In this assignment I want you to take on the persona of an artisan who became a Patriot.
In the late 1760s and early 1770s (between the end of the Seven Years War and the beginning of the Revolution) you were upset with the imperial/colonial government. It is now a quarter-century down the road from your youth, you are well into your middle-aged years, with idealistic children, and a grandchild or two, of your own. You and your generation have sacrificed much to bring about the United States and its new government under the Constitution. President George Washington’s Administration is in place, Congress has been elected, and the form of the new government is taking shape. Are you satisfied with the new government under the recently ratified Constitution? Do you think your 20-something year old self (the protester from the 1760s) would be happy with the way things turned out? You have decided to write a treatise (a fancy word for an essay) upon this subject as a gift to your grandchildren. In it you will think about your main social, political, and economic grievances from the 1760s in relation to your current beliefs. Have things turned out well for you and other artisans? Have your grievances from the 1760s been redressed (or are no longer relevant)? Have new political, economic, or social issues replaced them for your socioeconomic group in the 1780s? Has your group met their social responsibilities to the new nation; have they compromised where needed for the greater good or selfishly looked after their own interests? What, if anything, is left to be done for your group? Most importantly, would your 1760s self believe that you held onto your ethics even as war raged around you; have you remained true to the ethical stands you took in the 1760s or have you grown more pragmatic with age and experience?
