As the presidential race of 1816 begins, the popular momentum enjoyed by the Federalist Party during the early struggles of the War of 1812 has dissipated, and their desperate ploy in selecting DeWitt Clinton to run against Madison has left them without a viable candidate going forward.
Largely by default, they put forward Senator Rufus King of New York, who has already been defeated twice, in 1804 and 1808, for the Vice Presidency.
King’s credentials are actually quite credible. Graduate of Harvard College, a brief militia stint during the first war with Britain, member in 1787 of the Committee On Style that drafted the Constitution, first-rate orator and outspoken opponent of slavery, close ally of that essential Federalist, Alexander Hamilton.