required to meet their English debts. Hardly more fortunate in their economy were the Southern planters; although they had in tobacco a marketable staple, its price was fixed in London and they were always hard pressed to keep up with mounting obligations incurred for high living.
On every hand was heard the complaint of the critic that scarcely a penny of specie escaped the vortex which drew money in a torrent to the creditors of the metropolis. In the best of circumstances the exigencies of the colonists in this respect were very pressing; the irritation that arose from them was severe and continuous; from this source came the clamor for "easy money" that led local legislatures to issue paper currency until Parliament by peremptory act put a stop to such measures of relief. Turn and twist as they might, the colonists continually labored under the disabilities of chronic debtors.
§
In connection with a network of trade covering half the world, sprang up along the coast several thriving towns which on the eve of the Revolution compared favorably in wealth and population with such English cities as Liverpool and Bristol. Five stood at the head of the list—Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Charleston, and Newport—the first with about twenty-five thousand inhabitants, counting the suburbs, and the last with seven thousand. Baltimore, Norfolk, Lancaster, and Albany, if not so populous, nevertheless took pride in their growing power.
These urban centers were the homes of three classes destined to play significant rôles in the launching of the Revolution, namely, merchants, artisans, and lawyers. In every city were a few families that led the rest: the Amorys, Hancocks, and Faneuils in Boston; the Whartons, Willings, and Morrises of Philadelphia; the Livingstons, Crugers, and Lows of New York; and the Browns of Providence—"Nicky, Josey, John, and Mosey." Rich, active, and
