AMPU Pre-Alpha: 1800 - The Age of Republicanism

[Izulde]

Expanded original post!

I've hung about the AMPU forums and managed to snag a playtest opportunity in the 1800 game as a moderate Red faction. This is a brutal era to be a Red politician. And it's gotten even worse since the game began.

The Story So Far...
The faction began as the*Moderate Federalists*and had*NJ Governor Richard Howell*as their first leader. He consequently lost his obscurity and became skilled at manipulation. He ran for the Federalist leadership position, but finished third behind*Chief Justice John Marshall, who overwhelmingly defeated*Alexander Hamilton*in the runoff. This led to all of the Federalist factions being Conservative in addition to their original leanings. The Moderate Federalists in particular became disinterested in*Human Rights*and championed*Law & Order.

The 12th Amendment was passed in 1800.

1802 midterm elections saw*Richard Howell*lose governorship of New Jersey as a blue wave saw the*Democratic-Republicans*seize control of the statehouses and expand their advantage in the House and Senate.*Philip van Cortlandt*was the lone faction representative to be appointed to a committee - the House Economic. The Moderate Federalists also lost allegiance to the Conservatives. Howell promptly retired, leaving a void in the faction's leadership until*Robert Stockton of New Jersey*emerged from the ranks of the obscure to lead... inspiring no one and affecting nothing other than supporting*Marshall*to be re-elected the Federalist leader, which would have happened anyway. Rinse, repeat the Federalists unanimously paying attention to the Conservatives.

More troubles came, with the counter-balancing balms only lessening the sting somewhat -*Associate Justice William Paterson*was impeached, though*John Bayard*looked like a potential rising star, but he was still mired in obscurity and held Conservative views out of step with the overwhelmingly majority Moderates of the faction.*John Quincy Adams, a future deemed bright star, turned into a bootlicking, lackey, though*Silas Wood*showed the beginnings of ability to govern.*Benjamin Stoddert*had a chance at an admiralship, but he declined, having formerly been*Secretary of the Navy*prior to 1800.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs was established in the 1802-03 period, and white male property owners gained suffrage rights in the same legislative session.

President Thomas Jefferson, having gained authority from Congress to push the Native American tribes westward, did so, and also pardoned those found guilty under the Sedition Act. The tradition of deliver the State of the Union address in-person also ended. Jefferson also made treaties with tribes for lands in Michigan.

These were all extremely popular policies and*Richard Stockton*bravely stepped in to run against the beloved Jefferson. He ran on a platform of 8% Tariff Rate, Instituting the Fillibuster, granting the President the power to institute a military draft, and a Pro-British foreign policy, selecting the utterly unlikable*Arthur St. Clair*as his running mate.

Jefferson retained*Aaron Burr*as his VP nominee. The Blues had the superior tickets, but the Conservative-appeasing Platform was more popular, so there was a narrow window to hopefully avoid a bloodbath.

The state legislatures of Connecticut and and Vermont voted for Stockton, but those 15 electoral votes were a far cry behind the 62 amassed by Jefferson in that portion of the election, with 89 EVs needed to win re-election.

Only Pennsylvania voted for Stockton in the popular vote - narrowly so, yet still considered a stunning victory by pundits of the time. St. Clair became uncharismatic in addition to unlikable, and Stockton's loss of obscurity and refusal to retire meant that Moderate Federalists were forced to hang with him for the foreseeable future.

The bloodbath at the top of the ticket was even worse downballot.*Not a single Federalist was elected to the House*and after appointments, the D-Rs held a 28-6 edge in the Senate - none of whom was a Moderate Federalist.*Only Connecticut had a Federalist in the governor's mansion as well.

John Quincy Adams*was recruited by two separate factions, but he stayed loyal despite President Jefferson one of those trying to court him. At this time, he was still working in the State Legislative career track, building his star.

As for*Richard Stockton? He gained Leadership, but also felt Easily Overwhelmed and depressed from his defeat, thereby rendered ineligible for challenging for Party Leader, which again went to*Chief Justice John Marshall, who then made the Federalists a universal party of Law & Order.

