selves fortunate to reach New York even in a jaded and completely exhausted condition. This was the condition in the "civilized" Northern States, and in the South conditions were still worse, though probably in no part of America were conditions worse than in England and France.* Consequently, people made as few journeys as possible and then chiefly upon only the most urgent business. As the mails were unfrequent and uncertain, and the rates of postage high, letters were few and far between. Commercial dealings between the various States were inconsiderable; cities were few and small; and each little community for the most part supported itself. Under such circumstances, it was not surprising that the different States knew little about each other and were intensely prejudiced; for, save the soldiers of the Revolutionary army, the great portion of the populace lived and died without ever having seen any other section of the country than their own.

The people were intensely loyal to their State governments and in the eyes of the people the legislative assembly was the only power on earth competent to lay taxes upon them.† With the exception that a few royal governors had been expelled, the work of remodelling the State governments had not been revolutionary in its character. The case may

* Fiske, Critical Period of American History,

pp. 61-62.

† Ibid, p. 63.

333

be stated to have been a simple retention of the freedom which, as English subjects, they had always enjoyed, but which George III. had foolishly sought to impair. When the Declaration of Independence was issued, there were three kinds of government in the colonies. Connecticut and Rhode Island were republics with governors and assemblies elected by the people; in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland the assemblies were chosen by the people but the governors were appointed by the proprietories—a sort of limited hereditary monarchy; and in the other eight colonies the governors were appointed by the king, while the people elected the legislatures - viceroyalties. Upon the successful termination of the Revolution, no change was necessary in the charters of Connecticut and Rhode Island, except the omission of the king's name from legal documents; while the other colonies were compelled to frame new constitutions, most of which in their essentials followed the old colonial charters. The majority of the colonies had two branches in the legislatures, called by various names, and in most of the States a property qualification was requisite to membership in the legislature. In those States which had governors instead of executive councils, according to the new constitution, the governors (except in New York) were chosen by the legislature and a specified amount of property was required;

334

the governor could not be reëlected, had no veto upon the acts of the legislatures, nor power to appoint officers. Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Hampshire and Massachusetts had executive councils, but sooner or later these were replaced by governors elected by the people, and within a comparatively short time the powers of all governors were enlarged.*

The common law of England still remained in force throughout the length and breadth of the land, and all statutes enacted prior to the Revolution continued in force when not expressly repealed. In addition to the system of civil and criminal courts, the courts of probate, the functions of justice of the peace, the remedies in common law and equity, the forms of writs, all were substantially enlarged. Judges held office for life or during good behavior in all the colonies except Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, where the term was seven years, and in all the States except Georgia they were appointed either by the governor or legislature; in Georgia the judges were elected by the people for short terms.

The qualifications for suffrage for suffrage were different in the various States. In New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Carolina all who paid taxes could vote; in North Carolina such persons could vote for members of the lower house, but a free

Fiske, Critical Period, pp. 64-68.

hold of 50 acres was requisite for those who voted for senators; while in Virginia only those who possessed a freehold of 50 acres could vote at all. In New York only those who possessed an unmortgaged freehold of $250 could vote for governor or for senators, while $50 or a yearly rent of $10 was required to vote for assemblymen. Rhode Island required an unincumbered freehold of $134, but in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania the eldest sons of qualified freemen could vote without paying taxes. In the other colonies a small amount of real or personal property, ranging in value from $33 to $200, was required.*

The social, religious, and economic conditions were only fair, even considering the long struggle through which the colonists had passed. Those who possessed libraries and those who were fond of reading perused such serious books as The Lives of the Martyrs; Vattel's Law of Nations; Watt's Improvement of the Mind; Rollin's Ancient History; Pilgrim's Progress, etc., and the mistress of the house was as familiar with the contents as the master. These books necessarily came from beyond the Atlantic, and three-fourths of them were by English men of letters and printed by English printers. The younger set among the women of Boston and New England paid more attention to embroidery, painting,

Fiske, Critical Period, pp. 69-70.

