then still part of Cambridge). Although he was elected to represent Massachusetts at the Congress of the Confederation from 1782 to 1783 he did not attend, again for financial reasons. He was politically active in the state, however, supporting John Hancock and then Samuel Adams for governor. He was a prolific writer, contributing frequently to the political discourse that took place in Massachusetts' many newspapers under a variety of pseudonyms. In 1787 Sullivan participated in the defense of individuals charged in participation in Shays' Rebellion, an uprising in the rural parts of the state begun the previous year. This activity earned him criticism from stalwart pro-government members of the Massachusetts Bar. When Massachusetts debated ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788, Sullivan was one of a number of Massachusetts politicians who expressed reservations about the document, but generally supported ratification. In the debate he proposed that the convention conditionally adopt the Constitution, subject to Congress considering and acting on a suite of amendments. The seven amendments Sullivan proposed were primarily designed to increase state powers at the expense of Congress and the federal courts; for example, one would have allowed state supreme courts to issues writs of habeas corpus for persons charged with federal crimes. Attorney General John Hancock rewarded Sullivan for his support in 1790 with an appointment as the state's attorney general, a post he held until 1807. Although he supported the Democratic-Republican Party, his views were relatively moderate, so he retained the post of state attorney general despite the dominance of the Federalists in the state. Much of Sullivan's legal work after independence was framed by republican ideals. His republicanism was expressed in wide-ranging support for individual rights, including those of women, children, and minorities, and manifested in letters to contemporaries including John Adams, cases he argued as a lawyer, and decisions he made as a judge. As attorney general he defended the state in a Loyalist recovery action involving the rights of married women (who at the time had few rights under the common law doctrine of coverture), arguing that Loyalist William Martin's wife had in her own right abandoned the property in question. Sullivan supported harsh laws confiscating the property of Loyalists who fled the country or fought with the British, although he later took on as clients personal friends who were Loyalists seeking to recover their property. In his native Maine he had