Dire times for both the Federalist Party and the Moderate Federalists. With Stockton still locked in, the faction quietly appointed a new shadow leader:*Winston Jestor, breaking the news to him as he was reading the new Jane Austen novel,*Pride & Prejudice.*

* - In real life, the novel was published in 1813. Here, the event fired in 1804.

Richard Stockton is the lowest regarded of the 10 faction leaders, with a 65 Politician Value (PV).

In discussing the other key politicians, I'll make note that:
1. To run for the House, you need at least 1 Legislative
2. To run for Governor, you need at least 1 Governing
3. To run for President, you need at least 1 Command
4. To be appointed to an administrative position or the Supreme Court, you need at least 1 in the relevant ability.

All abilities are on 1-5 scale.

Other Notable Moderate Federalists
John Bayard, Sr. (66) - 1 Command, 2 Legislative, 2 Governing, 1 Judicial, 1 Military, 1 Admin
Aging former Mayor of New Brunswick and Colonel in the Continental Army with Business Interests. One of three Moderate Federalists with Command. Ran for Governor of New Jersey in 1804 and lost the primary to William Coxe, Jr, who in turn lost to the incumbent John Lambert.

John Quincy Adams (37) - 2 Command, 2 Legislative, 1 Governing, 1 Judicial, 4 Admin
Currently working in the state government. A whole host of traits - the most-concerning of which is Flip-Flopper and able to switch parties. He'd be a brilliant pick for a Cabinet post when he enters politics with his administrative talent and expertise in Crisis Management.

And from there it's largely a bunch of guys who can run for Congress, plus double-digit guys capable of running for statehouses.

[Izulde]

States/Territories Where the Moderate Federalists Have Politicians and How Many
CT: 6
DC: 1
DE: 3
MA: 4
MD: 4
MS: 1
NC: 3
NH: 5
NJ: 5
NY: 6
OH: 1
PA: 2
RI: 4
SC: 1
VT: 2

Mississippi is up for statehood consideration this legislative term, and if it passes, Winthrop Sargent is eligible to run for Governor, which he would.

Short-Term Plans
1. Move politicians from overpopulated states (especially with a Blue bias) to underpopulated ones. Hopefully with less competition, we have a shot at starting to establish presence.

2. Identify seats where it's possible to run people and run them for the next election (the next phase I'll be able to do something). There were a lot of seats where we could have run someone and didn't - a mistake IMO, and only Benjamin Tallmadge in CT-1 and Philip van Cortlandt ran in the General (Tallmadge in fact should not have run - there was 0 possibility for him to capture the seat, while van Cortlandt got his ass kicked despite incumbency). John Bayard was the only one from our faction who ran for a Governorship, and his results are detailed above.

Long-Term Plans
1. Start gradually shifting my politicians to Liberal. There's a market inefficiency there right now, with only one faction in the entire game being Liberal, over on the Blue Team. And Liberal is one of my Draft ideologies, so I can eventually turn this into the Liberal wing of the Federalists if the dice gods are with me.

2. Hope Stockton dies or retires so I can select a new faction leader and name. This group needs a complete rebranding.

[Umbrella]

Sweet, I've been watching that one. Good luck!

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Umbrella

Sweet, I've been watching that one. Good luck!

Thank you! It's going to be a slow, hard process for sure. Game might actually be out before I even get close to long-term goal it's that rough a ride ahead.

[Izulde]

We'll have our first guy running soon. As a sneak preview, here's a poem the guy wrote and had published (It took me quite a bit of searching to find it online):

400 Bad Request

[Izulde]

Winthrop Sargent with his sister Judith

Great shock spread through the new state of Mississippi when it was announced that Moderate Federalist Winthrop Sargent had been elected Governor after running unopposed. This in a new state that was so deeply blue as to be near-midnight, so literally any single Democrat-Republican with a pulse, and perhaps not even that, would have won resoundingly.

