[Map] North America in the 18th Century. [Three color-coded maps show the French, English, Spanish, and independent territories in North America in 1754, 1763, and 1783.]

The Fight for Independence in the English Colonies of North Americaa

The English Colonies in North America

A system of internal self-government had developed in North America's 13 English colonies that their Governors had to respect. These were appointed by the King in seven colonies while they were elected by the colonists in the remaining ones. Every citizen who had a major piece of land-and that was most of them--was entitled to vote. By the middle of the 18th century, most of the affairs of government were in the hands of the colonists. The great distance between the colonies and London alone meant that conditions in America developed in their own way.

The immigrants came from various European countries; religious belief and social position initially differentiated them from each other. But the new homeiand confronted all of them with the same demands. Only the able ones could master the tough task of opening up the country. This is why ability and success became the decisive yardstick for the position of the individual in society.

The 13 New England States had about 250,000 settlers living in them around 1700; by 1775, there were 21⁄2 million, including about 400,000 Negro

aCompilers' Note. -Translated from Erich Goerlitz's Das Werden der Modernen Welt (1648-1900). PaderbornHannover: Schöingh-Schroedel, 1968. Pp. 63-67. Reproduced here with permission from Schöingh-Schroedel, (publishers). The material is designed for the 9th year of a 13-year primary-secondary school cycle.

slaves. Among the whites, about 1.7 million were of English origin. Agriculture was the most important branch of the economy. In the South, there were big sugar and tobacco plantations and later on mostly vast areas of cotton plantations. This is where most of the Negro slaves worked. The planters were the richest people in the colonies, followed by the merchants. But everybody was able to acquire property of his own, often through hard work at the very edge of the wilderness.

A French nobleman who visited the American colonies in 1759 wrote the following about the European immigrants and their life in America:

Everything helps them in their regeneration-new laws, a new way of life, a new social order; this is where they become men. . . . The moment he (the immigrant) breathes the air, he makes new plans and starts out doing things he would never have dreamed of in his old home country. . . . The laws of this land take him protectively under their wing. Let everyone figure out for himself what kind of change must take place in the spirit and thoughts of this man. He begins to forget his former servitude and dependence. . . .

Tax Fight

England's victory in the Seven Years' War released the colonies from the French grasp.b No longer were the English settlers threatened from Canada and Louisiana. This is one reason why ties between the colonies and the motherland became looser. When England wanted to collect taxes in the American colonies in 1765, a dispute arose.

[Picture] Thomas Jefferson.

bCompilers' Note. The part of the Seven Years' War (1756-63) that took place in America is usually referred to in U.S. history as the French and Indian War (1754-63).

[Picture] George Washington.

Because the colonies had also benefited from the English victory, the English Parliament wanted to have them help pay the Government debts. The English settlers were of the opinion, however, that only representatives elected by them had the right to tax them. But the settlers did not participate in the elections for the English House of Commons, and so the English state could not tax away a part of their possessions ("no taxation without representation"). Representatives of several colonies met for the first time in 1765 and addressed a petition to the King and Parliament. In 1766, the English Parliament had to drop its taxation plans because tax collection had failed in the face of settler resistance. This situation repeated itself during the coming years.

Finally, the English Parliament confined itself to a single, small tax that concerned tea imports in order to preserve at least formally the principle of English tax authority. But it was precisely this taxing authority that the Americans did not want to recognize. The English Governor of Massachusetts wanted to force collection of the tea tax in Boston. Only after the cargo had been unloaded and taxed could the ships leave the port again. During the night of December 16, 1773, Americans dressed up as Indians threw the cargo of a tea vessel into the water. English punitive measures against Boston only increased resistance in all of the 13 colonies. Representatives from all colonies met for the first time in Philadelphia in September 1774. They decided to terminate trade with England. When a second Continental Congress was attended by representatives of all colonies in Philadelphia in 1775, there had already been warlike clashes between English troops and the American militia.

electing its officers and fighting only when and so long as it seemed absolutely necessary, the American militia was at first rather unsuited for a long war.

Washington persuaded Friedrich von Steuben, a former officer of Frederick the Great, to take over the job of giving the troops military training. Although cooperation among the colonies was poor, although Congress had no power to implement necessary measures, and although the number of volunteers remained small, Washington in the end overcame most of the difficulties.

[Map] The United States Around 1800. [Major map features identify the 13 original States, Maine, and Vermont; also the States formed in the territory ceded by England in 1783.]

After the first military success, the representatives of the 13 colonies on July 4, 1776, declared these areas to be independent of England. Together the 13 States formed the Republic of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was essentially written by Representative Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) from Virginia. This trained lawyer was guided by the ideas of John Locke. The separation of the States from England was based on rights that are inherent in every person but that England would not have given the Americans.

The war lasted from 1775 until 1783. Support of the colonists by France, Holland, and Spain became the decisive factor. When more than 5,000 Englishmen capitulated in 1781, the war was decided in military terms.

Peace was signed in 1783. For the first time, citizen-soldiers had won a victory over hired mercenaries, although only with powerful foreign aid. The independence of the United States was recognized in the peace treaty. England retained Canada; the country west of the Mississippi fell to Spain, as did Florida.

Fight for Independence

In the summer of 1775, the Second Continental Congress directed the prosperous tobacco planter George Washington (1722-99) from Virginia to establish an army. Washington, who had distinguished himself as an officer in the war against the French and the Indians, faced a very difficult task. Out of the militia forces he was to shape an army that could stand up to the English regular army. Accustomed to

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, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happi

ness....

