The Thirteen Colonies began a rebellion against British rule in 1775 and proclaimed their independence in 1776. They subsequently constituted the first thirteen states of the United States of America, which became a nation state in 1781 with the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The 1783 Treaty of Paris represented the Kingdom of Great Britain's formal acknowledgement of the United States as an independent nation.
The United States defeated Britain with help from France, the United Provinces and Spain in the American Revolutionary War. The colonists' victory at Saratoga in 1777 led the French into an open alliance with the United States. It is a matter of debate which state was the first to recognize the United States, but the claim extends to the Republic of Ragusa (now the city of Dubrovnik], the Netherlands and Morocco.
In 1781, a combined American and French Army, acting with the support of a French fleet, captured a large British army led by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The surrender of General Cornwallis ended serious British efforts to find a military solution to their American problem. In effect, "the United States was the first major colony successfully to revolt against colonial rule. In this sense, it was the first 'new nation'."
Trumbull's Declaration of Independence
Side by side with the states' efforts to gain independence through armed resistance, a political union was being developed and agreed upon by them. The first step was to formally declare independence from Great Britain. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, still meeting in Philadelphia, declared the independence of "the United States of America" in the Declaration of Independence. Although the states were still independent entities and not yet formally bound in a legal union, July 4 is celebrated as the nation's birthday. The new nation was dedicated to principles of republicanism, which emphasized civic duty and a fear of corruption and hereditary aristocracy.
A Union of the states with a constitutional government, the Congress of the Confederation first became possible with the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The drafting of the Articles began in June 1776 and the approved text was sent to the States on November 15, 1777 for their ratification. While most States passed laws to authorize their representatives in Congress to sign the document by 1778, Maryland refused to do so until a dispute between the states concerning Western land claims had been resolved. After Virginia passed a law ceding its claims on January 2, 1781, Maryland became the 13th and final state to pass an Act to ratify the Articles on February 2, 1781. The formal signing of the Articles by Maryland was completed on March 1, 1781 in Philadelphia and on the following day Samuel Huntington became the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled. However, it became apparent early on that the new constitution was inadequate for the operation of the new government and efforts soon began to improve upon it.
The territory of the newly formed USA was much smaller than it is today. A French map showing Les Etats Unis in 1790
A series of attempts to organize a movement to outline and press reforms culminated in the Congress calling the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. The structure of the national government was profoundly changed on March 4, 1789, when the American people replaced the confederation type government of the Articles with a federation type government of the Constitution. The new government reflected a radical break from the normative governmental structures of the time, favoring representative, elective government with a weak executive, rather than the existing monarchical structures common within the western traditions of the time. The system of republicanism borrowed heavily from the Enlightenment ideas and classical western philosophy: a primacy was placed upon individual liberty and upon constraining the power of government through a system of separation of powers. Additionally, the United States Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 to guarantee individual liberties such as freedom of speech and religious practice and consisted of the first ten amendments of the Constitution. John Jay was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, whose membership was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789; the first Supreme Court session was held in New York City on February 1, 1790. In 1803, the Court case Marbury v. Madison made the Court the sole arbiter of constitutionality of federal law.
Foundations for American government
Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West painted in 1827.
Native American societies reminded Europeans of a golden age only known to them in folk history. The idea of freedom and democratic ideals was born in the Americas because "it was only in America" that Europeans from 1500 to 1776 knew of societies that were "truly free."
“ Natural freedom is the only object of the policy of the [Native Americans]; with this freedom do nature and climate rule alone amongst them ... [Native Americans] maintain their freedom and find abundant nourishment . . . [and are] people who live without laws, without police, without religion. ”
—- Jean Jacques Rousseau, Jesuit and Savage in New France
The Iroquois nations' political confederacy and democratic government has been credited as one of the influences on the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. However, there is heated debate among historians about the importance of their contribution. Although Native American governmental influence is debated, it is a historical fact that several founding fathers had contact with the Iroquois, and prominent figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were involved with the Iroquois.
“ As powerful, dense [Mound Builder] populations were reduced to weakened, scattered remnants, political readjustments were necessary. New confederacies were formed. One such was to become a pattern called up by Benjamin Franklin when the thirteen colonies struggled to confederate: "If the Iroquois can do it so can we", he said in substance. ”
—- Bob Ferguson, Choctaw Government to 1830
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