Later historians noted that at the time of the state's creation in 1804, only four notable politicians were based in the territory, and one of them was Attorney General Levi Lincoln, Sr, who doubtless had little interest in abandoning the position of the country's highest lawyer to become the governor of a new, sparsely populated state. Indeed, only Walter Leake of the Moderate Patriots would have been eligible to run in opposition, and the 42 year old preferred to continue biding his time before making the decision to enter the public political arena.

So it came to pass that the new Governor was able to use his newfound leverage to recruit a complete unknown - passive, conservative 49 year-old businessman Joseph Hayward, who found himself in the position of being Sargent's lackey in gratitude for the elevation to the Class I seat, which would require reappointment in 1808. Hayward, milquetoast that he was, quietly joined the Moderate Federalists, who were the lowest of the low factions, and offered opportunity for even greater influence in that tiny pond.

One who did leave the private sector and hurry to Mississippi was 26 year old soldier Charles F Mercer of the Clay Federalists, loyalist faction of Henry Clay. Governor Sargent would gladly have appointed him to the Class II Senatorship, but young Mercer was four years too young to occupy the post.

And so they waited to see if the Attorney General would give up his lofty perch to stay in Washington as the other Senator - job security for him until 1810. If not, it seemed likely that the new governor would again have carte blanche to continue building an outpost in hostile territory.

From the politician-heavy states of the Mid-Atlantic and New England, other Moderate Federalists watched the situation and pondered if they should likewise make the move south and transform Mississippi from a blue-loving region to a red one. Certainly outside of Connecticut and states and territories as remote as Sargent's domain, there seemed to be few other options to start building new footholds to climb the massive mountain of Jeffersonian dominance...

[Izulde]

1806 Midterms - Governor Races
The Moderate Federalists, emboldened by Winthrop Sargent's win in Mississippi, sent out George Truitt in Red-friendly Delaware and fielded Silas Wood in New York. After some discussion, Jeremiah Smith ran for Governor of New Hampshire over private track John Bell, the party fearing incumbent Benjamin Pierce, while John Bayard, one of the faction's most capable governors, got the nod in New Jersey over disgraced faction leader Richard Stockton for the faction's representation. Some thought was given to having Martin Chittenden leave his job as a Vermont statehouse representative to run against James Fisk, but ultimately the faction chose to stand him down.

1806 Midterms - House Races
CT-1: Theodore Dwight (1, Moderate)
CT-2: Benjamin Tallmadge (1, Conservative) (Toss-up seat)
DE-1: James A Bayard Sr (1, Conservative)
MA-4: Peleg Coffin Jr (1, Moderate) (Toss-up Seat)
MD-1: George Dent (1, Conservative)
NH-1: Clifton Claggett (1, Moderate)
NJ-2: Richard Stockton (1, Moderate, Faction Leader) (Toss-up Seat)
NY-3: Philip van Cortlandt (1, Conservative) (Toss-up Seat)
NY-4: Philip J Schulyer (1, Moderate) (Red +2 Seat)
OH-1: Jacob Burnet (1, Moderate)
PA-2: Amos Slaymaker (1, Moderate) (Red +2 Seat)
RI-1: Asher Robbins (1, Moderate)
SC-1: Robert Barnwell (2, Moderate) (Military Track*)
VT-1: Dudley Chase (1. Moderate)

* - Can only come off the private track if no one else from the Federalist party runs for the seat

The Moderate Federalists studiously avoided running in any seat that had a Blue lean, for though the national climate had greatly softened, the Democratic-Republicans still held a considerable national advantage. The faction also lamented they had literally no one in Virginia, which had a Red +1 seat sitting in VA-4.

4 governor candidates, 13 or 14 House candidates. To be sure, not a huge number of individuals for the lowest-regarded faction in the entire country, but it was a start. And after all, under new shadow leader Izulde Jestor, the Moderate Federalists had already doubled their political representation, with a Governor and a Senator, and perhaps another Senator to come, pending the results in Mississippi.

