Fragile Freedom

The war was over.   The years had passed since General Charles Cornwallis had surrendered following the Siege of Yorktown, and the Treaty of Paris had been signed, but not so many that they had forgotten. They won the Revolution, and the yoke of England had been cast off. They had set out to secure their independence, challenging the most powerful empire in the World, and, after years of sacrifice, loss and pain, after years of being met with devastating defeats and glorious victories, they controlled their destiny, free of that far distant monarch and parliament. Nowhere had that been more celebrated than Massachusetts, where the first shots had been fired.   Returning to their homes and their farms, they believed that they could find some level of normalcy. Still, throughout the states, including Massachusetts, unrest was beginning to build.   The truth was though that America was a new nation and few knew what the new normal would be. The economic climate had changed. Depression, debt, and challenges in fo