America's Critical Period

The term America's Critical Period, popularized by John Fiske in 1888 with his book The Critical Period of American History, refers to the period of United States history in the 1780s, right after the American Revolution, where the future of the newly formed nation was in the balance. More specifically, the "Critical Period" refers to the period of time following the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the inauguration of George Washington as President in 1789. The phrase was first used to describe this era (unbeknownst to Fiske) by William Henry Trescot in his 1857 book The Diplomatic History of the Administrations of Washington and Adams.

During the 1780s, the loose confederation of states was beset with a wide array of foreign and domestic problems. Some historians believe it was a bleak, terrible time for Americans, while others believe the term “Critical Period” is exaggerated, and that, while the decade a time of dispute and change, they were also a time of economic growth and political maturation.

As a young nation, the United States had acquired a massive amount of debt during the Revolution. A severe depression affected the nation during 1784-85. Problems between farmers in debt and collectors in Massachusetts led to events such as Shays' Rebellion. The South was especially affected by the economic problems. Almost 60,000 slaves were lost during the Revolution, almost 30,000 in South Carolina and Georgia alone. To create more financial problems for the South, Great Britain refused to import Southern goods into the British West Indies, one of their largest markets. Eventually, Hamilton's idea of paying off the debt would bring about better relations with other countries.

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