It must be said that despite the 17-18 overall candidates, the possibility of a 0% success rate was high. Even with the more hospitable climate, many of their most talented (John Bell, John Quincy Adams), did not yet make the move to leave the private sector or statehouse, and many national observers said, "The Federalists might win a few races." Rather than the sort of rebuke that might lead to true answering to Thomas Jefferson.

[Izulde]

Primary Results
CT-1: Theodore Dwight (1, Moderate)
This was a hotly contested race, as all five Federalist candidates were tied after the first round of voting. A second round of voting saw [b]Theodore Dwight[/] emerge the winner in a narrow victory. This was a mild upset over Ebenezer Huntington, the early favorite.

CT-2: Benjamin Tallmadge (1, Conservative) (Toss-up seat)
Noah Webster was the heavy favorite in this one, but he suffered a shocking loss to Lyman Law. Benjamin Tallmadge again suffered primary defeat even though he switched from running in CT-1 to CT-2.

DE-1: James A Bayard Sr (1, Conservative)
Caleb Rodney was the odds-on favorite going into this one, and he did indeed capture the nomination. But it was a very tight race between the three Federalists running, as close as it could be without another three-way tie in initial voting. High voter enthusiasm and turnout for this one.

MA-4: Peleg Coffin Jr (1, Moderate) (Toss-up Seat)
He was soundly trounced finishing a distant third. Favorite Eli P Ashmun narrowly defeated Jonathan Mason in a race that featured relatively low voter enthusiasm and turnout overall.

MD-1: George Dent (1, Conservative)
George Dent and John Hoskins Stone were co-favorites, but no one turned out for JHS. Instead, the greatest challenge came from moderate Charles C Ridgley, and it was Dent's conservativism in a district that favored it which carried him to the Moderate Federalists' second primary win of the night.

NC-2 Gabriel Holmes (1, RW Pop)
Somehow this one got left off the initial list. He won, narrowly topping John Culpepper as the only two candidates in the race.

NH-1: Clifton Claggett (1, Moderate)
Liberal Arthur Livermore was the going-away favorite, and neither Claggett nor William Hale offered much challenge.

NJ-2: Richard Stockton (1, Moderate, Faction Leader) (Toss-up Seat)
The faction leader suffered a close loss to Samuel Swan, continuing to raise calls for his ouster in favor of someone who could actually win an election and be a point of pride.

NY-3: Philip van Cortlandt (1, Conservative) (Toss-up Seat)
Finished last in a four-way race which was won handily by the favored Ambrose Spencer

NY-4: Philip J Schuyler (1, Moderate) (Red +2 Seat)
Everyone expected this to be an easy victory for Conservatives faction leader Alexander Hamilton. So easy in fact, that a lot of people simply failed to vote for three of the four candidates. But large numbers of people did come out in favor of the son of the Revolutionary War General Schuyler, who pulled off the stunning upset of Hamilton in a narrow, narrow win.

OH-1: Jacob Burnet (1, Moderate)
William Stephens Smith was his only opposition and Burnet beat the deeply unpopular WSS with ease.

PA-2: Amos Slaymaker (1, Moderate) (Red +2 Seat)
Slaymaker slayed John W Kittera, his only challenger, in the biggest rout so far of the Moderate Federalist races profiled.

RI-1: Asher Robbins (1, Moderate)
Richard Jackson Jr and Theodore Foster were co-favorites. As expected, Robbins finished last, while RJJ ran roughshod over both of the other candidates.

SC-1: Robert Barnwell (2, Moderate) (Military Track*)
Charles Coatesworth Pickney ran, removing Barnwell from consideration.

VT-1: Dudley Chase (1. Moderate)
Francis Dana was the favorite and just narrowly beat Chase, who had a very enthusiastic turnout.

House Primaries Contested: 14
House Primaries Won: 6

The Moderate Federalists were over the moon, especially the stunning NY-4 victory for the younger Schuyler over Hamilton.

Early reports suggested:
Chance at winning: Dwight (CT-1); Schuyler (NY-4); Slaymaker (PA-2)
Likely loss: Dent (MD-1)
Almost certain loss: Holmes (NC-2); Burnet (OH-1)

For the governor's races...

