1791 Vermont, Cumberland and Georgia By-Elections

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The Democratic-Republican Party will stand in all elections for Vermont.

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The Democratic-Republican Party will also stand candidates for the Cumberland Assembly, but not Governor or National Assembly.

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James Madison's Campaign Schedule

When hearing of the start of the election campaigns, Mr. Madison first sent his close ally and apt campaigner Thomas Jefferson to the state of Cumberland to campaign for local Republicans standing in the Assembly. As soon as Jefferson left for Vermont, Madison embarked on a stagecoach journey to Vermont, where he would campaign in both seats for the Republican candidates. Initially stopping in New York to check on the status of office-building and recruitment for the party, Madison took a short tour through the state, conversed with local citizens, met the local Republican deputy in eastern New York, and instructed the party to get involved in local activities and hold fundraisers to boost the Republicans' profile. Mr. Madison left New York State pleased with the growth efforts.

Finally in Vermont, Mr. Madison wasted no time touring through the entire state, meeting with local citizens at every chance and setting up an organized campaign operation for both seats. He spent a few weeks going from town to town up and down the Green Mountains, speaking of the values the Republicans stand for and their tested quality in government. He openly rebuked the Hamiltonians for their federalist tendencies in such a republican-leaning state (small r; in fact the most republican state out of every in New England), and their connection to the monarchist Tories, calling them "completely unfit for Vermont". While Madison canvassed almost every corner of the state, he undoubtedly focused more on the Republican-leaning (capital r) western seat, as opposed to the more Whig-friendly eastern seat, setting up a base of operations in Burlington for his time there. He vigorously campaigned to every small town and every corner of the western seat, speaking of the Republicans' pledge for religious freedom for all, in contrast to the Whigs' anti-papist and anti-Catholic stances. In fact, Mr. Madison drove this point home, even focusing on making speeches in Catholic churches, as the western seat contained the highest percentage of Catholics in Vermont, even containing a plurality in a few counties. Madison believed the number of Catholics and independents that could swing to the Republicans (due to their Republican neighbors in eastern New York and western Massachusetts) enough to be able to carry the western seat in a close race, or even a race not as close, unlike the situation in eastern Vermont. He attacked the Radicals' endorsement of the Whigs, saying "with this endorsement, the Radicals, who fought fiercely against us to resolve the Westsylvania crisis, who persecuted citizens of their free speech, have claimed the Whig candidate as their own. A troubling sign, and a sign you should heed at the polls." Madison, after emphasizing the Republicans' tolerance as opposed to the Whigs' values, also drove home the Republicans' republican values, contrasting their states' rights values with those of the Hamitonians.

Mr. Madison, after spending weeks in town halls, pubs, and churches, talking to as many citizens as he could, wrapped up his campaign with an impassioned speech in the Burlington town center, saying "the Republicans are the only party fit for Vermonters who live west of the Green Mountains. We are the only party that will simultaneously stand in solidarity with your republican views and your right to freedoms to practice all your denominations, uninterpreted, guaranteed by the Declaration of Rights, which the Republicans put to the floor in the National Assembly." Afterwards, he instructed the dozens of local Republican party organizations to hold as many local events, and to spread the word to as many Vermonters, about what the Republicans truly stand for, and why they were the best party for Vermont. The Republicans made it their goal that no venue, how small or big, would lack a republican campaign effort, and that every citizen would hear of the Republicans and be convinced, on the east and the west.

Finally, with only a few weeks left before Mr. Madison needed to return to the National Assembly for First Secretarial duties, he rode down to Virginia, where he firmly denounced James Gunn's attack on the Republicans. Even though there was no campaign in South Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina, Mr. Madison defended the record of the Republicans, saying "Mr. Gunn, who had little to no experience in the Assembly or leadership, shall render a judgement on the resolution that we took weeks to build? I shall ask the Governor, were you there when we struck the deal? Or better yet, were you there when I could not negotiate that deal initially because of Radical obstruction? I bet not. Because if you were, you would have rendered the same deal as I, or possibly, a deal much worse. While the resolution was not perfect, and every citizen here does recognize that, Mr. Gunn, it certainly prevented our Union from crumbling and a Civil War breaking out! Would you rather we assume state debts - which is another issue entirely, and something that possibly could have happened anyway - and build a canal that benefits us all, or watch the nation burn beneath your feet? I dare you to select the other option. If you do, and you have signaled that intention, it shows your Patriots to be exactly the opposite: schemers who want only the profit off of crises and wait to act only in their interests. They would rather the nation burn before they compromise on a deal! And I know all of you Southerners. You are a very sensible bunch. I trust that you would not make the same error, and instead select the party which puts the South and the Union before themselves. Remember this, and never forget." He rode on through the rest of the states, even entering Georgia and Cumberland, to spread this message, which he found effective.

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James Madison's Final Campaign Efforts, in detail

In the last few days of the campaign, Mr. Madison responded to attacks from both sides, but focused on some of the claims levied by the Hamiltonians. First, he noted that the Hamiltonians say that they were the only faction to raise notice to the debt, but while they have done this, they also have fought for a National Bank in their overzealous efforts to prove their superiority, which most Vermonters vehemently oppose. He also notes that the Hamiltonians' opportunistic attack on the campaign by Whigs and Republicans - and the claim that the Grand Coalition that has worked to keep the nation unified - is completely false in spirit. Mr. Madison noted that it is perfectly normal for allies to campaign against each other, especially in campaigns like this one, and this campaign does not mean that there is less unity in the factions, in fact, it will likely be stronger after this event due to the likely coalition pickups of both seats. He also notes that the Hamiltonians' claim that they protect states' interests is entirely untrue. The Hamiltonians have been a fervent opponent of states' rights from day one, and a shift in that opinion would be most curious, if not opportunistic. He also denounces the Hamiltonians' attacks against the Westsylvanian Resolution by sharing his National Assembly speech to Vermonters and impassionately stating "the Hamiltonians are brave enough to argue, but not brave enough to come up with actual solutions. This party may claim they will stand for Vermont, but their record shows otherwise."

In the last few days of the campaign, Mr. Madison extensively toured parties, events, houses, towns, Catholic churches, other churches, town centers, and small towns in the Western section of Vermont, showing the soles of his worn shoes to Vermonters as he did to Virginians in his first campaign, back in 1789, demonstrating his commitment to Vermont and the United States.