlam." (New Hampshire: The State That Made Us a Nation, p. 25)

Federalist Views

Given that the heart of the Federalist group was composed of former and current Continental Congress members, it's not surprising that their arguments were in line with those put forth during the process that resulted in the proposed Constitution. A strong central government with power to regulate trade between the states, to issue paper money, and to provide a military defense would solve many of the immediate problems. They were confident that small states like New Hampshire would have equal influence under the Constitution and that states and individual rights would be preserved.

John Langdon, one of the most influential leaders in New Hampshire, expressed the hope thusly: "The deranged State of our finances, the almost annihilation of our commerce are objects truly important, but I look forward with pleasure to the time which I trust is not far distant when by the blessing of divine providence we shall be relieved in a great measure from those and many other embarrassments by the adoption of the proposed federal constitution." (New Hampshire: Crosscurrents of Its Development, p. 98)

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