The War of Independence. The Civil War

The American War of Independence, also called the American Revolution, was the war in which the 13 British colonies in North America, gained their freedom from the motherland, England. The 13 colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia - total population: 3 million) enjoyed self-governance to varying degrees, but were all committed to the mercantile system of the British economy.

The Seven Year War (1756-1763), in which England conquered Canada, and shut out France in North America, caused the motherland the greatest expense. The British government consequently decided to force the colonies to pay a certain amount of their war costs, and taxed the colonists anew by way of the Stamp Act (1764), and the Sugar Act (1765).

This evoked great protests from colonists, who argued that the British parliament was not entitled to tax American colonists who were not represented in that parliament (the "no taxation without representation" theory). Groups of angry Sons of Liberty actively opposed the collection of taxes.

The British parliament was obliged to withdraw these taxes, but imposed a whole range of new taxes on the colonists in 1767 with the Townsend Acts. Where the previous taxes were internal, these taxes were external taxes, in the form of customs tariffs on paper, tea, paint and other goods. Renewed protests and a trade boycott forced Britain to withdraw all taxes, except the tax on tea.

Relations between the motherland and the colonies gradually worsened, however, and reached breaking point with the so-called Boston Tea Party, when a number of colonists threw tea from British ships overboard into Boston harbour (16 December 1773). This act resulted in strict punitive measures by the British parliament, who closed Boston harbour, and deprived the colony of Massachusetts of self-governance. In reaction, the different colonies forged closer bonds, in order to jointly engage in the struggle against England.

The Boston Tea Party 1773

On a cold evening in December of 1773, a small band of patriots made history when they dumped three ships worth of valuable tea into Boston Harbor.

This protest against unfair taxation was one of the final incidents that led to the start of the Revolutionary War a few short years and a few short miles from Griffon Wharf in Boston Harbor.

The Sons of Liberty which carried out this act, were comprised of a number of well-known patriots including: Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.)

First Continental Congress

In 1774 representatives of 12 colonies met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. Here, the British parliament's punitive measures were rejected as unconstitutional and gave the colonies the exclusive rights to adopt their own taxation laws.

Notwithstanding this, Congress still made an attempt at reconciliation with the motherland. Hopes of a settlement were practically destroyed when a division of British soldiers fought American civil forces in Lexington and Concord (19 April 1775).

The skirmishing parties prepared themselves for war. By the middle of 1775, George Washington was appointed Commander-in-chief of the American troops by the Second Continental Congress, which was held in Philadelphia. In the first battle, inter alia at Bunker Hill, the Americans showed they were up to the task of taking on the British troops. Under their outstanding leader, they fought with a fierce enthusiasm, which was further encouraged in 1776 by the pamphlet, Common Sense, by the revolutionary writer, Thomas Paine.

Breaking ties with Britain

Breaking ties with Britain was now unavoidable. On 4 July 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence which was drawn up by Thomas Jefferson and in which the natural rights of all people as well as the freedom and independence from the United Colonies was proclaimed.

The consequences of the war were of immense significance. A powerful independent American nation was established which would soon make its influence felt in the New world. In 1787 the Americans adopted a constitution for their new state (See USA). The spirit of equality and prosperity which inspired the fathers of the constitution is seen in this.

In all of the 13 previous colonies that now became member states of the Union, a republican form of government was established, with a voting right which was still moving in the direction of greater democracy. Titles and the rights of firstborns were abolished everywhere, the special position of churches, especially the Anglican Church, was done away with, and slavery was banned in most states.

The Civil War split the nation. It was the most bitter conflict within the United States. The source of the conflict between the North and the South resulted from fundamentally different ways of life. Economy in the South was heavily based on agriculture and growing cotton. The North was heavily industrialized with factories and manufacturing being central to the economy.

Growing and harvesting cotton required large numbers of workers. This work force was made up of about 4 million slaves. By the 1800's, the African slave trade had become illegal. But existing slaves were not freed. Men and women of the North pushed to completely abolish slavery. The South feared that losing the slaves would have a severe economic impact on cotton plantations.

Abraham Lincoln was against slavery. When he was elected President in 1860, seven Southern states left, or seceded, from the United States. They formed the Confederate States of America. On April 12, 1861, southern Confederate forces captured Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Four more states seceded, and the Civil War began.

The Civil War consisted of more than 50 major battles and 5000 minor battles. In less than 5 years, more than 600,000 men were killed and hundreds of thousands of others were wounded. The Union army with more soldier and resources eventually overcame the Confederate army. On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered his Confederate troops. The war was over. Five days after the surrender treaty was signed, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a Southern sympathizer.