- Essex Junto
The Essex Junto was a group of
lawyer s andmerchant s fromEssex County, Massachusetts . These Federalists supportedAlexander Hamilton and theMassachusetts radicals. When Hamilton was offered a place in the plot to secede New England from the Union, he denied the offer. Consequently, the Essex Junto turned to support from Aaron Burr, who agreed to help the radical group because of his dissatisfaction in the office of Vice President. This plot, to have Burr elected governor of New York and launch thesecession , was eventually foiled by Hamilton himself.After Hamilton's death they became even more extreme. During the War of 1812 they were called "Blue Lights" because of the common belief and reports from the U.S. Navy that they would shine blue lights to alert the British blockading ships of escaping American ships, or to alert British ships to come ashore and carry out illegal trade. They supported the
Hartford Convention 's disaffection with theWar of 1812 and proposed secession ofNew England . Some members of the Essex Junto wereTimothy Pickering ,George Cabot ,Stephen Higginson andTheophilus Parsons .External links
* [http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Lalor/llCy420.html Essex Junto] , article from 1899 "
Cyclopaedia of Political Science "
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033059/Essex-Junto Essex Junto] , article from "Encyclopaedia Britannica "
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