While today the United States has never been so fractured under Trump’s presidency, it is in this context that the country is preparing to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its proclamation of independence, a look back at the American War of Independence, a time in which the 13 American colonies revolted against English occupation.

The origins of the 13 colonies

Before the 13 colonies, what were they?

Following the discovery of the Americas by Europeans in 1492, expeditions were organized to continue exploring these mysterious regions of the New World. They mainly include Spaniards and French, initially, followed closely by the English, the Portuguese, the Swedes, the Dutch and the Italians.

After these expeditions led by European powers in 1493, one of the first permanent European colonies, St Augustine, was built in Florida in 1595 by the Spanish, after significant fighting with the indigenous peoples. By settling permanently, the European powers aimed to discover new riches, while evangelizing the communities they encountered.

In 1607, the English, led by John Smith, built Jamestown on the coast of present-day Virginia.

In 1620, a group of Puritans fled England and set sail for New England. Indeed, this group being in deep disagreement with the direction that the Church of England was taking, wanted to purify and reform the Church of England from Catholicism. These English Protestants arrived in Massachusetts, where they established Plymouth.

The British thus established themselves on these lands which soon became New England.

It was the turn of the Dutch, in 1626, to build New Amsterdam, in the region that would later become New York in 1664.

This is followed by numerous waves of migration of European citizens who wish to participate in this part of history and start a new life.

Why were they created?

In 105 years, England founded 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast of America by individuals or private companies who had received authorization from the King of England.

The reasons for the creation of the 13 hills are multiple. First, for economic motivations including the search for profitable resources and commercial opportunities, as seen in colonies like Virginia, created for tobacco cultivation. Then for religious freedom which played a crucial role in the founding of colonies like Massachusetts, founded by Puritans.

Founded by Puritans seeking refuge from religious persecution in England, and Pennsylvania, established by William Penn as a refuge for Quakers.

Additionally, some colonies like Georgia were created as social experiments or as buffers against Spanish territories. Over time, these colonies developed their own identities and social structures. However, they were linked to the economic and political goals of British expansion and influence in the New World.

July 4, 1776, American Declaration of Independence | When history makes dates | ARTE

How was the British Empire able to acquire these lands?

The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the 7-year war between victorious Britain and defeated France. Thus, English domination was consolidated in the north of North America. France was then forced to cede its North American territories to England.

The reasons for the anger of the settlers

Political conflicts ignite the powder between the colonies and the metropolis.

The Stamp Act

In March 1765, the British Parliament imposed the first direct tax on the 13 American colonies: the “Stamp Act”. The colonists were, therefore, forced to pay a tax on all printed materials such as newspapers, legal documents, magazines and even playing cards.

Tea Time

In Boston in 1773, colonists destroyed a shipment of tea, creating a riot as a reaction against English tax policy thus putting the entire region under British military administration. Consequently, the English put into force punitive laws intended to punish Boston after the Boston Tea Party.

The king’s proclamation increases the crisis

Furthermore, in 1763, King George III prohibited settlement west of the Appalachians in order to preserve peace with the Native Americans, which greatly annoyed the American settlers.

The Patriot (2000) – Trailer

The outbreak of the War of Independence

In their quest for freedom, the colonists decide to take up arms. The first armed clashes took place in April 1775, which marked the start of the War of Independence.

Over time, the conflict escalated to become a real civil and international war. Indeed, in this conflict, a foreign power decided to support the freedom of the colonists: France.

The birth of the United States

It was on July 4, 1776 that the representatives of the 13 colonies voted for the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. This proclamation is a political and symbolic act since at that time, Great Britain did not yet recognize the United States as an independent state.

Finally, after eight years of war, the English, defeated and forced to abdicate, signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783 allowing the recognition of the United States.

After the War of Independence

After the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, the United States found itself weakened. Indeed, the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781, which created a very vague union between the 13 States. This system had many weaknesses since Congress could not raise taxes directly, it had no central executive power, it had no standing national army, and finally the war debts were enormous and unrepaid.

The expansion of the United States territories to the northwest

On July 3, 1787, Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance, its full name: “an order for the Government of the Territories of the United States northwest of the Ohio River.”

The Crisis and the Philadelphia Convention (1787)

In 1786, the government showed itself too weak to maintain order following the rebellion of debt-ridden Shays farmers in Massachusetts.

After this revolt, state delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles and ended up drafting an entirely new Constitution, which then created a much stronger federal government, with three separate branches: executive, legislative, judicial.

The constitution was ratified in 1789. Thus, George Washington became the first president of the United States, embodying unity and its military prestige during the war.

Over the years, the country will go from 13 colonies to 50 states which are gradually added to the Union. The last state to join the Union was Hawaii in 1959.

In the footsteps of the American Revolution in Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania embodies the independence of the United States since it is here that the independence of the United States was proclaimed. In this city there is the Independence National Historical Parkpreserving several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation’s founding history. A few streets away stands the Museum of the American Revolution which recounts the battles that led to the birth of the United States. We can also find the bell called the Liberty Bell, a symbol of American independence located at Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia.