Lesson 19: Independence of the United States

Prelude to the War of Independence

Starting in the 17th century, Britain established 13 colonies in North America. Immigrants from Britain and other European countries came to North America, and their hard work contributed to the development of local agriculture and commerce. After 1765, the British government enacted a series of new tax laws in the North American colonies, which intensified the conflicts between the North American people and the British colonists. In 1773, the British government authorized the East India Company to monopolize the tea trade in North America, which triggered a new wave of tax resistance.

In the early morning of April 19, 1775, 800 British troops marched to the northwest suburbs of Boston in search of arms and exchanged fire with armed villagers in Lexington.

Washington and the War of Independence

The sounds of gunfire in Lexington inspired resistance in the North American colonies, and people from all over organized and armed themselves to support Boston.

In May 1775, representatives of the 13 North American colonies gathered in Philadelphia and held the Second Continental Congress. At the conference, Washington strongly advocated forceful resistance against the British, and the conference unanimously decided to integrate the militia into the Continental Army and appointed Washington as the commander-in-chief. At the same time, the people of North America demanded more and more independence.

The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Jefferson, which declared that all men

All men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration enumerated the tyranny of British colonial rule, called on the colonists to oppose British colonial rule, and proclaimed the independence of the 13 North American colonies from Britain. The Declaration of Independence is the first programmatic document that clearly expresses the political demands of the bourgeoisie in the name of the state, and is known as the "first Declaration of Human Rights".

After the Declaration of Independence was issued, each state established its own state constitution. In 1787, the states sent representatives to Philadelphia, where Washington presided over a Constitutional Convention that, after debate and compromise, resulted in the Constitution of the United States. The 1787 U.S. Constitution was the world's first written bourgeois constitution and had a significant impact on political change in many countries. .

After the Declaration of Independence, the war between the Continental Army and the British Army was still going on. France supported American independence.

In 1777, a British army of more than 6,000 men was surrounded by the Continental Army at Saratoga and forced to surrender. The Saratoga victory was the turning point of the War of Independence. After that, France recognized the United States and entered the war openly. European countries also formed an "armed neutrality alliance" because of the conflict with Britain, and Britain was isolated. In 1781, the U.S. and French forces fought against the British at Yorktown and the British General Cornwallis' men surrendered, ending the American War of Independence. The American War of Independence was both a national liberation war and a bourgeois revolution.

After the Declaration of Independence was issued, the states enacted state constitutions. In 1787, the states sent delegates to Philadelphia, where Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, and after debate and compromise, the U.S. Constitution was finally enacted. The 1787 U.S. Constitution was the first written bourgeois constitution in the world and had a significant impact on the political changes in many countries.

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