the federal arsenal located in that city. Things were now assuming a very dangerous aspect. The character of the insurgents had undergone a great change. The discontented and vicious rabble, ever ready to promote disturbance, had joined the company of Shays, and there was danger that the State government of Massachusetts would be overthrown.

It is not our purpose to enter into the details of this rebellion further than to note its general cause and character. It is indicative of the disorder of the time and illustrates the inadequacy of the general government. The rebellion was put down, not by the arm of Congress, which was powerless to interfere, but by the efforts of James Bowdoin, Governor of Massachusetts, with the coöperation of some public-spirited citizens who supplied the necessary funds. Governor Bowdoin was "the strong deliverer" of his State, but his efforts were hardly appreciated. He was defeated for reëlection a few months after the outbreak, because of his "pernicious activity," and because the people feared that he would not pardon those of Shays's followers who had been tried and convicted for participating in the rebellion. Bowdoin's successful competitor, John Hancock, promptly pardoned the offenders. The fact is significant as showing that the spirit of the people was not yet in favor of law and order. However, James Bowdoin will always be held in grateful remembrance as the savior of Massachusetts, and possibly of the Union. His State might have been ravaged from the Berkshire Hills to Cape Cod before Congress could have given the necessary assistance. Then, too, the spirit of Shays might have been contagious. In fact, there were symptoms of disorder in other States which indicated that such was the case. The action of Governor Bowdoin is all the more commendable because he was not sustained as he should have been by the public opinion of his own State. When the mob came to Springfield to obstruct the court, they reported that they found that body "mellow enough." The judges of the court are said to

have invited the rebel leaders to dine with them at the

hotel. Neither was Congress asked to render any aid. It was argued by factionists and anti-Federalists that it would not be in keeping with the dignity of the great State of Massachusetts to allow federal troops upon its soil for the purpose of suppressing an insurrection. In fact, a resolution stating that federal aid might be needed and sought was defeated on this ground in one of the Houses of the Massachusetts legislature. Congress did, however, deem it to be its duty to take some action when it was apparent that the spirit of rebellion was spreading. It accordingly asked the States to furnish troops for a campaign against the Indians of the northwest, not daring to make known the real purpose for which the soldiers were to be used.

It might be added in this connection that Massachusetts was not the only State that was infatuated by the desire for paper money. The delusion was widespread in 1785-1786. All economic laws, and even the teachings of common sense, were utterly disregarded. In some instances the "rag money" was made legal tender, and in other cases. where it was not persons were practically compelled to accept the worthless stuff. The result of the whole matter was that a few speculators became rich, while the masses of the people and the States themselves became bankrupt.

The paper money delusion, the rebellion led by Daniel Shays, and the apparent necessity of Congressional regulation of commerce, did much to convince the people that something should be done to strengthen the central government. The leaders of political thought had come to this conclusion several years before; and now the masses of the people, who hitherto had spurned Congress and exalted their State governments, were beginning to see that much of the disorder of the time was due to the weakness of the central authority and that to correct these disorders they must strike at the root of the matter and amend the form of government. This idea developed very rapidly in the two years preceding the Philadelphia Convention of 1787.

Boundary disputes have always harassed States and nations, and it is not strange that contests over territory should arise in the United States at this time when boundaries had not been accurately located. The Articles of Confederation provided that disputes arising among the various States should be adjusted by special commissioners or courts organized by Congress. It was found comparatively easy to reach a decision in these interstate disputes, but to compel the States interested to abide by that decision was quite another matter. In many instances it was not even thought worth while to ask Congress to determine the matter at all.

In 1782 a dispute arose between Pennsylvania and Connecticut concerning the ownership of territory in the valley of Wyoming. This dispute was settled in the manner specified in the Articles and in favor of Pennsylvania. Connecticut, for the time, acquiesced in the decision. In other cases disputes were not so easily settled. It was not easy to persuade, and no means were at hand to compel, a State against which a decision had been made to submit to the ruling of the federal tribunal. Even in the Wyoming Valley case, Connecticut was never wholly reconciled to the decision, and the enmity between the two States concerned all but resulted in civil war in 1784.

