Rufus King: American Federalist

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As a member of the Constitutional Convention, as one of New York's first senators, and as Minister to England shortly before the outbreak of the War of 1812, Rufus King played a major role in the politics and diplomacy of the American republic during its formative years. In the Constitutional Convention, King argued fervently for a strong central government. He was on the committee that revised the style and arranged the order of the final draft of the Constitution, was one of its signers, and played a key role in Massachusetts' ratification of the document.

Of the Federalist senators, he is considered by many to have been the ablest, upholding Alexander Hamilton in all his financial measures and earnestly defending the Jay Treaty, negotiated with England in 1794. Through his tactful diplomacy as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James in London from 1796-1803, he helped to avert an open breach between the United States and Great Britain as at time when tension between the two countries mounted daily.

Among his contemporaries in American politics, John Quincy Adams alone surpassed King in winning the confidence of rival administrations. As a diplomat in an unusually sensitive position, he served so skillfully that Jefferson and Madison, despite the virulence of party feeling, retained him at his London post. That so ardent a Jacksonian as Martin Van Buren should have valued the friendship and counsel of a man who had come to symbolize Federalism in its twilight speaks eloquently of the quality of his statesmanship. Although he was able to keep on friendly terms with extremists as well as moderates in the Federalist ranks, he was not cut out for successful party leadership and would not trim his sails to the popular breeze.

In this first full-length, one-volume biography of a long-neglected but deserving American statesman, Robert Ernst emphasizes politics and diplomacy but also presents a well-rounded appraisal of King's personality, outlook, and interests. He illuminate many little-known facets of King's life, including his relationship to the Burr-Hamilton duel and his activities during his temporary retirement as a country squire on his Long Island estate. In chapters dealing with the years following the War of 1812, the author depicts King's attitude toward major public questions, his reluctant gubernatorial candidacy, his situation as the last Federalist to run for the Presidency, his role as elder statesman, and his final mission to England.