With the signing of the Treaty of Paris, loyalists are forced to leave their homes. Many slaves move to Canada to avoid being returned to slavery. American soldiers return home, many of them to abject poverty. Shays’ Rebellion and other events make it clear that the United States requires a strong central government if it is to survive as a nation. Sarah goes to New York to get the story of the fate of the loyalists from Mrs. Radcliffe. Moses helps Cato travel to New York, where Cato leaves for Nova Scotia with Mrs. Radcliffe. James reports on Shays and the discontent of the former soldiers -– and resolves to own and run his own newspaper. Lafayette invites Henri to live with him in France. Ben, accompanied by Sarah’s mother, returns from Europe to a triumphant reception in Philadelphia.
Massachusetts slave “Mum Bett” sues for her freedom (5/28/1781). When she wins, she renames herself Elizabeth Freeman (8/81). With this decision and that in the case of another slave, Quok Walker, Massachusetts has abolished slavery (1783). In Great Britain, a bitter, recalcitrant King George ...
America’s leaders meet at a convention in Philadelphia and decide to write a radical new Constitution. Ben Franklin, in his final moment on the world stage, helps forge the “Great Compromise” on legislative representation. James Madison writes much of the Constitution, the lawful embodiment of ...