The dispute between New York and New Hampshire over the territory now embraced in the State of Vermont was the cause of greater difficulty. The grants and charters of the time were necessarily vague and it was practically impossible to locate exact boundaries. For several years

prior to 1774 the two States had contended strenuously but inconclusively for the possession of the Green Mountain region. New York finally took steps to make good its claim by force of arms and New Hampshire prepared to do the same. At this critical juncture, Washington used his influence with the Governor of New York, and the dispute was temporarily settled in 1784. The whole matter, however, was not finally disposed of until the adoption of the

Federal Constitution. In the meantime, arson, murder, and a species of guerilla warfare prevailed at intervals in the Green Mountain district, and within it the central government was unable to assert its authority.

Disputes of a similar character were occurring almost constantly. In 1784 an effort was made to establish the new State of Franklin. Some inhabitants of eastern Tennessee, then under the jurisdiction of North Carolina, joined with some citizens of Virginia in an effort to create the new commonwealth. In 1786 a convention was called to bring about a separation of Maine from Massachusetts. Liberties. of this kind were frequently taken and the decisions of Congress, if any were made, were treated lightly. These disputes may seem to be but mere incidents of pioneer life and of no particular importance. In themselves they are not particularly significant, but as symptoms of a disordered republic they emphasize the inadequacy of the Articles of Confederation and the pressing necessity for a new and stronger form of government. It now seems almost providential that the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 should have rescued the struggling federation from the abyss toward which it was rapidly drifting.

The army, too, was the source of no little difficulty under the Articles of Confederation. Not being able to obtain money from the States, Congress was unable to pay the soldiers. This produced discontent in the army and dread in Congress. It was feared that the soldiers, despairing of obtaining their just dues, might usurp control of the government, and thus create a military despotism. There was, in fact, some ground for this fear. The temper of the army was ugly, and mutterings were heard among the officers and men. While this feeling was at its height, Colonel Louis Nicola, an officer in the Continental army, wrote a letter to Washington urging him to save his beloved country from anarchy and confusion by accepting the crown from the army. Washington's reply was sincere and decisive enough to put an end to the scheme of Nicola and his

followers. There was, probably, no real danger of a reversion to monarchy; but the incident shows the critical condition of the government. The appearance of a Cromwell or a Napoleon might have changed the current of our history very materially.

The Newburgh address of March 11, 1783, gives evidence of a similar state of feeling among the soldiers. The baneful influence of General Gates and his associates appears again in the ranks of the army. An anonymous address was issued to the troops by Major John Armstrong and Colonel Barber, of Gates's staff, in which the soldiers were practically urged to mutiny. The address was treasonable and inflammatory in the extreme. After being told that their country had trampled upon their rights, disdained their cries, and insulted their distresses, the soldiers were assured that even worse treatment was in store for them in the future unless they asserted themselves. "If this, then, be your treatment," the address continues, "while the swords you wear are necessary for the defense of America, what have you to expect from peace, when your voice shall sink, and your strength dissipate from division; when those very swords, the instruments and companions of your glory, shall be taken from your sides, and no remaining mark of military distinction left but your wants, your infirmities and your scars? . . oppose tyranny, under whatever garb it may assume, whether it be the plain coat of republicanism, or the splendid robe of royalty; awake, attend to your situation and redress yourselves! If the present moment be lost, every future effort is in vain; and your threats then will be as empty as your entreaties now. . . Let two or three men draw up your last remonstrance, for I would no longer give it the suing, soft, and unsuccessful epithet of memorial. . . . Tell them the wounds, often irritated and never healed, may at length become incurable; and that the slightest mark of indignity from Congress now must operate like the grave, and part you forever

that