ESSEX JUNTO
In April 1778, a number of men gathered at Ipswich in Essex County, Massachusetts, to discuss the drafting of a new Massachusetts constitution. Composed of lawyers and merchants, the majority of the group were residents of Essex
County, from which the assembly derived its
name. Included among its members were politi-
cians George Cabot and Timothy Pickering, and
jurist THEOPHILUS PARSONS.
The Essex Junto began as a small, independ-
ent faction of prominent, educated men but
developed into a strong section of the FEDERAL-
IST PARTY, which exerted political influence for
many years. It advocated the acceptance of the
U.S. Constitution and the financial policies of
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. The junto staunchly
opposed the ideologies of President THOMAS
JEFFERSON, and the EMBARGO ACT of 1807,
which prohibited the exportation of American
goods to France and England in an effort to
compel those countries to ease their restrictions
on U.S. trade. The opposition to this act was so
vehement that it was repealed.
The Essex Junto was opposed to the WAR OF
1812. It convened, in secrecy, the Hartford Con-
vention in 1814, which proved to be nothing but
an airing of grievances without any serious solu-
tions. The war ended shortly thereafter, and
many of the junto members were ridiculed and
threatened with TREASON for the closed-door
tactics at the Hartford Convention. The junto
soon lost much of its power with the signing of
the Treaty of Ghent, which signified the end of
the much-opposed War of 1812.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Constitution of the United States “Federalists vs.Anti-Feder-