DE: George Truitt (1, Moderate)
Soundly beaten by John Clark

NH: Jeremiah Smith (1, Moderate)
The complete opposite of Delaware, with Smith boxing William Plumer comfortably

NJ: John Bayard (2, Moderate)
This was a spirited race between the 66 year old Bayard and 48 year old Aaron Ogden. Turnout was at the utmost and Bayard's comfort level with the state's biases was just enough to see him over the line and the primary winner.

NY: Silas Wood (1, Moderate)
There was only a tiny, tiny, once in a lifetime chance for Wood to beat the High Tories political machine backing Gouverner Morris, and it didn't happen.

It seemed unlikely that John Bayard would manage to beat the incumbent John Lambert at first look, but as NY-4 showed anything can happen.

Also, since no one ran in Mississippi, it seemed likely that Winthrop Sargent would again be able to handpick a representative who would owe him. And the Attorney General still had not declared whether he would become a Senator.

Auspicious beginnings of a restoration indeed for the Moderate Federalists. That win in Mississippi gave them statehouse and Senate representation and seemed all but assured of giving them a House voice. And the inspiration of that victory helped fuel what primary successes the faction enjoyed.

Perhaps Mississippi would, after all, remain the lone stronghold. Or perhaps they might begin to at last make other in-roads...

[Izulde]

Governor Races
To defeat an incumbent is no easy feat, and Jeremiah Smith failed to do it in New Hampshire, going down in a surprisingly closer than anticipated race to Benjamin Pierce, who retained his spot in the statehouse for the Democratic-Republicans.

And as expected, there was no hope for John Bayard to unseat John Lambert in New Jersey, even with the full contingent of Federalist voters turning out.

It was the story everywhere, as the Democratic-Republicans yielded not one single governor's residence to the Federalists.

House Races
CT-1: Theodore Dwight (1, Moderate)
Prior to the voting, it was considered a dead heat between Theodore Dwight and incumbent Elijah Boardman. Just as the primary was passionate, so too, was enthusiasm and turnout high in this one. And Connecticut continued to be a Red bastion, with Dwight just scraping out the win to officially give the Federalists their first Representative back in the House! A second came when Lyman Law won an even tinier victory in the CT-2 race, The Constitution State turned fully red!

Delaware's lone seat also flipped Red, making it a 3 for 3 night to start for the Federalists. That streak ended in Georgia's seat, but it was nonetheless a banner night already for the Reds compared to where they were the previous term.

Philip J Schuyler was actually a very slight favorite in New York's 4th District, and by the smallest of margins, pulled out the win against DeWitt Clinton, giving the Moderate Federalists their second seat in the House!

An even bigger favorite: Amos Slaymaker in Pennsylvania's District 2. But like Schuyler, he only won by a hairsbreadth despite the odds. It still counted, and seat #3 for the Moderate Federalists!

The Federalists made other gains, too - picking up the Massachusetts District 1 seat and scoring a tremendous upset in District 3 as well. They also very nearly unseated Samuel Adams in District 4. Other Red gains: New Hampshire in a minor upset, New York's 2nd District in a bigger upset, and a minor upset in Virginia's 4th District in a state where many districts saw no Federalist candidates

In less happy news for the Moderate Federalists, there was no hope for George Dent to steal a win in Maryland District 1 as predicted. And in Mississippi, Winthrop Sargent was blockaded from appointing a representative, and the people, irate at the governor's despotism, turned out in full force to install a Democratic-Republican as their voice in the House. Likewise, there was literally no chance Nathaniel Macon, the Speaker of the House, was going to lose to Gabriel Holmes in North Carolina's District 2. Jacob Burnet had almost no shot at winning in the Ohio seated and was routed handily.

Still, as contemporary accounts noted, it was about as good a night as the Moderate Federalists could have hoped for, and the Federalists as a whole, though disappointed at not taking a few state mansions, nonetheless had to be thrilled about the number of successes they scored in the House.