drawing and cooking than to reading; while the less rigid and austere among them spent their spare time in calling, attending quilting parties and spinning-matches, and once a fortnight going to the public dances in Concert Hall. Nearly all toiled for a living; land was closely subdivided, and there were many freeholders but few patrons. Public schools had been in existence for a long time and religious discipline was strict. The former class pretensions had been much loosened by the war; and though to a great extent possessed of an austere, fanatical spirit handed down by their Puritan progenitors, though of a narrow disposition and often niggardly in their economies, the New Englanders possessed strong backbones, much audacity and a conscientious disposition, and were thirfty to a remarkable degree.*

As before stated, Philadelphia was the most fashionable city in America. Her men were dressed in the latest of fashion and the women wore gorgeous brocades and taffetas, draped over wondrous and cumbrous hoops, tower built hats, bedecked with feathers of all descriptions and hues, high wooden heels on their shoes, fine satin petticoats and in their mouths had implanted teeth.+ Select dancing assemblies were held fortnightly at £3 15s per season ticket.

In the South social customs had

*Schouler, United States, vol. i., pp. 8-9. † McMaster, United States, vol. i., p. 65.

335

scarcely changed from those in vogue in the years prior to the Revolution. The Virginia mansions were the same as before and the owners continued to serve their families and guests with the luxuries of the New World and the Old, chief among them being Madeira wine and rum. In such times as he was not attending to social functions, the rich planter devoted his energies to developing his estate and to the performance of his public duties. His son attended the nearest Anglican school, and if not sent to England for a higher education was sent to William and Mary College, after College, after which he returned home and endeavored to secure election to the House of Deputies. Skilled mechanics were few, and as a result even the houses of the wealthy would be found with broken window panes, smoky chimneys, etc. The poor white possessed little ambition to improve his lot; he was indolent, good-natured, generous and hospitable, fond of his State and its great men and ready to fight for their honor. Cock-fights and horse-racing were favorite amusements; and politics the principal diversion from labor. The Virginia gentleman was a born politician, as indeed were most Southern planters who possessed means.*

While the state of letters was low and the fine arts neglected throughout the colonies the stage received considerable patronage, although in

would or not. Many attempts had been made to repeal these barbarous laws, but the best that could be done was to obtain a provision that dissenters might escape the church rate by supporting a church of their own. It was not until the early years of the Nineteenth century that church and State were finally separated in Massachusetts. The New Hampshire and Connecticut constitutions were similarly illiberal, and it was not until 1784 that Rhode Island extended the franchise to Catholics.*

In New York up to the time of the Revolution the Dutch clergymen clung to their native tongue and scarcely a word of English was heard in the Dutch churches; afterward, however, it was changed, but the change in language was not attended by a change in ceremony. The Methodist church was just now beginning to make headway in the colonies, the largest of their churches being at Albany.

In New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware the people were strongly opposed to the establishment of the Church of England, and no serious attempt was made in that direction. In New York the people languidly acquiesced in its maintenance; it was endured by the Quakers and Presbyterians of New Jersey and North Carolina, and by the Puritans and Catholics in Maryland;

* Fiske, Critical Period, pp. 76–77.

337

while it was held in contempt in the turbulent frontier commonwealth of Georgia. But in South Carolina and Virginia it had a strong hold upon the people. When the colonies gained independence, the Episcopal Church was separated from the State, not only in South Carolina, but in all those States where it had been upheld by the British government; and in the constitutions of New Jersey, Georgia, the Carolinas, Delaware and Pennsylvania it was explicitly provided that none should be obliged to pay a church rate or attend any religious service unless he so desired. In Virginia, the already discredited clergy of the Church of England had still further discredited themselves by adhering to the royal cause during the Revolution and had lost their influence with their congregations. At the same time the Church had come to be a minority in the community, for the Scotch and Welsh Presbyterians, German Lutherans, English Quakers, and Baptists had been working their way southward from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, settling chiefly west of the Blue Ridge.*

So long as the newcomers protected the frontiers they were not molested, but when the Indians ceased to cause trouble and the various congregations began to grow and become prosperous, the church party attempted to tax them for the support of the Church of England and to

* Fiske, Critical Period, pp. 78-80.