Channels, Fall 2019

Channels • 2019 • Volume 4 • Number 1 Page 39 have doubted Haynes’ views. Still, Haynes displays his conviction that unity under Washington’s party would suit everyone going forward. 31 HAYNES ALLEGIANCE TO THE FEDERALIST PARTY: ORIGINS Vermont Federalists during the Washington and Adam’s Presidencies supported the concept of federal government formed prior to 1787, embraced strong central government under the Constitution, and desired to carry the described powers within the Constitution to their logical ends. 32 At this stage in American history, the Federalist Party labeled their opposition as the anti- federalist party. Both parties operated on a national scale. Following years of turmoil under the Articles of Confederation, Washington held the support of the nation in 1789. Washington along with Madison had signed the Constitution. To be Anti-Federalist and Federalist meant to clash and compromise over national issues in the years following the Constitution of 1787. Washington sought to keep these hot button issues within his cabinet, composed of both Federalists and Republicans. Some of those issues Haynes wrote about the most included the emergence of a two- party system, the French Revolution, and international trade. Haynes favored the approach Washington’s cabinet made about money, the military, and domestic and foreign affairs. By contrast, Thomas Jefferson feared the idea of centralized power, which he believed could infringe on the rights of a broad group of citizens. This line of democratic thought started to permeate the Vermont frontier. The average Vermonter in 1800 hoped for a peaceful political scene where legislatures dealt evenhandedly with national issues. Despite not having access to a major seaport, Vermonters enjoyed a stable political tradition stretching further back than many other states. The Green Mountain Boys multiplied into an organized, readily available militia. Because of constant environment, Vermonters absorbed thousands of people including Haynes and his family. Many Vermonters wanted nothing to do with the taxes and drafts required to raise funds for the national army and navy in a foreign war. Vermonters preferred the Jefferson vision of America, where each man farmed small plots of land. By 1798, Haynes stood among many Vermonters who owned plentiful land lived uninterrupted lives. As the Congress and Cabinet debated over neutrality and constitutional amendments, Vermonters enjoyed the purest form of religious and civic freedom in New England. 33 In 1798, John Adams served as President and faced a serious problem known as the XYZ affair. The French navy attacked and boarded American ships in the Atlantic as part of the continuous war with Britain, which prompted Adams to send a diplomatic envoy to France. Americans across the nation took offense as the foreign minister of France, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, refused to 31 Haynes and Newman, Black Preacher to White America, 84. 32 Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. "Federalist Party" accessed April 14, 2019 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Federalist-Party 33 The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791-1850 pp 41-79. Roth explains tensions and antagonisms between Vermonters in very practical terms. Different towns took on character of their own, depending what type of commerce thrived. Similar discrepancies appeared concerning religious practice. Haynes falls under a category of “New Lights” a term for Calvinist ministers who trusted the outbreak of revival and believed in the doctrine original sin. Many New Lights moved to Vermont with intentions of creating a covenant community but grew discouraged as Vermont’s population exploded from 1790-1810. Many New Englanders came to Vermont less interested in religion and more interested in the liberating ideas and plentiful economic opportunities, which made the valley’s residents “unwilling to abide by the sanctions and strictures of the covenant.” Roth, 41.