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States. . . .

The United States Constitution

During the war, most of the individual states had adopted constitutions that gave only little authority to the Congress as the federal authority. This resulted in considerable internal troubles after the war that could be overcome only through a Constitution for the entire Union. That Constitution materialized in 1787. Human rights, such as were found in the Declaration of Independence and especially in the Constitution of Virginia, became a part of the American Constitution. It implemented the separation of powers into a legislative, an executive, and a judicial branch. The state's mission was to secure the liberty of the individual.

[Diagram] The United States Constitution. [Schematic diagram shows the main elements in the structure of the Federal Government and the relationships between them, as they exist under the current (1970's) form of the Constitution.]

The Constitution left the individual States extensive internal independence but strengthened federal authority to such an extent that a federal state capable of taking action did arise. The President, who is elected for a 4-year term by the people, holds executive authority. The President and the government, which is made up of men who enjoy his confidence, thus do not depend on Parliament [Congress]. Legislative authority is exercised by Congress-Parliament. It consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives, the actual people's assembly, and the Senate, the body representing the individual federal States. The Supreme Court is the

third authority here and it must see to it that all measures of the Government agree with the Constitution. To declare war, the President needs the approval of Congress; for treaties, Senate approval is enough.

George Washington was elected first President of the United States in 1789. It was due to his efforts and achievements that the new state soon grew strong internally in spite of considerable tensions. The [French] Declaration of the Rights of Man and the American Constitution became models for countries that wanted to build up a liberal democratic system. The American Constitution of 1787, later provided with several amendments, is still in force today.

The 3 million inhabitants were mostly farmers who lived far away from each other. Philadelphia, the biggest city, had about 30,000 inhabitants. Society here differed considerably from European society. There were no privileged classes. America did not experience the burden of an outdated form of society that made political life in Europe appear increasingly questionable. Anybody who worked in America could generally acquire property and thus also political rights. Thus, America became a model for dissatisfied Europeans. Out of the 30,000 German mercenaries who-sold into English service by their princes-had fought against the Americans, 12,000 remained in the country whose freedom and independence they were supposed to have prevented. Among the French, who fought on the side of the Americans, it was especially the Marquis de La Fayette (1757-1834) who was a convinced supporter of the new political ideas. Freedom, which had been implemented in America, was something that many citizens in Europe yearned for.

[Picture] Hessian mercenaries, whose services were sold to England by their prince, are shown embarking for America.

From the Contract on Soldier Service between England and a German petty prince dated Apr. 20, 1776:

The soldiers are completely at the disposal of the King of Great Britain. . . for use in his service in Europe and North America....

As it guarded the English bourgeoisie against rivals, the English Parliament strove in every way to cramp the development of industry and trade in the American colonies. Parliament prohibited construction of ironmaking works in America and then the manufacture of any sort of fabrics, and it prescribed that they be imported readymade from England.

The poor farmers and workers were outraged in 1763 when the English King forbade movement into the Western territories so that the settlers on the lands of the English aristocrats would pay quitrent. But the colonists seized the land of the large landowners and repeatedly rebelled against the colonial authorities.

The Stamp Act was enacted in 1765. It put a tax on all trade transactions; there was even a high tax on every issue of a newspaper. The inhabitants of the colonies declared that the colonies were not represented in the English Parliament and that therefore Parliament had no right to impose taxes on them.

[Picture] Colonists demonstrate against stamp taxes.

aCompilers' Note.-Translated from A. V. Efimov's Novaia istoriia, chast' 1, uchebnik dlia vos'mogo klassa srednei shkoly (Modern History, pt. 1, Textbook for the Eighth Grade of Secondary School). Moskva: Izdatel'stvo "Prosveshchenie" (Moscow: "Enlightenment" Publishers), 1970. Pp. 38-53. The material is designed for the 8th year of a 10-year primary-secondary school cycle.

The attempt to introduce the stamp tax led to an uprising of the people of Boston and other cities of the colonies. The officials collecting the taxes were tarred and feathered, lashed to long rails, carried under the deafening clangor of pans and buckets, or driven in wagons, and then the collectors were hanged in effigy from trees. Their household belongings were burned in bonfires. The resistance was so unanimous that the English Government revoked the Stamp Act. But soon Parliament imposed new taxes and sent armed forces to the American colonies.

The so-called Boston Massacre took place in this tense situation. It began when boys playing near the customs house began to throw snowballs at the English sentries. A crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. The English soldiers fired into it and killed several persons.

[Picture] English troops shoot down residents of Boston in 1770.

In 1773 English merchants brought a large shipment of tea to Boston. At this time Parliament had abolished the usual duty (customs) on tea imported into America, but at the same time imposed a small tax on it. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the colonies were unwilling to acknowledge Parliament's right to impose taxes on them. Dressed up like Indians, inhabitants of Boston attacked the ships and hurled the cases of tea into the sea. Local inhabitants came to call this the Boston Tea Party. By way of punishment for this action the English Government proclaimed the port of Boston closed to trade, which caused an outbreak of resentment and was the proximate cause of the rebellion of the 13 English colonies in America.

In 1774 the American colonies sent their delegates to a congress in one of the largest cities in the colonies-Philadelphia. This assembly sent the King a request that he do away with the restrictions on trade and industry. The colonists also asked that taxes not