When the American Revolution ended, the Treaty of Paris was ratified by the new Congress in 1784.
The entire new United States was struggling, suffering from post-war economic depression. There was a currency shortage, high taxes due, unpaid creditors, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Many of the financial backers of the Revolution lost their fortunes.
In Marblehead, Jeremiah Lee and King Hooper were prime examples of these losses, one as a Patriot and one as a Loyalist.
In the space of 10 years, Marblehead had gone from being one of the most prosperous towns in the American colonies to a scene of financial ruin. The town was in shambles. Fishing vessels that had been turned into privateers were wrecked. The thriving merchant trade that had been part of Marblehead’s economic success was destroyed by loss of men, ships and access to trade routes. In 1775, over 12,000 tons of shipping were sent from Marblehead. After the war, that number was reduced to 1,500 tons.
The town of Marblehead had sent almost 1,800 men to fight in the Revolution, a huge number for a population of approximately 5,000-6,000. Faced with desperate times, Marbleheaders began to revive the fishing trade to support themselves. They struggled to survive, even tearing down fishing shacks to use as firewood.
The town reached out as best it could to help the many veterans, widows and orphans, as did their neighbors and friends. Throughout these bleak post-Revolutionary War years, despite all the hardships, there was never doubt or regret about the correctness or importance of their fight for freedom.
The American Revolution took all that Marblehead had to give. At the end of the 18th century, the town faced the difficult work of reestablishing itself, working its way back to economic stability, rebuilding its fishing and trading fleets, and preparing for the challenges of the 19th century.
Pam Peterson chairs the Marblehead Historical Commission. She is the former Marblehead Museum executive director.
