_#Adoption of the Constitution.#_--Actual hostilities ceased in 1781. In 1783 peace with England was declared, and the independence of the colonies was achieved. The war left the American people with an empty treasury, and a country drained of its wealth and impoverished by the exhaustive struggle. It left us with a large national debt, both to our own citizens and friends abroad, and most of all, left us with an army of unpaid patriotic soldiers. And no sooner had foreign danger been removed than domestic troubles arose which filled all with gloomy forebodings for the future. With the loss of that cohesive principle which common danger supplied them, the colonies now began to fall apart. Even during the progress of the war the weakness of the Union had shown itself. Washington unhesitatingly declared that it was the lack of sufficient central authority that caused the prolongation of the war. One instance will show how weak was the Federal authority. During the summer of 1783, when Congress was at Philadelphia, some eighty deserters from the army so threatened Congress as to force a removal of our Federal capital from that place to Princeton. The Continental finances were in a deplorable condition. Congress could not even collect sufficient taxes for the payment of the interest on the public debt. The States could, and often did, refuse to pay their proportion of taxes imposed upon them by Congress. Congress made a last attempt, in 1785, to raise a revenue by a tax on imported goods, but this measure failed, New York refusing to ratify. Congress, indeed, did not collect one-fourth of her demands. Commerce was going to ruin. England refused to allow our country the rich trade with the West Indies. To these troubles were added the mutual jealousies and selfishness of the States. Each of them tried to attract commerce to itself, and passed laws hurtful to the other States. The people in Massachusetts were in insurrection. The French minister wrote to his country: "There is now no general government in America--no head, no Congress, no administrative departments." For all these evils the limited and imperfect powers conferred upon the Federal Government by the articles of Confederation afforded no adequate remedy. Even the Constitutional Congress was now in danger of breaking up. States, to save expense, neglected to send delegates, and repeated appeals had to be made to get representation from nine States so as to pass important measures. A better union was seen by all thoughtful citizens to be necessary, but very difficult to obtain, owing to inter-state differences. The idea of having a convention separate from the Congress, whose work should be the framing of a stronger government, gradually gained ground.