Less than 75 years after the ratification of the Constitution, the country had dissolved, both sides insisting that THEY were the ones who were upholding the Constitution. This conflict was foreshadowed during the writing and debates on the Constitution and in the Federalist Papers that advocated adoption of the Constitution. The man who both wrote
By the time the Founders gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 for what became the Constitutional Convention, Virginia planter and legislator James Madison had already demonstrated his abilities as a legislator by steering Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom through the Virginia legislature. The Constitutional Convention would challenge these skills to the utmost. Madison famously had
From 1777 until 1787, the organizing framework of the United States was the Articles of Confederation. These Articles defined the mechanics but didn’t really create a “government.” Rather than a country, the Articles defined the United States as, “A firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties,
On November 25, 1783, after the British army evacuated, George Washington entered New York City for the first time in seven years. This was the scene of his greatest humiliation – getting routed, chased out, and hounded the length of New Jersey in 1776 – and Washington undoubtedly felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Fe
Following the victory at Yorktown, VA, on October 19, 1781, combat between main armies came to an end. But while peace talks between British and American diplomats began, Washington still found it necessary to hold the army together for nearly two more years until the peace treaty was agreed to. And with no enemy to fight,
One of those things “everybody knows” is that the October 1781 surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown marked “the end” of the American Revolution. Well, Yorktown certainly marked the point where Parliament and the British public said, “Your Majesty, enough!” We were going to be a country, but what sort of country was very much
There was no “Indian policy” toward our rebellion, or colonial policy toward the Indians. On the frontiers of white settlement, white settlers lived among, traded with, and had relations with a dozen or more nations. Each had its own characteristics, traditional hunting lands, trading patterns, history of amicable relationships and grievances with the English settlers,
At the beginning of the Revolution, the British occupied all of North America north of Spanish Florida out to the Mississippi River. The original 13 colonies were pushing settlement out to – and occasionally beyond – the Appalachian mountains. Some of the colonies, most notably Virginia but also Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Georgia, had
The Founders read and debated the works of Enlightenment political philosophers such as John Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau and applied many of their ideas in arguing for independence and establishing our government. They also looked for inspiration to the Classical era, particularly the Roman Republic. Mistrusting pure democracy, as practiced in Golden Age Athens,
York Commemorates the Continental Congress. A new exhibition, “Revolutionary York,” opened for a 2 ½ year run at the York County History Center on July 3. The exhibition gives a broad overview of the Revolutionary War with a particular focus on the effect of the Revolution on York and its citizens. Exhibits show a timeline
By the mid-1700s, the ideas of the Enlightenment – social contract, natural rights, freedom of speech, religious toleration – had been in circulation for nearly 100 years. But the Declaration of Independence was the first time these thoughts had been translated into action. Within a few months of its adoption by the Continental Congress, the
With the ideas of the Enlightenment in wide circulation and Thomas Paine’s stirring arguments in Common Sense spreading widely, more and more people began to consider a formal breach with England. As 1776 moved along, more voices called for independence. On April 12, 1776, the North Carolina legislature passed the Halifax Resolves, the first official
The thinking of the Americans debating independence in 1776 was heavily influenced by writers of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a late 17th-18th century European intellectual movement that rejected traditional authority and religious dogma, instead applying reason, empirical evidence, and the scientific method to society. Three core beliefs were: Natural Rights, Separation of Powers, and
After the ambushes of the British army on April 19, 1775, it was evident that SOMETHING was happening, but what exactly wasn’t at all clear. There was no tradition of Peasants Revolts overthrowing Kings and no successful examples of colonies gaining independence. And, although the Second Continental Congress met shortly in Philadelphia and assumed some
The British recognized American slaves as an important resource that could help the Rebels – or be turned to help them. In November 1775, Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation declaring martial law in the colony and offering freedom to any enslaved people or indentured servants belonging to Patriot rebels, who
Ever since two of our greatest Founding Fathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both passed away on our nation’s 50th birthday, July 4, 1826, Americans have seen great significance in our milestone anniversaries. The event calls, at a minimum, for a great celebration, a chance to tell the story of America’s founding, progress, and triumph.