What transpired was Connecticut solidifying itself as Federalist country, Delaware, Massachusetts and New York turning purple, and inroads made into New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and [b]Virginia]. Or, to put it another way, there was a Federalist revival in the New England region and parts of the Mid-Atlantic, while the South and the West remained steadfastly Democratic-Republican.

Still, it was a sign that Thomas Jefferson's grip on the country was not quite so iron as most people believed...

[CrossroadsReb]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Winthrop Sargent with his sister Judith

Great shock spread through the new state of Mississippi when it was announced that Moderate Federalist Winthrop Sargent had been elected Governor after running unopposed. This in a new state that was so deeply blue as to be near-midnight, so literally any single Democrat-Republican with a pulse, and perhaps not even that, would have won resoundingly.

Good stuff here. Will be following for sure.

When I taught Mississippi Studies, my students were made sure to know that Winthrop Sargent was the first governor of the Mississippi Territory in 1798 and then summarily dismissed by the incoming POTUS, Thomas Jefferson, in 1801.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by CrossroadsReb

Good stuff here. Will be following for sure.

When I taught Mississippi Studies, my students were made sure to know that Winthrop Sargent was the first governor of the Mississippi Territory in 1798 and then summarily dismissed by the incoming POTUS, Thomas Jefferson, in 1801.

That's awesome. And I have a feeling Sargent will be a one-term governor of two years here, too. The state is deeply blue and I'm sure there will be a candidate coming by next election.

[Izulde]

The House stands at 106-37 with Democratic-Republican control. The reason for those numbers? In the game, the House is abstracted with Focus Reps, because to have all the districts and all the possible candidates would require over 10,000 more politicians added to the database, which isn't feasible for this first version (perhaps a future one, maybe).

As for the Senate? 30-6 Democratic-Republican - including one blue Mississippi Senator, as the attorney general shocked everyone by taking the other seat rather than give up a spot to the Reds.

Long story short, a dent has been made, but not a statistically viable one. Blues can still run roughshod over Reds.

Worse news for the Moderate Federalists came when John Quincy Adams, one of the few genuine stars of the faction, flipped to the Fusion faction of the Democratic-Republicans. It's possible he might flip back to the Red party at some point, but for now, it's a crippling loss.

As a result of that flip, the Moderate Federalists no longer became one of the factions supporting Law and Order and instead became one invested in advancing Wall Street's aims. All of this was immaterial, of course - despite having the best election night of any of the Federalist factions, they still lacked true power and were still last and least even among that lesser party.

But brighter days were ahead as they awaited the House and Senate committee assignments.

[Izulde]

Senate Committee Assignments
Joseph Hayward - Judicial

As a result of his placement, Hayward gained expertise in the justice system. Of the Federalists' six Senators, literally half of them were stashed away on the Judicial committee, which stood at 6-3 Democratic-Republican/Federalist.

House Committee Assignments
Theodore Dwight - Foreign/Military
Philip J Schuyler - Economic
Amos Slaymaker - Foreign/Military

A number of expertises were gained. Dwight gained Foreign Affairs knowledge, Slaymaker Military acumen, and Schuyler a deep understanding of Economics.

Dwight - Focus Rep for 3 Representatives
Schuyler - Focus Rep for 4 Representatives
Slaymaker - Focus Rep for 4 Representatives

As a sign of how far the Moderate Federalists had come, at 11 Representatives, they were the largest Federalist faction in the House, accounting for approximately 27.9% of the Reds' 37 votes. ...Not that it mattered, since the Commoners faction (spearheaded by Hugh Lawson White), the single largest Democratic-Republican voting bloc, had 41 seats all by themselves which were enough to nullify any unified Federalist action, to say nothing of the other Blues.

A New Name
Although cursed still with the stink of former failed Presidential nominee Richard Stockton, the Moderate Federalists rebranded themselves as the Finance Federalists, as they now were the faction of Wall Street money.

