The War of 1812 was the central event of Haslet's tenure as governor. Entry into the War of 1812 was not met with much approval from Federalist Delaware, but Haslet was a Democrat and called the General Assembly into special session to raise militia. Carol Hoffecker in "Democracy in Delaware" describes him saying: "'Without your aid,' the governor told the predominantly Federalist legislators, 'compliance is impossible.' The militia was in shambles, he said, without arms or organization. But he was certain that Delaware would rise to the challenge. 'In this state it is not a question of whether the authority of the United States is to be respected. The State of Delaware will never hesitate to cooperate with her sister states in defending the common rights of the nation.'" The General Assembly then voted to create a 1,000 man militia and appropriated $25,000 to equip them.