of Independence, to the drafting of which he owes his greatest fame, might
now be figuring among the historical documents of lost causes, like
similar elaborate statements of principle made during the Commonwealth
period in England. Had the national forces failed at the critical period
of financial organization, and the States, bankrupt by the revolutionary
struggle, been left in the lurch, the republic would have followed the
usual course of disintegration displayed by federations from the time of
the Greek amphictyonies down to that of the Holy Roman Empire.

The charge was made soon after Hamilton's victory that it was largely due
to the influence of speculators. The advance in the market value of
securities produced by Hamilton's measures certainly gave an opportunity
to speculators of which they availed themselves with the unscrupulous
activity characteristic of the sordid tribe. Jefferson has left an account
of "the base scramble." "Couriers and relay horses by land, and swift
sailing pilot boats by sea, were flying in all directions. Active partners
and agents were associated and employed in every state, town, and country
neighborhood, and this paper was bought up at five shillings, and even as
low as two shillings in the pound, before the holder knew that Congress
had already provided for its assumption at par. Immense sums were thus
filched from the poor and ignorant, and fortunes accumulated by those who
had themselves been poor enough before."

This account is highly colored. The struggle was too close, and the issue
was long too doubtful, to admit of speculative preparations extending to
every "town and country neighborhood." If speculation took place on such a
large scale, it must have been also taking risks on a large scale, for
assumption was not assured until Jefferson himself put his shoulder to the
wheel. The lack of means for prompt diffusion of intelligence naturally
provided large opportunity for speculation by those in a position to