It  is  a  dry  and  uninteresting  employment  to  most  young
persons,  to  study  out  the  origin,  and  progress,  of  the  political.
institutions  of  this  country.     But  if  our  republic  is  to  con-    \
tinue,  these  young  persons  must  know,  in  some  way,  how
much  it  depends  on   them   to   accomplish  its  preservation,   v
All   modes   of  instruction    must   be    attempted.      Whether
that  intended,  in  the  following  pages,  will  be  of  use  to  that
end,  cannot  be  foreseen.     It  is  the  design  to  run  through"^
the  prominent  events,  in  this  country,  out  of  which  political    •
parties  have  arisen.
In   1783,   and  for  some  time  afterwards,  and  up  to  the
time  of  the  French  Revolution,  there  were  distinctions  in
1


FAMILIAR    LETTERS


society,   now  unknown.     They  were   the  remnants  of  the
colonial  relations.     Persons  in  office,  the  rich,  and  those  who
had  connexions  in  England,  of  which  they  were  proud,  were
the  gentry  of  the  country,  before  the  war.     Modes  of  life,
manners,  and  personal   decoration,  were  the  indications  of
superiority.     The  commencement  of  hostilities  drove  a  large
/  portion  of  this  gentry  from  the  colony ;  but  these  indications
V continued  among  some  who  remained,  and  adhered  to  the
patriot  side.    There  was  a  class  of  persons  (no  longer  known)
"Y\vho  might  be  called  the  gentry  of  the  interior.     They  held
[  very  considerable  landed  estates,  in  imitation  of  the  land-
holders in  England.     These  persons  were  the  great  men  in
\  their    respective    counties.      They    held    civil   and   military
offices,  and  were  members  of  the  general  court.     This  sort  of
personal  dignity  disappeared  before  the  end  of  the  last  century.
The  long  continued  and  impoverishing  war  had  brought
very  serious  embarrassments,  public  and  private.     One  mode
of  relief,  after  the  war  ended,  was  to  engage  in  commerce.
