Theodore Dwight (1764-1846) American, History of the Hartford Convention 1833 First Edition. 

Size: 8 3/4 X 5 3/4 X 1 1/4 in. 

This book is titled History of the Hartford Convention: With A Review Of the Policy of the United States Government, Which Led to the War of 1812. It was written by Theodore Dwight and published in 1833 by N. & J. White in New York and Russell, Odiorne & Co. in Boston, printed by D. Fanshaw, and the book is a first edition because the dates on the title page and copyright page both match and it is listed as a first edition, according to WorldCat. The book is significant because Dwight was Secretary of the convention and these are his notes, which provide a primary source account of the convention and offer insights into the Federalist Party's grievances during the War of 1812 and their potential secessionist sentiment. The work is crucial for understanding the party's decline and the broader context of American nationalism following the war. More details: the Hartford Convention, held in 1814, brought together delegates from the New England states to discuss their discontent with the federal government's handling of the war. Dwight's history documents their concerns about the war itself, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Embargo Act of 1807, and it discusses at length Jefferson's justification for the War of 1812. The convention's discussion of potential secession from the Union, though likely exaggerated, is a key element of the history, and the Hartford Convention is often cited as a major contributing factor to the Federalist Party's demise. Dwight's account highlights the negative public perception of the convention, which tarnished the party's image and ultimately led to its decline as a major political force. The book has leather boards with a faded label on the spine, blank endpapers, the owner’s name “John Higgins 1837” is inscribed at the top of the title page, the copyright page is dated 1833, the text runs to page 422, followed by an Appendix which runs to page 447, and there’s an errata at the bottom of page 447, which also makes this a first edition. We found reference to a John Higgins, who was the land agent for Charles Darwin in 1859, just a few weeks prior to publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. We don’t know if this is the same John Higgins mentioned on the title page of Dwight’s book here, but it’s worth noting. (See University Archives at Fine Books & Collections, Chapel Hill, NC.)  The book measures 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches wide and is in very good condition for its age. The binding is tight and the pages and text are very clean, with faint brown spots here and there in the book, the label on the spine has faded, there’s faint soiling on the endpapers, light wear along the edges and the heel and crown of the spine, and light wear along the hinge of the front flyleaf. Overall, the book is remarkably intact and ready to use as a source about the rumblings of the Hartford Convention and its importance to American history.