The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

482 THE FREEMAN AugustLoyalists should end. Britain andthe United States agreed to thefree navigation of the Mississippi,but Spain, the other country withterritory on it, did not join in theagreement.The Treaty of Paris was trulyan American triumph. GeorgeWashington described its portentin these words: "The citizens ofAmerica, placed in the most enviablecondition, as the sole lordsand proprietors of a vast tract ofcontinent,comprehending all thevarious soils and climates of theworld, and abounding with all thenecessaries and conveniences oflife, are now, by the late satisfactorypacification, acknowledgedto be possessed of absolute freedomand independence."7 Somedecades ago, an American historiandeclared: "On the part of theAmericans the treaty of Paris wasone of the most brilliant triumphsin the whole history of moderndiplomacy."8 A more recent diplomatichistorian has seconded thisopinion: "The greatest victory inthe annals of American diplomacywas won at the outset by Franklin,Jay, and Adams."9Disbanding the TroopsThe greatest triumph of all,however, requires an appreciationof what might have been but wasnot to stand out in relief. Themost critical moment for the successof the American Revolutionalmost certainly came in 1783. Itwas at about the time of the Britishwithdrawal of forces from theeast coast. The Continental army,what remained of it in campsalong with what might have beensummoned again into service, wasnow the only considerable force inthe United States. This was themoment for~a military coup' d'eta,t,if there was to be one, the momentwhen the American Revolutionmight have followed the course ofso many others. Nor was the provocationlacking.. The military hadbeen sorely neglected during thelong years of war. Now that thevictory had been won, the armywas invited to disband and itsmembers return home without beingpaid what had so long beenpromised.George Washington was almostcertainly the key to what wouldand did happen at this criticaljuncture. His prestige had grownduring the years of his command,until at the end of the war he wasthe pre-eminent American. Hiscritics had harmed only themselves;they were chipping atgranite with teaspoons. He wasapproached more than once withthe idea, that he take over thecountry. There is no evidence thathe ever seriously contemplatedsuch a course. On the contrary,he rebuked those who hinted at