In consequence, the Fusion faction of the D-Rs, having lost the support of Wall Street, became simply, the Democratic-Republicans, or as they were rendered by later scholars for ease of distinction, the democratic-republicans to distinguish the faction from the party at large.

From: The Jeffersonian Years Documentary Series Part 9: The Rise of Wall Street (2022)
Professor of American History Heinrich Weissblum
"What happens during and after the 1806 midterms is really fascinating. Wall Street doesn't like having to compete with the Big Corporations, Big Agriculture, the Expansionists, Big Pharma, and the Human Rights lobbies for influence over the Fusion faction. So they're looking around for a group they can dominate, which meant finding a weak faction, likely a Federalist one.

Winthrop Sargent's win in dark blue Mississippi and appointing a businessman as Senator catches the attention of the New York City financiers and after John Quincy Adams defects, they see an opportunity to exert their influence and contribute heavily to Philip J Schuyler's upset win and electoral victory over Alexander Hamilton in the NY-4 House District.

So by the time Schuyler gets assigned to the House Economic committee as a freshman representative in 1806, you've got 7 politicians loyal to Wall Street:

Faction Leader Richard Stockton
Representative Philip J Schuyler
Peleg Coffin Jr
Benjamin Stoddert
George B Upham
Oliver Wolcott Jr
Silas Wood

The Wall Street guys, they're fine with Stockton in charge. Like Schuyler, he's the son of a guy who is a Founding Father, so very much part of the upper crust of society, and both of them are willing to look out for Wall Street's interests.


Richard Stockton, son of Richard Stockton, Faction Leader, and failed 1804 Federalist presidential nominee


Philip Jeremiah Schuyler, son of Revolutionary War General Philip Joseph Schuyler, freshman representative of New York's 4th District and conqueror of Alexander Hamilton


Amos Slaymaker, freshman representative of Pennsylvania's 2nd District


Theodore Dwight, freshman representative of Connecticut's 1st District

"So in looking at these guys, you've got Stockton, who is 42, and Schuyler, who is 38, as the two most powerful figures in the newly christened Finance Federalists. Dwight's 42, Slaymaker is 51, Sargent is 53. And then you've got Supreme Court Justice Alfred Moore who is 51. Joseph Hayward's also 51. A fairly young group overall for this time period, and a lot of them are really wanting to put Schuyler in charge.

Ironically, the deep animosity Stockton's facing causing him to strike up a close friendship with Sargent. We have a lot of the letters they wrote to each other, where they're consoling each other over the feeling of being besieged by all these enemies. Sargent ends up offering advice on how to govern when you're in that situation, and Stockton's watching how the Democratic-Republicans are ruling Congress, so he grows his knowledge and skills in both governance and law-making while he maintains his hold on the group - putting him equal to John Bayard in those arenas and making him the most talented Finance Federalist - because no one else has his sense of command and the only other commanding figure in the faction is Bayard, who at 68 and without office, isn't going to be a long-term solution to the anti-Stockton crowd.

So things aren't fantastic for the Finance Federalists in 1806, though it's a lot better than after the 1804 election. And in changing from the Moderate Federalists, they finally have a true identity - because most of the Federalists are moderate in this time period, so to call yourself a Moderate Federalist doesn't often a unique sense of what we call today branding."

[Izulde]

The Finance Federalists extracted a concession for supporting Alexander Hamilton in the leadership race for the Federalists - none of the Conservatives faction would challenge Philip J Schuyler in the New York 4th District primary. The younger Schuyler was being tapped by the monied interests to eventually take over for Richard Stockton.

As President Jefferson re-assembled his cabinet, there was the surprise appointment of the talented Finance Federalist and first United States Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert to the Ambassadorship to Prussia. The 62 year-old accepted with delight.

Received with anger was the appointment of turncoat John Quincy Adams to Attorney General. Furious, the Finance Federalists voted to block him, a move they were joined in by Hamilton's loyalists. It was immaterial - an 8-1 confirmation vote in the Senate Judicial Committee, 34-2 in the Senate. To make matters even worse, JQA gained Governing ability, expertise in Energy and Welfare, became the most talented administrator in the country (5 Admin - maxed), and lost obscurity when news of the attempt to block him made the papers.

