Editing American Revolution (section)

==Concluding the revolution==
{{main|United States Constitution|United States Bill of Rights}}
{{see also|Annapolis Convention (1786)|Philadelphia Convention|The Federalist Papers}}
[[File:Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_States.jpg|thumb|The September 17, 1787 [[signing of the United States Constitution]] at [[Independence Hall]] in [[Philadelphia]] depicted in [[Howard Chandler Christy]]'s 1940 painting, ''[[Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States]]'']]

The war ended in 1783 and was followed by a period of prosperity. The national government was still operating under the Articles of Confederation and [[Northwest Ordinance|settled the issue of the western territories]], which the states ceded to Congress. American settlers moved rapidly into those areas, with Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee becoming states in the 1790s.<ref>Greene and Pole, eds. ''Companion to the American Revolution'', pp. 557–624</ref>

However, the national government had no money either to pay the war debts owed to European nations and the private banks, or to pay Americans who had been given millions of dollars of promissory notes for supplies during the war. Nationalists led by Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other veterans feared that the new nation was too fragile to withstand an international war, or even the repetition of internal revolts such as the [[Shays's Rebellion]] of 1786 in Massachusetts. They convinced Congress to call the [[Philadelphia Convention]] in 1787.<ref>Richard B. Morris, ''The Forging of the Union: 1781–1789'' (1987) pp. 245–266</ref> The Convention adopted a new [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] which provided for a [[republic]] with a much stronger national government in a [[Federalism|federal]] framework, including an effective executive in a [[Separation of powers|check-and-balance]] system with the judiciary and legislature.<ref>Morris, ''The Forging of the Union: 1781–1789'' pp. 300–313</ref> The Constitution was ratified in 1788, after a fierce debate in the states over the proposed new government. The [[Presidency of George Washington|new administration]] under President George Washington took office in New York in March 1789.<ref>Morris, ''The Forging of the Union, 1781–1789'' pp. 300–322</ref> [[James Madison]] spearheaded Congressional legislation proposing amendments to the Constitution as assurances to those cautious about federal power, guaranteeing many of the [[inalienable rights]] that formed a foundation for the revolution. Rhode Island was the final state to ratify the Constitution in 1790, the first ten amendments were ratified in 1791 and became known as the [[United States Bill of Rights]].

===National debt===
{{Further|Financial costs of the American Revolutionary War|National debt of the United States|Alexander Hamilton}}
[[File:HAMILTON,_Alexander-Treasury_(BEP_engraved_portrait)_(cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Alexander Hamilton]], the first [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]] during the [[Presidency of George Washington]]]]
The national debt fell into three categories after the American Revolution. The first was the $12&nbsp;million owed to foreigners, mostly money borrowed from France. There was general agreement to pay the foreign debts at full value. The national government owed $40&nbsp;million and state governments owed $25&nbsp;million to Americans who had sold food, horses, and supplies to the Patriot forces. There were also other debts which consisted of [[promissory note]]s issued during the war to soldiers, merchants, and farmers who accepted these payments on the premise that the new Constitution would create a government that would pay these debts eventually.

The war expenses of the individual states added up to $114&nbsp;million, compared to $37&nbsp;million by the central government.<ref>Jensen, ''The New Nation'' (1950) p. 379</ref> In 1790, Congress combined the remaining state debts with the foreign and domestic debts into one national debt totaling $80&nbsp;million at the recommendation of first Secretary of the Treasury [[Alexander Hamilton]]. Everyone received face value for wartime certificates, so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.<ref>Joseph J. Ellis, ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2004) p. 204</ref>