America at 250

The “shot heard ’round the world” marked the beginning of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775. But this event was preceded by years of deteriorating relations between Britain and its American colonies, as well as a growing spirit of independence among the colonists. Founding Father John Adams later declared: “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.”

“When, in the course of human events...”

The founding documents of the United States offered a promise of liberty and civil rights. For many people, these guarantees proved elusive. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., called the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution “a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.”

From the Midnight Ride to Lexington Green

Paul Revere

“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Battles of Lexington and Concord

minuteman

The Intellectual Foundation of the Revolution

The European Enlightenment was a well from which the Founders drew liberally, and the American Enlightenment would find expression in a number of influential documents. These writings echoed prominent European Enlightenment concepts, such as the social contract (as expressed by Locke and Rousseau), the common good (as interpreted by Rousseau), private property (central to Locke’s philosophy), and the separation of powers (as proposed by Montesquieu).

In the Words of the Founders

1

Common Sense

On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine’s, Common Sense was published and became America’s first best-seller with some 120,000 copies sold in less than three months. Within a year of its publication, an estimated 20 percent of the colonial population owned a copy. Paine bragged that the pamphlet’s sales

2

Virginia Declaration of Rights

Virginia Declaration of Rights, in U.S. constitutional history, declaration of rights of the citizen adopted June 12, 1776, by the constitutional convention of the colony of Virginia. Drawn upon by Thomas Jefferson for the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence, it was widely copied

3

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence, in U.S. history, document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and that announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It explained why the Congress on July 2 “unanimously” by the votes of 12 colonies (with

4

Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation, first U.S. constitution (1781–89), which served as a bridge between the initial government by the Continental Congress of the Revolutionary period and the federal government provided under the U.S. Constitution of 1787. Because the experience of overbearing British

5

Federalist papers

Federalist papers, series of 85 essays on the proposed new Constitution of the United States and on the nature of republican government, published between 1787 and 1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in an effort to persuade New York state voters to support ratification.

Watch and Learn: The U.S. at 250

What do you call the 250th anniversary of the United States?

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

• Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  What do you call the 250th anniversary of the United States?

  
• Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  What really happened on Paul Revere's midnight ride?

  
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  The First Black Battalion of the American Revolution

  
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  Who were the Founding Fathers of the United States?

  
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  Delving deeper into the Declaration of Independence

  
• © Civil War Trust (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
  Who were the Patriots and Loyalists during the American Revolution?