Written by: Chris Binkert
As we arrive at the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, let’s pause and reflect on the events that made it happen. To admire the sacrifices that drove it. To appreciate the burning sense of confidence that grew from it. To gain a fuller understanding of the people and events that pulled it off.
In 1776 the odds of winning a war against the British were very low. Britain had the largest and best trained military in the world. The British king had ruled the 13 colonies for 169 years. They enjoyed the support of 20 percent of the colonial population, plus a limited hold on another 35 percent who were on the fence. There was no capital city of the colonies, no government, no mass communication devices, no foreign allies, and no escape from the threat of death to those deemed traitors to the crown.
On top of that, the 13 colonies were anything but ‘united’. They were fractious, suspicious, and unevenly behind the revolution. There were vast differences between people from Massachusetts, Virginia, and Georgia.
What the British did not and could not control was the genuine and inspirational hope that permeated the 45 percent of colonists who were empowered by a fervor that independence was worth the fight, the sacrifice, and the death and destruction sure to come.
Setting the Stage
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first direct tax levied on the American colonies by the British Parliament. Meant to raise funds to pay off massive debts from the 7 Year’s War against France (1756-1763) and to finance the presence of troops in North America, the Act immediately enraged the colonies.
The opposition was based on the concept of No Taxation Without Representation. It was so unpopular that it was repealed in a year. However, it unleashed an unprecedented level of cooperation among the colonies and inspired the creation of the Sons of Liberty that organized protests against it.
The 10 years between 1765 and 1775 saw a long period of underground efforts to organize resistance to the crown. The Sons of Liberty and other secret societies met in safe places to share news and plan events. There were committees of correspondence that set up shadow governments in towns and drafted letters to share political news and promote a united front.
During this period, the British Parliament passed other taxes on the colonies. The Townshend Acts, the Tea Act, and the Coercive Acts (known as the Intolerable Acts), were met with rising rejections, leading to the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
In March 1775, Patrick Henry gave a moving speech in Virginia where he said, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”
The Spark
With mounting fury, the conditions for a revolutionary break with the crown was like a dry tinderbox awaiting a spark to ignite. That spark came from the town green in Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.
On that day, 700 British soldiers marched 21 miles from Boston intent on taking a suspected cache of weapons in Concord, six miles further west of Lexington. Warned by night riders Paul Revere and William Dawes, 70 residents took up arms on the Lexington Green to face the advancing British army. No one knows who fired first, but in a few minutes, eight colonists were dead and nine wounded.
Bells rang, riders passed the word, and 400 more colonists, known as Minutemen, came into Concord to fight. And fight they did, eventually forcing the British to retreat to Boston. Harassed by colonial snipers and by then thousands of Minutemen, the 28 mile retreat turned disastrous for the British, incurring 73 deaths, 174 wounded, and 53 captured.
The Rising Fury
By firing on the colonists, Britain created a tipping point that could not be reversed. Now it was David vs. Goliath. Now it was survival. Now it meant open rebellion.
George Washington was selected to lead the colonial forces in June 1775, taking command the next month.
Thomas Paine, born in England, published his pamphlet called Common Sense in January 1776. A very effective writer, he laid out the case for independence in clear and persuasive words. “The birthday of a new world is at hand”. It was republished in newspapers and broadsheets throughout the colonies and sold tens of thousands of copies. George Washington lauded it by saying “It’s working a wonderful change in the minds of many.”
The Declaration of Independence
The Second Continental Congress, formed to coordinate colonial resistance, authorized a small committee comprised of Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert Livingston of New York to draft a Declaration of Independence in June 1776.
Led by Jefferson, this geographically balanced group presented the draft to Congress in Philadelphia on June 28. To Jefferson’s chagrin, the draft was debated and edited over several days prior to its adoption on July 4.
Many of the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration, risking their lives to do so. If a signer was caught by the British, they likely would be hanged for treason.
The War
The Revolutionary War of Independence took six long years to succeed. In this time of war, the colonists found patriots and allies to drive toward victory. Patriots like 21 year old Nathan Hale who said just before being hanged for spying, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”.
Benjamin Franklin was dispatched to France in October 1776 to negotiate a Treaty of Alliance, finally succeeding in 1778. This encouraged men like the Marquis de Lafayette of France who fought with Washington from 1777 onward to Yorktown in 1781.
The war brought about a unity among the colonies that had never before existed. In 1782 the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution authored by John Adams to adopt a Great Seal that contains the words E Pluribus Unum….Out of Many, One.
The Founders
The most famous of the founders became our first three presidents: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
Many others played significant roles in the establishment of our country. Samuel Adams was a leader in the Sons of Liberty. John Jay won some electoral college votes for president in 1789 and became the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. George Clinton, first governor of New York, also won some electoral college votes in 1792, becoming Vice President under both Jefferson and James Madison. The Pinckney brothers of South Carolina, Thomas and Charles, were leaders with strong regional impact.
250 years ago, the colonies teemed with hope and a fervor for independence. Leaders stepped up. Citizens fought and died against the most powerful army in the world. Emerging from that revolution, our more unified country witnessed a bounty of patriotic dedicated men who effectively created the foundation of principles to guide our nation.
No longer disparate colonists, they were proud citizens of a new nation, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, and ready to prove to the world that they could use their newfound independence to effectively govern themselves. No kings needed.
Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.
