The Fathers of the Constitution | Page 9

drawn accordingly and agreed to on November 30, 1782.
Franklin had been of such great service during all the negotiations,
smoothing down ruffed feelings by his suavity and tact and presenting
difficult subjects in a way that made action possible, that to him was
accorded the unpleasant task of communicating what had been
accomplished to Vergennes, the French Minister, and of requesting at
the same time "a fresh loan of twenty million francs." Franklin, of
course, presented his case with much "delicacy and kindliness of
manner" and with a fair degree of success. "Vergennes thought that the
signing of the articles was premature, but he made no inconvenient
remonstrances, ill procured six millions of the twenty."* On September
3, 1783, the definite treaty of peace was signed in due time it was
ratified by the British Parliament as well as by the American Congress.
The new state, duly accredited, thus took its place in the family of
nations; but it was a very humble place that was first assigned to the
United States of America.
* Channing, "History of the United States," vol. III, p. 368.



CHAPTER II.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Though the word revolution implies a violent break with the past, there
was nothing in the Revolution that transformed the essential character
or the characteristics of the American people. The Revolution severed
the ties which bound the colonies to Great Britain; it created some new
activities; some soldiers were diverted from their former trades and
occupation; but, as the proportion of the population engaged in the war
was relatively small and the area of country affected for any length of
time was comparatively slight, it is safe to say that in general the mass
of the people remained about the same after the war as before. The
professional man was found in his same calling; the artisan returned to
his tools, if he had ever laid them down; the shopkeeper resumed his
business, if it had been interrupted; the merchant went back to his
trading; and the farmer before the Revolution remained a farmer
afterward.
The country as a whole was in relatively good condition and the people
were reasonably prosperous; at least, there was no general distress or
poverty. Suffering had existed in the regions ravaged by war, but no
section had suffered unduly or had had to bear the burden of war during
the entire period of fighting. American products had been in demand,
especially in the West India Islands, and an illicit trade with the enemy
had sprung up, so that even during the war shippers were able to
dispose of their commodites at good prices. The Americans are
commonly said to have been an agricultural people, but it would be
more correct to say that the great majority of the people were
dependent upon extractive industries, which would include lumbering,
fishing, and even the fur trade, as well as the ordinary agricultural
pursuits. Save for a few industries, of which shipbuilding was one of
the most important, there was relatively little manufacturing apart from
the household crafts. These household industries had increased during
the war, but as it was with the individual so it was with the whole
country; the general course of industrial activity was much the same as
it had been before the war.
A fundamental fact is to be observed in the economy of the young
nation: the people were raising far more tobacco and grain and were
extracting far more of other products than they could possibly use
themselves; for the surplus they must find markets. They had; as well,
to rely upon the outside world for a great part of their manufactured

goods, especially for those of the higher grade. In other words, from the
economic point of view, the United States remained in the former
colonial stage of industrial dependence, which was aggravated rather
than alleviated by the separation from Great Britain. During the
colonial period, Americans had carried on a large amount of this
external trade by means of their own vessels. The British Navigation
Acts required the transportation of goods in British vessels, manned by
crews of British sailors, and specified certain commodities which could
be shipped to Great Britain only. They also required that much of the
European trade should pass by way of England. But colonial vessels
and colonial sailors came under the designation of "British," and no
small part of the prosperity of New England, and of the middle colonies
as well, had been due to the carrying trade. It would seem therefore as
if a primary need of the American people immediately after the
Revolution was to get access to their old markets and to carry the goods
as much as possible in their own vessels.
In some directions they were successful.