Chapter 4
The American Revolution
Text 3
The colonies unite
Step by step the conflict between the Parliament in England and the thirteen colonies got out of hand. The colonists composed a letter of complaint to the King of England. They said that taxation of the colonies without representation in the English Parliament was a violation of their rights. They assembled a congress, which decided to stop all trade with Great Britain. They also agreed to strengthen their military defense.
Armed confrontation
The last point about a stronger American army provoked the English most of all. The English acted to stop the military preparations the all-colony congress had decided on. There was a storehouse for weapons in Lexington, and when the English tried to take command over it, both parties started to shoot . The year was 1775 and the armed confrontation over the Lexington weapon arsenal was the final incident in the long chain of events that triggered the American War of Independence. They were now engaged in a war.
The Declaration of Independence
Shortly afterwards, a new congress assembled. It organized an army with George Washington as the commander-in-chief. On July 4, 1776, the congress passed the Declaration of Independence, and thereby broke away from the sovereignty of the English.
American victory
The War ended in 1781 with the defeat of the English. An important factor in favor of the Americans was the support they had had from their traditional enemy, France.
A new constitution was drawn up and it came into force in 1789.
It reflects many of the ideas about government, which were new in the 18th century. These are explained in the chapter on Government.
The first President of the USA
In 1789, George Washington was elected the first President of the USA. The man who had victoriously led the Americans in the war was re-elected in 1792, but did not want to sit for a third period.
13 years after the Declaration of Independence the American colonies had established a central government based on democracy.