I have a letter written by an ancestor in 1783 to his cousin in Ireland. He welcomed the reopening of immigration from the British Isles that came with the end of the Revolution, but noted that the new country was fragile and the future uncertain. The big question was the question of slavery and how to end it on terms acceptable to both North and South. He predicted that if a solution could not be found that preserved the economic viability of the South, a war was certain. He was a southern slave holder.
The age of the machine would of ended it, if other factors/players weren’t in play.
See post #50