Colonial support for independence intensifies with the circulation of "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine. Three weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress meets at the state house in Philadelphia with delegates fr...
The first order of business for the new government is recruiting and organizing an army. Many volunteers are disadvantaged men hoping to earn enough money to buy land or a business. Their term of service begins in the spring and ends in the fall at ...
During the first year of fighting, British forces attempt to crush each outbreak of rebellion as it occurs. They suffer major losses when they take on revolutionary forces at Breed's Hill in Boston, yet crush Washington's troops in New York. Each ti...
For most of the 1780s U. S. leaders try to come up with modifications to the Articles of Confederation that will strengthen the nation without creating a tyranny. They call for a meeting in Annapolis to discuss their ideas but only five states send ...
At the same time that Americans are struggling to win their independence on the battlefield, they are also struggling to create new institutions of government for themselves. Although each state employs its own method of creating a framework for man...
In the latter half of the 17th century, the well-ordered life New Englanders sought to establish begins to crumble with the advent of a series of calamitous events--a smallpox epidemic, war with Indians, accusations of witchcraft in Salem. Although ...
The plantation is a uniquely American form of community for many white and black Southerners. The region is largely rural, dependent on such lucrative but labor-intensive crops as rice, sugar, cotton, and later tobacco. The fact that the hard physic...
Colonial courts also play a significant role in the life of the town. Records of court proceedings provide an intriguing glimpse into colonial life and what was important to people at the time. Historian Helena Wall recounts one such case, a 17th c...
New England colonists, in contrast with Chesapeake settlers, are more interested in staying put than spreading out. But as rapid population growth overtakes them, people inevitably begin to move beyond town boundaries. Such "hivings," as they are ca...
The Puritans find it difficult to establish the godly community they had envisioned for several reasons. In order to have a viable colony, they admit craftsmen and artisans who are not necessarily godly but have the skills they need. Also many churc...