In the wake of independence, most Americans shared a vision for a new diplomacy based on free trade. James Wade gave a “[s]alutatory oration in Latin on the advantages which the United States may expect to derive from a free trade with the whole world” at his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 1781. Several merchants named their ships Free Trade in the 1780s. The phrase “free trade” also appeared repeatedly in toasts offered on the Fourth of July and other celebrations. After the reading of the Declaration of Independence in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, thirteen toasts were drunk, including “Free trade with all the world.” A Sons of St. Tammany celebration on May 1, 1784, had as one of its thirteen toasts a statement that summarized the Enlightenment ideal for diplomacy by proclaiming “Free trade in American bottoms, and peace with all the world.” A year later the New York Chamber of Commerce not only toasted “A free trade with all the world,” but also declared, “May the commerce of the United States, under the guidance of our foederal Council, be as prosperous as her arms have been victorious.” In 1790 the Society of Cincinnati reiterated these principles with the toast “Peace and free trade with all the world.” By the 1790s, regardless of party and principles – the toasts quoted here represented various social and economic groups – free trade, enlightened ideas concerning diplomacy, and the belief that a republic should thrive by pursuing open commerce and peace with all nations had become a part of the American national consciousness.