The word "revolution" implies a violent break with the past. But there was nothing in the @American @Revolution that changed the basic character of the American people. The Revolution cut the ties which bound the colonies to Great @Britain. It created some new activities, and some soldiers left their former trades and occupations. But the part of the population that fought in the war, and the area of country affected for any length of time were fairly small. It is therefore safe to say that, in general, the mass of the people remained about the same after the war as before. The professional man stayed with his profession. The craftsman returned to his tools, if he had ever laid them down. The shopkeeper resumed his business, if it had been interrupted. The merchant went back to his trading, and the farmer went back to his field.
The country as a whole was in pretty good condition. And the people were fairly comfortable. At the least, there was no general distress or poverty. Suffering had existed in the regions destroyed by war, but no section had suffered more than any other. And no region had to bear the burden of war during the entire period of fighting. American products had been in demand, especially in the West @India Islands. In fact, an illegal trade with the enemy had sprung up. That meant during the war, shippers were able to sell their products at good prices. The Americans are commonly said to have been a farming people. It would probably be more correct to say that the majority of the people relied on other industries. These included lumbering, fishing, and even the fur trade. There was little manufacturing apart from the household crafts at this time. Shipbuilding was the major exception. These crafts increased during the war, but the general course of industrial activity was much the same as it had been beforehand.
The economy of the young nation provides an important fact. The people were raising far more tobacco and grain, and they were creating far more of other products than they could possibly use themselves. For the surplus, they had to find markets. They had to rely on the outside world for a large part of their manufactured goods, especially for those of the higher grade. In other words, from an economic point of view, the United States remained in the colonial stage of industrial dependence. This was worsened rather than eased by the separation from Great Britain. During the colonial period, Americans had carried on a large amount of this external trade with their own ships. The @British Navigation Acts required that goods be transported in British vessels, manned by crews of British sailors.