Even more infuriating, JQA's skill at convincing the other Federalist factions not to fight his appointment demonstrated his increased Command (Now 3). Conversations in Democratic-Republican circles suggested that he would make a potential Presidential candidate some day.

The bad news didn't end there. Stoddert found himself having to deal with increased hostility over trade disputes with Prussia, and Jeremiah Smith became Incoherent, further damaging the 47 year-old's prospects of one day taking New Hampshire's statehouse.

Even the silver lining came with its troubles: Philip van Cortlandt, the former Representative, showed increasing skills in every area, and returned the faction to 3 politicians with Command as a result... but at 57 years old, he seemed unlikely to have a particularly lengthy career even if he did find his way back into the House or appointed to the Senate.

[Izulde]

Philip J Schuyler's attempt to get a Cotton Excise Tax approved that had the blessing of Wall Street was blocked by the chair, so in response, the Finance Federalists angrily voted against all legislation. What ultimately ended up getting signed and passed by President Jefferson:

S.1 (Packaged) Subsidize Construction of a Canal from Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River (Sen Page)

Establish National Newspaper (Sen Monroe)

S.2 Increase the size of the army (Sen Armstrong Jr) *Crisis Bill*

S.4 Ban Slavery in the Territories north of the 36-30 parallel (Sen Smith, S)

H.R.1 Increase the size of the navy (Sec Livingston) *Crisis Bill*

H.R.4 (Packaged) Set the Number of Supreme Court Justices to 5 (Rep Hiester, D)

Allow President to Deport Immigrants Deemed Dangerous to National Security (Rep Randolph) *Crisis Bill*

Why was there a crisis? The War of 1808 (Ed. Note: The War of 1812 four years early) and the Invasion of Canada simultaneously occurring. Both early fronts fared poorly for the United States, the country losing every single land and sea engagement.

Overall, not a happy time for the faction, as Wall Street was enraged at many of the bills being passed, though the composite faction saw them fare not the worst overall or even in the Federalists.

1808 Election Runup
With his newfound Command, Philip van Cortlandt put his name forward as a Minor candidate, though whomever the Federalists elected was sure to be slaughtered by President Jefferson, who was running for a third term and extremely popular across the country despite the military crisis.

The Finance Federalists also put forth their slate of candidates for Governor and the House:

Joseph Kent - MD Gov (if eligible - attempted)
Winthrop Sargent - MS Gov (Incumbent)
John Bayard - NJ Gov
Martin Chittenden - VT Gov (If eligible - Attempted)

CT-1: Theodore Dwight (Incumbent)
MA-2: Peleg Coffin Jr
MD-1: George Dent
NC-2: Gabriel Holmes
NJ-2: Richard Stockton
NY-1: Silas Wood
NY-3: Philip van Cortlandt (if Presidential candidacy fails)
NY-4: Philip J Schuyler (Incumbent)
OH-1: Jacob Burnet
PA-2: Amos Slaymaker (Incumbent)
RI-1: Asher Robbins
VT-1: Dudley Chase

Notes: By universal Federalist agreement, none of the incumbents were challenged in either the gubernatorial nor the House races. Peleg Coffin Jr switched seats from MA-4 to MA-2 and Silas Wood, having failed to capture the New York statehouse two years ago, ran for the House in NY-1, thereby putting a Finance Federalist in every New York seat they were eligible for (NY-2 was held by another faction's incumbent). Schuyler and Slaymaker were considered as having two of the safest seats of any the Federalists held.

On the governor side of things, John Bayard winning the statehouse would be a huge boon if it somehow happened, as New Jersey had just switched to 4-year terms. Winthrop Sargent was going to have to hope for a lack of challengers, as Mississippi was deeply Democratic-Republican. By and large, it promised to be a fairly quiet gubernatorial election for the faction, as they invested themselves heavily in trying to expand their influence in the House.