Coming to America: Portrait of Colonial Life: Family and Community Life in New England
The portrait of life in New England plays out in stark contrast to life in the Southern colonies primarily because New England is settled by family groups. Although birth rates and life expectancy are generally high, women settlers find themselves i...
Turbulent Virginia: Pirate Base...Royal Colony: Virginia Company Investments Spawn New Colony
London investors are now becoming interested in financing overseas ventures. Initially they were looking to make money by establishing trading posts like the French or privateering They turn to colonization only as a last resort. The London Company,...
Precarious Experiment, A: Economic Upheaval
There is tremendous economic disruption after the war. The currency is worthless; Robert Morris' proposed 5% duty tax to pay for war debts fails. Under the Articles of Confederation economic problems fall to the states to resolve if a unanimous vote...
Precarious Experiment, A: Negotiating a Peace Treaty
Cornwallis's defeat at Yorktown and the resignation of Lord North as British prime minister signal the end of the colonies' 7-year struggle with Great Britain. Franklin, Jay, and Oswald represent the United States at the Paris Peace Talks. Although ...
Not Much of a War: How the Continental Army Outlasted Britain's Military Might
How can the small, rag-tag Continental army outlast the 18th century's most formidable military power? One important factor is that the British misunderstand what they are facing in this conflict, one of five battlefronts in which the British are en...
Not Much of a War: Support for Independence Intensifies
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...
Not Much of a War: Securing Aid from Abroad
Historians characterize the Revolutionary War as an "embarrassing" military event with few notable battles. The failure of the British to crush the Continental army in the mid-Atlantic states combined with the stunning American victory at Saratoga t...
Not Much of a War: Mobilizing for War
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 ...
Not Much of a War: Battles in New England and the Mid-Atlantic
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...
Growing Pains: Patterns of English Colonization in North America
By the end of the 1630s, English settlers have established six significant colonies in the New World. In a series of events that shock Europe, the English king is beheaded, the House of Lords is dissolved, and England finds itself under the stern ru...