with a device, representing Cincinnatus receiving the Roman senators.' Several State societies are yet [1867] in existence. The war was ended, and peace was guarantied, but the people had much to do in the adjustment of public affairs, so as to lay the foundations of permanent prosperity, and thus secure the liberty and independence proclaimed and acknowledged. The country was burdened with a heavy debt, foreign and domestic, and the Articles of Confederation' gave Congress no power to discharge them, if it had possessed the ability. On its recommendation, however, the individual States attempted to raise their respective quotas, by direct taxation. But all were impoverished by the war, and it was found to be impossible to provide means even to meet the arrears of pay due the soldiers of the Revolution. Each State had its local obligations to meet, and Congress could not coerce compliance with its recommendations. This effort produced great excitement in many of the States, and finally, in 1787, a portion of the people of Massachusetts openly rebelled. Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the continental army, marched at the head of a thousand men, took possession of Worcester, and prevented a session of the Supreme Court. He repeated the same at Springfield. The insurrection soon became so formidable, that Governor Bowdoin was compelled to call out several thousand militia, under General Lincoln, to suppress it. Lincoln captured one hundred and fifty of the insurgents, and their power was broken. A free pardon was, finally, offered to all privates who had engaged in the rebellion. Several leaders were tried, and sentenced to death, but none were executed, for it was perceived that the great mass of the people sympathized with them. This episode is known as Shays's Rebellion. We have already noticed the fact that the Pope was unfriendly to England,* and looked with favor upon the rebellious movements of her colonies. Soon after the treaty of peace was concluded [Sept. 3, 1783], the Pope's Nuncio at Paris made overtures to Franklin, on the subject of appointing an apostolic vicar for the United States. The matter was referred to Congress, and that body properly replied, that the subject being purely spiritual, it was beyond their control. The idea of entire separation between the State and spiritual governments—the full exercise of freedom of conscience-was thus early enun orders conferred by kings are very costly, being made of gold and silver, and precious stones. The picture of the order of the Cincinnati, given on the preceding page, is half the size of the original. 1 Cincinnatus was a noble Roman citizen. When the Romans were menaced with destruction by an enemy, the Senate appointed delegates to invite Cincinnatus to assume the chief magistracy of the nation. They found him at his plow. He immediately complied, raised an army, subdued the enemy, and, after bearing the almost imperial dignity for fourteen days, he resigned his office, and returned to his plow. How like Cincinnatus were Washington and his compatriots of the War for Independence! 2 According to an estimate made by the Register of the Treasury in 1790, the entire cost of the War for Independence, was at least one hundred and thirty millions of dollars, exclusive of vast sums lost by individuals and the several States, to the amount, probably, of forty millions more. The treasury payments amounted to almost ninety-three millions, chiefly in continental bills. The foreign debt amounted to eight millions of dollars; and the domestic debt, due chiefly to the officers and soldiers of the Revolution, was more than thirty millions of dollars. Note 1, page 267, and Supplement. 4 Page 266. |