The Newburgh Conspiracy – Dissension in the Ranks
In December 1782, the Continental Army had been fighting the British Army for over seven years. With peace negotiations underway, the soldiers were garrisoned near Newburgh, New York. Congress had passed a resolution in 1780 when the outcome of the war was still in doubt that promised Army officers a lifetime pension of half-pay upon discharge from the service. However, as peace talks progressed and the need for the Army decreased, Congress and the states began to waffle on their promise. The nation’s treasury was empty, and the Confederation Congress was helpless to do anything about it.
Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, explores how dissension in the ranks of the Continental Army led to the Newburgh Conspiracy, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, Library of Congress, Brown University Library, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Wikipedia.
The Newburgh Conspiracy represents a time when our nation came closest to deviating from our core revolutionary principles of representative government with civilian control of the military. Because of a weak Confederation Congress and unhappiness within the officer ranks of the Continental Army, the stage was set for our new nation to drift into a military dictatorship or monarchy.