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UNITED STATES (HISTORY). 



which were viewed as subversive of the liberties 

 of the British subjects in America, declares the 

 Tinted Colonies to be free and independent states, 

 absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, 

 and all political connexion between them and the 

 state of Great Britain to be totally dissolved. 

 There is a striking parallel between the English 

 revolution of 1088 and the North American revolu- 

 tion of 1770. In both cases, previous discussion 

 had fairly put the disputed question in issue : each 

 party to the dispute had fully weighed and settled 

 its principles, its claims, and its duties : the people 

 of England and the people of America were in 

 both cases on the defensive ; not aiming at establish- 

 ing new rights, or setting up new pretensions against 

 old established despotism, but defending against 

 encroachment liberties which they had always en- 

 joyed, and seeking new guarantees to secure them. 

 Broken charters, insulted legislatures, and violated 

 judiciaries, arbitrary acts defended by arbitrary 

 principles, and injustice supported by violence, 

 drove the English nation, in 1688, and the English 

 colonies, in 1776, to declare that the respective 

 sovereigns had abdicated the government. The 

 American revolution was complete in 1776, but it 

 still remained to defend it by arms. The affairs of 

 Lexington and Bunker hill (see Charlestowri), the 

 capture of several posts, and an unsuccessful expe- 

 dition against Canada (see Arnold, and Montgom- 

 ery), were among the acts of hostility which had 

 preceded the declaration of independence. General 

 Washington had been at Cambridge at the head of 

 an army, whose term of service expired with the 

 year (1775), without ammunition, and but im- 

 perfectly supplied with arms. By the beginning of 

 March, 1776, 14,000 regular troops had been en- 

 listed, and the British were obliged to evacuate 

 Boston March 17. June 28, the British forces 

 under Sir Peter Parker had been repelled in an 

 attack on Charleston. The military operations 

 which closed the year were the capture of New 

 York by the British forces under lord Howe and 

 Sir W. Howe (Sept. 15), after the defeat of the 

 Americans on Long Island (Aug. 27), the battle of 

 White Plains (Oct. 28), the retreat of the Ameri- 

 can forces through the Jerseys and across the Dela- 

 ware (Nov. 28), the battle of Trenton (Dec. 26), 

 and of Princeton (Jan. 3, 1777). The ensuing 

 campaign of 1777 was more favourable to the 

 American cause. General Howe had indeed taken 

 possession of Philadelphia (Sept. 27), and the 

 Americans had been defeated on the Brandywine 

 (Sept. 11), and at Germantown (Oct. 4); but the 

 northern army, under the command of general 

 Gates, after some partial success, had compelled 

 general Burgoyne to surrender his army at Saratoga 

 (Oct. 17), and thus cut off the communication at- 

 tempted to be kept up between New York and 

 Canada. On the reception of this intelligence in 

 Europe, the French government entered into treaties 

 of amity and commerce with the United States 

 (Feb. 6, 1778), and thus recognised their existence 

 as an independent nation. A complete history of 

 the diplomatic transactions of this and the subse- 

 quent period will be found in the Diplomatic Cor- 

 respondence of the American Revolution, published 

 by Order of Congress (Boston, 1830, 12 vols.,8vo.). 

 The British commander now came to the resolution 

 to evacuate Philadelphia (June 18), and concen- 

 trate his forces at New York. While effecting this 

 measure, his rear was attacked by general Wash- 

 ington at Monmouth (28th), with partial success. 



About the same time, a French fleet arrived on the 

 coast, having on board about 4000 French troops. 

 Congress had hitherto consisted of an assembly of 

 delegates from thirteen independent states, \\\\\\ 

 little more authority than that of advising the states 

 to adopt certain measures. Money was raised only 

 by consent of the states; the congress had no 

 power to enforce obedience, and the states \\ric 

 held together only by external pressure. It had 

 been some time thought desirable that something 

 should be done to give security and permanency to 

 this loose union, and to define with precision the 

 nature of the federal compact, the powers of con. 

 gress, and the residuary sovereignty of the states. 

 After long and embarrassing discussions the articles 

 of confederation were agreed upon by congress, 

 Nov. 15, 1777, and submitted to the state legisla- 

 tures for ratification. Most of the legislatures rati- 

 fied them in the following year (they bear date 

 July 6, 1778), but Delaware and Maryland did not 

 accede to them till somewhat later. By these 

 articles, the exclusive cognizance of foreign rela- 

 tions, the rights of war and peace, and the right to 

 make requisitions of men and money, were confided 

 to congress. But, like all former confederations, 

 the decrees of the federal government operated 

 upon the states in their sovereign capacity, and not 

 upon the individual citizens ; and as soon as danger 

 from abroad was past, this confederacy was found 

 to be utterly incompetent, to govern the country. 

 In 1779, the south became the principal theatre of 

 warlike operations. The successful invasion of 

 Georgia, in the preceding year, was followed by a 

 war of depredation and ruin on the coasts, and a 

 partisan warfare in the interior, which desolated 

 the country, but led to no decisive results. This 

 continued during the following year, in which 

 Charleston was captured (May 12) by the British. 

 The southern guerilla war carried on by the back- 

 woodsmen of North and South Carolina and Vir- 

 ginia was murderous, but there was nothing which 

 deserved the name of an army, capable of opposing 

 the British forces, notwithstanding the exertions 

 and brilliant services of Greene, Morgan, Sumter 

 and Marion. In 1781, the contest was finally 

 closed by the surrender of Cornwallis, at York town, 

 to the combined French and American forces under 

 Washington and Rochambeau (Oct. 19). In the 

 following year, a treaty was concluded between 

 Holland and the United States ; and after long-pro- 

 tracted negociations, a definitive treaty of peace 

 with Great Britain was signed Sept. 23, 1783. 

 Denmark, Spain, Sweden and Russia had previously 

 recognised the United States as a sovereign power.* 

 The war was attended with great sacrifices on the 

 part of the Americans. Without arms, ammunition 

 or pecuniary resources, congress was obliged to 

 have recourse to a paper medium. Three hundred 

 million dollars, in bills of credit, had been emitted 



* For the history of the American revolution, the principal 

 works, in addition to some of those previously mentioned, are 

 Marshall's Life of Washington (5 vols., 8vo., and Atlas, Phila- 

 delphia, 1804; 2d edition, omitting the history of the colonies. 

 2 vols., 8vo., and Atlas, Philadelphia, 1832) ; Pitkin's Civil nnd 

 Political History of the United States to 1797 (2 vols., 8vo., 

 New Haven, 1828); Ramsay's History of the American Revolu- 

 tion (2 vols., 8vo., Philade'lplua, 1789) ; Botta's Storia delta 

 Gtierra Americana (Knglisn, 2d edition, 2 vols., 8vo., 1826) 

 Stodman's History of the American War (2 vols., 4to., London 

 1794); Gordon's History of the United States (4 vols., 8vo. 

 London, 1788) ; 1 arleton's Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 (4to. 

 London, 1787); Moultrie's Memoirs; Drayton's Memoirs 

 Sparks's Life of Morris (3 vols., 8vo., Boston 1832) ; Journals of 

 the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778 (13 vols.); ami 

 Secret Journals of Confess to the Dissolution of the Confe- 

 deracy (4 vols., Svo., 1821). 



