Blue light federalists
Blue-light Federalist was a derogatory term used by those who believed certain Federalists to have made friendly ("blue-light") signals to British ships in the War of 1812 to warn the British of American blockade runners, the specific event supposedly happening in 1813, in New London, Connecticut, when Commodore Stephen Decatur saw blue lights burning near the mouth of the New London river in sight of the British blockaders. He was convinced that these were signals to betray his plans.[1] The Federalist Party had many members who pushed for peace with Britain and the portion of the Party which opposed further prosecution of the war was styled as the "blue light" faction by their enemies.[2]
References
- James Truslow Adams, Dictionary of American History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
- David Henry Montgomery, The Student's American History. Ginn & Company, 1905
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