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Period: to
Change over Time
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Crown vs. John Peter Zenger. New York Gazette printer John Zenger was found not guilty of seditious libel.This verdict established the first step in freedom of the press. Colonists now felt empowered to express their individual views in print.
This was an important event because as individual people, newspapers, colonies began to print and share their views on the political events of the time, information was spread through the colonies. This exchange of ideas was the start of the American identity.
Historical Society of the New York Courts. Crown vs. John Peter Zenger. New York Legal History. http://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-01/history-new-york-legal-eras-crown-zenger.html -
French and Indian War Ends. British control of the colonies is established. The boundaries of British controlled lands are agreed upon. The Americans from all over the colonies fought with the British to defeat the French and Indians.
The colonists at this time were a mixture of people from all over Europe. The motivation for fighting was complicated. Although they fought and defended the claim of the crown it wasn't the only reason. Foremost in their minds was the ability to settle westward into the Ohio Valley lands. The colonists weren't a united group but individuals working together for a common goal.
http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/french-indian-war/french-and-indian-war-timeline/ -
Stamp Act Passed. This act required all paper products to be taxed and was to raise much needed revenue to pay for the expensive French and Indian Wars. It was the first direct taxed placed on the American colonists by England.
Each colonies' newspapers wrote articles protesting the Stamp Act as illegal. The colonies protested the Stamp Act and they began to influence each other and work at unifying their protest for maximum effect. Not everyone agreed but enough did that their protests had such a negative economic effect on Britain it repealed this tax. George Washington to Francis Dandridge, 20 September 1765, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0250. -
Declaration of Independence was the document signed by the original 13 colonies that asserted the colonies independence from England. It announced the agreement of the colonies to "dissolve our bonds" with England and listed the reasons why.
The separate colonies and their individual governments are agreeing to come together against the King. The words of this document ingrained in hearts and minds of the people of the United States from 1776 to this day, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," become the spirit of the American identity. The beliefs in this document grow to become the national identity. -
US Constitution Ratified. The US Constitution established which powers were given to the states and the federal government.
This document became the backbone of the country building on the emotions of the Declaration, it provided the practical application to being American. It is the culmination of the agreement of all the states to join together under one leader, a president. No longer individual settlers looking to their own betterment, the Constitution ensures the common values of the new Americans in perpetuity.
United States Constitution, 1787. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution -
Barbary Wars. How US under President Jefferson dealt with the pirates of the Barbary states showed the challenge of the new government dealing with world threats. Would this new nation pay the bounty or defend its right to trade freely.
The US Navy and Marine Corps began as a result of the need to defend US trade in Europe and Africa. US is now prepared to defend its interests not just within the US but also on the high seas. US pride and Nationalism are heightened with the end of the First Barbary war in 1804.
Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia. First Barbary war. https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/first-barbary-war -
The Louisiana Purchase. The size of the US doubled when New Orleans and land west of the Mississippi were bought by the US from France.
The United States of America had come a long way from 13 individual colonies under English rule to a unified people planning for future growth. The unified beliefs incubated in the early 1700's. fought for and voted on into the 1800's are expressed by the belief in westward expansion of the country. Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia. The Louisiana Purchase. https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/louisiana-purchase