At the time of the American Revolution, the situation in the colonies was far from satisfactory for African-Americans, free or enslaved. Although slavery had never caught hold in the northern colonies as it did in the south, the institution was legal everywhere at the start of the Revolution. The American Revolution gave enslaved African Americans
After an unsuccessful 1776 siege of Charleston, S.C., and an American victory at Moore’s Creek Bridge, N.C., the British largely left the southern colonies alone for several years as they concentrated their actions in the northern colonies. This does not mean that things were peaceful in the South. The civil war that took place throughout
The colonies immediately recognized the importance of naval warfare. Although the 13 colonies had no real naval force, they did have a shipbuilding industry, many merchant vessels that were engaged in domestic and foreign trade, and many captains and sailors who were familiar with the open sea and with warfare. In fact, the colonies did
Discussions of allied support in the Revolution tend to focus on the support the new country received from France. And there is no doubt that the French arms and military support were instrumental in the American victory. But focusing on French support, important as it was, tends to obscure the important support received from the
Alliance With France. On February 6, 1778, following the shocking surrender of General John Burgoyne’s English army at Saratoga, an American diplomatic team led by Ben Franklin signed a treaty of alliance with France. French King Louis XVI had no love for the American cause. But he had been itching for payback from England since
After fighting well but losing at Brandywine in September 1777 and again at Germantown in October, George Washington faced the inevitable that the British army would spend the winter in comfort in Philadelphia and that his troops would spend another winter in makeshift quarters. On December 19, 1777, he established a winter camp at Valley
After Washington’s victories at Trenton and Princeton at the end of 1776, the British abandoned all their outposts in southern New Jersey. This meant thy started the 1777 campaigning season precisely where they had been the previous autumn. Having failed to take Philadelphia the previous year by marching through New Jersey, British commander Sir William
George Washington was the furthest thing from a “share the campfire with the boys” leader. Often traveling by carriage, he typically stayed in a comfortable farmhouse near the military encampment and usually dined with his aides or generals. But after his Christmas-time 1776-1777 victories at Trenton and Princeton, his soldiers became extraordinarily devoted to their
The most prominent statue in Lafayette Park, directly behind the White House, is the famous Andrew Jackson equestrian statue. But in each corner of the park, visitors will find statues of the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, the Comte de Rochambeau, and Tadeusz Kościuszko. Two Frenchmen, one Prussian, and one Pole, they represent an
I met my great grandfather’s commanding officer this weekend. Jeremiah Lott served as a bugler in the 4th Dragoon Regiment, commanded by Col. Stephen Moylan. Jim French, who portrays Moylan, and a few other members of the 4th Dragoons were in town at the living history encampment at Gettysburg High School, which was held in
January 1781 didn’t seem like a promising time for the U.S. Army in South Carolina. In the previous year, the army of 5000 men defending Charleston had surrendered and another army had basically been destroyed at the Battle of Camden. For a time, guerrilla forces commanded by Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion and a few others
By comparison to later wars, the battles of the Revolutionary War tended to involve a small number of troops and took place over a small area. But the fighting was no less intense. The fights at Paoli, PA, and Stony Point, NY, illustrate the brutality of these fights. The “Paoli Massacre” took place on the
Supplying an 18th century army was not as complex as it was during WWII, but still Washington’s army needed supplies. Besides commercially available items like food and uniforms, the main needs of the army were: muskets and rifles, powder, lead for bullets, cannon, and ammunition for cannon. The mercantilist policy prevalent in the 18th century
Yorktown (VA) the town where British general Charles, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army and in effect brought an end to the war, is the most famous York in the Revolutionary War. But the city of the same name in south central Pennsylvania deserves mention. Most notably, York, Pennsylvania, was the Capital of the United States
By mid-April 1775, the British army’s “secret” preparations for a mission to the Boston countryside were on sight for everyone to see. The scouting parties had largely finished their work. Soldiers and sailors were mending and replacing equipment, breaking out field equipment, and conducting maneuvers west of town. Naval vessels were being readied. None of
In my lifetime, George Washington’s reputation has been transformed several times, from the pious jerk of the Parson Weems tales to the profiteer of Gore Vidal’s “An Evening With Richard Nixon” and “George Washington’s Expense Account” to a wooden figurehead who was neither a competent general nor an especially impressive president. In fact, the standards
Everybody knows the story of Paul Revere’s ride – or thinks they do: the lonely rider, galloping through a town, shouting “The Redcoats Are Coming!” In the broad scheme of the Revolution, Revere has been reduced to a bit part, his importance diminished by comments such as, “He didn’t even finish the ride, Samuel Prescott
For more than a century, from 1640 to 1763, England was consumed with Civil War, dynastic turbulence, and superpower land wars in Europe. During this time, England’s new American colonies enjoyed substantial autonomy. In 1763, at the end of what we call the French and Indian War, England found itself in possession of its own