The movement reached its zenith with the election of John Adams , an overtly Federalist President . However , with the defeat of Adams in the election of 1800 and the death of Hamilton , the Federalist Party began a long decline from which it never recovered . What finally finished off the Federalist party was the Hartford Convention of 1814 , in which five New England states gathered to discuss several constitutional amendments necessary to protect New England 's interests in regard to the blockade of their ports by the British during the War of 1812 . The threat of secession also was proposed during these secret meetings . Three delegates were sent to Washington , DC to negotiate New England 's terms only to discover the signing of the Treaty of Ghent , ending the war with the British . The Federalists were then seen by many as traitors to the union
death of Hamilton
Burr–Hamilton duel
Federalism in the United States