Join, or Die, Artist unknown,
1754. LC-USZ62-9701
|
At the successful conclusion of the Revolutionary War with Great Britain in
1783, an American could look back and reflect on the truly revolutionary events
that had occurred in the preceding three decades. In that period American colonists
had first helped the British win a global struggle with France. Soon, however,
troubles surfaced as Britain began to assert tighter control of its North American
colonies. Eventually, these troubles led to a struggle in which American colonists
severed their colonial ties with Great Britain. Meanwhile, Americans began to
experiment with new forms of self-government. This movement occurred in both
the Continental Congress during the Revolution and at the local and state
levels.
After winning their independence, Americans continued to experiment with
how to govern themselves under the Articles of Confederation. Over time,
some influential groups--and these by no means reflected the sentiments of
all
Americans--found the Confederation government inadequate. Representatives
of these groups came together in Philadelphia to explore the creation of
yet another, newer form of government. The result was a new constitution.
Not all Americans embraced this new Constitution, however, and ratification
of the document produced many disagreements. Even so, the Constitution
was ratified, and with a new constitution in place, Americans once again
turned to George Washington for leadership, this time as President of the
new republic.
Although Washington proved to be personally popular and respected,
conflict over the proper functions and locus of governmental power
dominated his two terms as president. These disputes soon led to the
formation of factions and then political parties that were deeply
divided over the nature and purposes of the federal government, over
foreign affairs, and over the very future of the new nation. Events
during the single term of John Adams, our second president, made these
divisions even worse and they continued into the presidency of Thomas
Jefferson (1801-1809).
Even so, President Jefferson nearly doubled the size of the new
nation by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France. This purchase
also led Jefferson to form the Lewis and Clark expedition to discover
just what was contained in the new land. Jefferson's successor as
President, James Madison (1809-1817)--one of authors of the constitution--led
the new nation through another war with Great Britain. This, of course,
was the unpopular War of 1812. This war ended in 1815 and if nothing else
it convinced Britain that the United States was on the map to stay.
Meanwhile, Americans began to develop a culture and way of life that
was truly their own and no longer that of mere colonials.
top of page
|
|