Financial Challenges and Strategies During the American Revolution

Establishing a New National Government and Addressing War Debts

After the war's conclusion in 1783, the United States grappled with substantial war debts under the Articles of Confederation. Nationalist leaders, including George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, advocated for a stronger central government to address the nation's vulnerabilities. The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, which established a federal republic with a system of checks and balances. The new government, with Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury, assumed responsibility for the national debt, which comprised foreign debts, domestic debts owed to citizens, and state debts. In 1790, Congress enacted a plan to consolidate these debts into a single national debt, honoring all wartime certificates at face value to establish a sound national credit system.

The Ideological Foundations of the American Revolution

The American Revolution was rooted in a set of ideological principles derived from the American Enlightenment. These principles included the concepts of natural law, natural rights, consent of the governed, individualism, property rights, self-ownership, self-determination, liberalism, and republicanism, as well as a stance against corruption. Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Montesquieu provided the intellectual groundwork for these ideas, which emphasized the importance of equality, the social contract, and the people's right to overthrow a government that infringed upon their rights. The Founding Fathers, many of whom were proponents of republican ideals, envisioned a government where citizens elected their representatives and where a constitution safeguarded civil liberties from the tyranny of the majority.

Religious Influence and the Role of Protestant Dissenters

Religion significantly influenced the revolutionary spirit, with Protestant dissenters playing a key role in fostering democratic ideals. Denominations that had broken away from the Church of England, such as the Congregationalists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, were particularly active in promoting revolutionary sentiments. The Declaration of Independence referenced the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," illustrating the prevalent belief in a divine order that supported the American pursuit of independence. Clergy, including figures like John Witherspoon, delivered sermons that connected the revolution to biblical teachings, reinforcing the conviction that resisting tyranny was both a moral and religious obligation.