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Revision as of 18:36, June 11, 2007
Workspace to try to combine these two, as well as improve the article in general.
Contents
FROM American Revolution
The American Revolution, beginning with the Declaration of Independence in 1776, was a war between England and it's American colonies. The decision to reject British rule was not universal in the colonies, with equal numbers of people remaining loyal to the throne (Loyalists), or neutral, as their were Patriots (pro-revolutionaries).
The ideas in the Declaration of Independence, drafted by 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson with help by other Founders, were very powerful. Invoking the authority of God frequently throughout the document, the Declaration contains the most striking legal statement of all time: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The phrase “that all men are created equal” was original to the Declaration of Independence and was quoted frequently by Abraham Lincoln (e.g., in the Gettysburg Address) and by other future Americans.
The Declaration of Independence drew upon Christianity and the Enlightenment English philosopher John Locke. In his famous work “Two Treatises on Government” (1690), Locke declared that all men have the natural (inalienable) rights of “life, liberty and estate (property).” Adam Smith, the great economist, modified this to be “life, liberty and the pursuit of property.” Notably the Declaration of Independence does not emphasize a right to pursue property, however, speaking instead in favor of pursuit of “happiness”.
Locke also wrote that government exists to defend our natural rights, and when government fails to do so then it may rightfully be overthrown. Locke built on the concept of a “social contract” first proposed by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), who felt that government was a contract by which people gave up some rights to government to obtain protection and order in return. When this social contract is violated by government, as when it fails to defend our natural rights, then Locke felt that rejecting the authority of government was justified. This logic was embraced by the Declaration of Independence by declaring that the colonies were right to break away from the King of England because he failed to uphold the social contract. The Declaration said: “That to secure these [inalienable] rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government ….” And the Patriots did “abolish” English rule here.
Chronology of the American Revolution
| April 19 | Fighting breaks out at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the war begins |
| May 10 | Americans capture Fort Ticonderoga, New York, Second Continental Congress opens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| June 15 | George Washington named Commander-in-Chief |
| June 17 | Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston, Massachusetts |
| December 31 | Battle of Quebec, Canada |
| March 17 | British leave Boston |
| July 4 | Declaration of Independence signed |
| August 27 | Battle of Long Island, New York |
| September 15 | British occupy New York City |
| November 16 | British capture Fort Washington, New York |
| November 20 | British capture Fort Lee, New Jersey |
| December 26 | Battle of Trenton, New Jersey |
| January 3 | Battle of Princeton, New Jersey |
| July 6 | British capture Fort Ticonderoga, New York |
| September 11 | Battle of Brandywine, Pennsylvania |
| September 19 | First Battle of Freeman's Farm (Saratoga), New York |
| September 26 | British capture Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| October 4 | Battle of Germantown, Pennsylvania |
| October 7 | Second Battle of Freeman's Farm, New York is won by the Americans |
| October 17 | British General John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga, New York |
| December 19 | Washington moves his army to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania |
| February 6 | Americans sign treaty with France |
| June 28 | Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey |
| December 29 | British occupy Savannah, Georgia |
| June 21 | Spain declares war on Britain |
| September 23 | The British frigate Serapis Is captured by John Paul Jones |
| May 12 | Americans surrender at Charleston, South Carolina under Benjamin Lincoln |
| August 16 | Battle of Camden, South Carolina |
| October 7 | Battle of Kings Mountain, North and South Carolina |
| March 15 | Battle of Guilford Court House, North Carolina |
| September 28 | Battle of Yorktown, Virginia, begins |
| October 19 | Yorktown, Pennsylvania, British General Charles Cornwallis surrenders |
| July 11 | British leave Savannah, Georgia |
| November 30 | Paris, France, draft of peace treaty signed |
| December 14 | British leave Charleston, South Carolina |
| April 15 | Peace treaty draft is ratified by United States |
| September 3 | Final peace treaty (called the Treaty of Paris)signed in Paris |
FROM American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War began in 1775, when Paul Revere's midnight ride alerted the Massachusetts militia that British troops were moving to seize an arms depot in Concord, Massachusetts. The militia held a bridge at nearby Lexington, and the "Shot heard 'round the world" was fired. After this short skirmish, and the subsequent Battle of Lexington, delegates from the Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and drafted a Declaration of Independence on July 4 of the following year. The war concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, granting independence to the colonies.
