The Newburgh Conspiracy of 1782 was the closest an American army ever came to a revolt or coup (Kohn, 17). Because of the failed attempt to ratify the Tax of 1781, Alexander Hamilton, one of the most involved conspirators in Congress to take part in the conspiracy, along with other nationalist conspirators in Congress, attempted to use the threat of the conspiracy as a weapon to pressure Congress to accept an amendment to the Articles of Confederation. This amendment would give the national government the power to tax imports, which would also result in a stronger national government; the 1781 tax would have given the government the ability to impose a 5% duty on imports. Alexander Hamilton tried to encourage General George Washington to lobby Congress as well, but Washington remained faithful to his position as general of the U.S. Army. In December 1782, officers based in Newburgh, New York, agreed to petition Congress for pensions they were not receiving. Just after Christmas, Major General Alexander McDougall, along with two colonels, took his protest to Philadelphia (Ferling, 249). In early January 1783, amid rumors of mass resignations, a delegation of three officers traveled to Philadelphia to present Congress with a petition eliciting their pent-up grievances (Chernow, 432). The petition stated that many officers had become poor, or had lost the opportunity to become rich, due to years of service. The health of many officers was also in danger (Ferling, 249). Pay, even half, was the least of the officers' worries in Newburgh, however. Most officers were eager to return to a normal lifestyle. For everyone, the end of hostilities meant re-entering a society that... at the center of the paper... the creation of the military establishment in America, by Richard KohnPublisher: Free PressThe United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory by Jesse Walker Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic by John Ferling Publisher: Oxford University Press Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow Publisher: the Penguin Group Seven Men and the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Inside Story of the Newburgh Conspiracy: America and the Coup by Richard Kohn Publisher: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture The Newburgh Conspiracy by C. Edward Skeen Publisher: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and CultureHoratio Gates at Newburgh, 1783: A Misunderstood Role by Paul David NelsonPublisher: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture