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New England in Early America | |
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(Continued from: Declaration of Independence) By 1781, the Revolutionary War was over and the American colonies were free and independent states. But the forging of a strong and effective central government for the former British territories would not be accomplished until 1789. In the meantime, the removal of British legal restrictions on trade meant that New England merchants were at last free to trade with the world as they liked. New Englanders put to sea in ships built in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and were soon returning with the riches of Europe, Africa, China, and India in trade. Whaling ships out of Salem and New Bedford brought back whale-oil wealth of similar greatness. Though the renewal of war with Great Britain (the War of 1812) disrupted New England's progress for a time, the seas were soon open again. Next: Industrial Revolution |
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