In every town and village
through which he passed the people gathered to cheer and bless
him. So he reached Annapolis. There before Congress he resigned
his commission. Then with a sigh of relief, a simple citizen once
more, he mounted his horse and rode homewards.
But now the colonies which had wrung themselves free from the rule
of Britain were not altogether happy. They called themselves the
United States, but there was little union. Before the Revolution
there had been much jealousy between the various states. For
a time, indeed, in the heat of the struggle, they had forgotten
these differences. But now that the struggle was over, and peace
had come, these jealousies appeared again. Each state had its
own government, its own taxes, its own money. So there was great
confusion. But no state wanted to give up any of its privileges,
and it seemed hopeless to institute one Central Government, for each
state thought only of itself, and each one was afraid of giving
Congress too much power lest it should usurp the power of the state
government.
The states quarreled with each other about their boundaries, some
of them made absurd claims to vast territory on the strength of
their royal charters, quite forgetting that these charters were
now done away with. There were riots everywhere, indeed, never was
the State in such danger of shipwreck as now at its very beginning.
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