The administration of Oliver Wolcott was at once moderate and acrimonious, for as assuredly as the liberal reforms introduced by the second general court moved too far and too quickly for the Ultra minority in the legislature, the opposite criticism was leveled by the radicals, who under the leadership of Levi Woodbury for the first time offered an organized and strident opposition to the government at Springfield. Yet nothing the Democrats could bring was half so damning as the outcry which followed the formal disestablishment of the Congregationalist Church in 1821, as the republic's clergy condemned Wolcott from every pulpit in New England, predicting the abolition of tithes and mandatory church attendance would presage an era of immorality, lawlessness, and the decline of civic virtue. As with so much, Wolcott would have to take his lumps, seeking comfort in the belief that the majority of New Englanders cared more that their purses would now be a bit heavier than that their neighbors might observe the Sabbath at a Baptist church or temple.
In the realm of foreign affairs, Wolcott's legacy was contained in an 1823 address to the general court often referenced by later generations simply as the "Wolcott Doctrine." In its immediate context, the address was a response to the collapse of Spanish rule in Florida, as the imperial authorities proved unable to contain rising conflict between the local Seminole population and American settlers pressing south from Georgia. Rather than annex the territory outright (and act which would certainly have led to war), British diplomats proposed the declaration of an independent Seminole republic with the joint support of the United Kingdom and New England. Instead, Wolcott opted to chart his own course. He recognized the Seminole Nation as a sovereign power and warned New England would oppose any attempt to annex the territory. This essentially reiterated the British position and was met with cheers from the Ultraist end of the chamber; but Wolcott kept speaking. The era of colonization, he declared was at an end; an attempt to make the Seminole Nation a puppet of foreign powers—indeed, any attempt by the kingdoms of Europe or the United States to extend their rule across the American continent—would meet with New England's strident opposition.
In 1823 New England had hardly the muscle to enforce this doctrine; but in expressing it, Wolcott established that the confederacy would not be the puppet of British interests in North America, charting an independent course that pleased neither radicals nor ultras but won the praise of many, including John Quincy Adams. In the approach of the 1825 elections, Wolcott, reselected as leader of the governing Whig party, defends his record against opponents from the right and left. His party call for an independent foreign policy, a moderate protective tariff, support for current naturalization laws (allowing immigrants to apply for citizenship after seven years of residence), and the separation of church and state. The Democrats, led again by Levi Woodbury, campaign on the issue of universal manhood suffrage: they seek a firm league of friendship with the United States, condemning Wolcott for his failure to explicitly condemn the British occupation of New Orleans, free trade, abolition of debtors' prison, and liberal naturalization laws. Finally, the Ultras have declared total war on Wolcott for his "betrayal" of Britain and the disestablishment of the Congregationalist church; they support a steep tariff and are broadly opposed to the social reforms proposed by the Whigs.
Two days.
Poll
