As the Revolutionary War drew to a close and concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the new nation—the United States—faced an array of new challenges. The principles of the revolution and desire for representative government ran strong, bringing mistrust of efforts for greater unification at the expense of power. However, the lack of unity, a floundering economy and strained foreign relations revealed many of the bedrock difficulties in the new country. The Articles of Confederation, determined state governments, stalling interstate commerce, financial difficulties at home and abroad and disgruntled veterans of the late war were all factors, shaking the bonds of the not-yet-united United States.
During the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the Second Continental Congress served as the governing body of the newly independent country. It lacked political power or authority and frequently resorted to begging states to provide money or supplies just to keep the Continental Army in the field. This congress drafted the Articles of Confederation in 1777, though it took four years for the states to agree to governance outlined in this document. Following the political definitions for confederacy, the Articles of Confederation left most power with the individual states, believing this would prevent a centralized government taking too much power. However, this left a governing Confederation Congress without ability to tax, negotiate quickly and strongly with foreign countries and unable to legislate or guide in ways that would bring more harmony and peace to the country through united efforts. Just a couple years into governance by the Articles of Confederation, some leaders and citizens recognized these weaknesses. Many considered the possibility of revising the Articles to better meet the needs of the states and country as a whole. A few statesmen quietly considered abandoning the Articles altogether and creating a new form of representative government with a system of checks and balances among several branches of government.
The post-war years and Confederation government period saw state governments operating with limited attempts to cooperate with their neighboring states or the country as a whole. Each state government quickly looked out for its own interests, but this often led to stalemates of discussions and in some areas slowed or halted the opportunity for citizens economic opportunity. For example, Maryland and Virginia struggled to determine who had navigation rights on the Potomac River which borders both states. New York and Vermont Territory feuded with occasional violence. Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey squabbled over using the Delaware River. New York Harbor was a point of conflict for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut over imports and New York’s tariffs. In some cases, states created restrictions against other states, limiting interstate commerce and bringing the states into competition with each other for resources and markets. Historian Richard Beeman noted, “At times, the behavior of the American states toward one another seemed reminiscent of some of the worst examples of competition among the rival nations of Europe.”
While states competed or shut out their rivals, financial trouble loomed for the United States as a nation, for the states and for citizens. The Revolutionary War had resulted in large loans from France and The Netherlands, benefitting the United States. The first repayments on those loans came due in 1785, and there were limited funds that the Confederation government could use to pay. Defaulting on the loans would hurt hopes for future national credit. Initially, state governments had resisted efforts to amend the Articles of Confederation to allow for importation taxes. However, by 1786, the states reconsidered and tried to allow an importation revenue tax, until it was squashed the effort with too many extra exceptions and requirements. If the states refused to cooperate and pay some form of taxes to the Confederation government to make loan payments, the financial situation would continue to devolve. Already the American economy was in difficulties, shrinking nearly 30% during the war years. People grappled with the realities of war-destroyed properties. A society and economy changed from war casualties and the exodus of at least 60,000 loyalists who left the United States. With national independence, the United States faced exclusion from the British markets and other British colonies and also lost the economic support of British credit. Paper money issued by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War was essentially worthless, and there was no national bank. Interstate and international trade slowed or struggled, and many people did not have ready money to pay or receive payment. The economic depression of the 1780s is considered to be comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s with the hardships it created.
Veterans of the Revolution were among the Americans heavily affected by the economic depression. Pay for the Continental Army and for militia units had been a prolonged issue during the war itself, and many soldiers still had promises of compensation but not the actual money or land grants. For many, the lack of pay combined with years of farming or trades on hold; homes and families in difficult straits, pensions were not yet available, and the job market was limited. The arrival of debt collectors or the news of a state government raising taxes pushed some citizens and veterans to their limits. In 1786 and 1787, Shays’ Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts, an armed protest against the economic situation and the new taxes. At home and abroad, concern grew that the new country would devolve into civil war between citizens and state governments or between states—and many of the conflicts were driven by the economic depression.
Precariously poised with social and political unrest, economic depression, systemically weak government and squabbling states, the United States seemed anything but unified. Attempts like the Mount Vernon Conference in 1785 and the Annapolis Convention in 1786 brought state delegates together in attempts to solve interstate trade issues. These gatherings lead to the calling of the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 with the original intent of revising the Articles of Confederation and fostering better prosperity.
The years between the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the announcement of the Constitution of the United States (1787) emphasized the difficulties of a weak representative government and the confederacy form of government. Following the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 and establishment of the new government system in 1789, the economic, interstate and international challenges did not suddenly disappear, but more concerted efforts could be made for the good, safety and prosperity of the new nation. Debates continued regarding the balance of power between states and federal government and the branches of the federal government—conversations that continue to the present day. Still, many people in the late 1780s were willing to find a better way to unite as a country as long as the liberties they held dear would also be protected.
Further Reading:
- The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson (William Morrow/Harper Collins Publishers, 2014)
- The Critical Period of American History, 1783-1789 by John Fiske (1888)
- We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution by George William Van Cleve (University of Chicago Press, 2019)
