History of the founding of the United States?

The American War of Independence was a war between the British Empire, colonial revolutionaries in North America 13 States and several European powers. Because Britain's exploitation of the colonies seriously hindered the development of capitalism, in order to counter Britain's economic policy, it led to the resistance of the North American people. Beginning with the shooting in Lexington in April 1775, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4 1776, announcing the birth of the United States. After the hard struggle of the North American people, Britain was finally forced to recognize American independence in 1783. The War of Independence ended British colonial rule, realized national independence and established a relatively democratic bourgeois democratic system, which was conducive to the development of capitalism and promoted the Latin American and French revolutions.

background

The American War of Independence (English:1775-1783) or the American Revolutionary War (English: American Revolutionary War) is a war between the British Empire and its colonies in 13 North American States, as well as several European powers.

The war started mainly to confront the British economic policy. Later, because France, Spain and the Netherlands joined the war against Britain, the scope of the war far exceeded that of British North America. At the same time, many Indians fight for both sides.

During the war, Britain was able to take advantage of its naval superiority to occupy colonial coastal cities, but how to control the countryside troubled them. With the victory of the French navy in Schabik, the British army surrendered in the Battle of Yorktown at 178 1. 1783 The Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the United States, because many colonial residents fled those thirteen colonies and settled in the north. This war also prepared for the establishment of Canada in the future.

1607, the British came to the Atlantic coast of North America and began to establish the first colony of Virginia. After continuous colonization, by the 1930s of 18, Britain had established 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. During this period, a large number of immigrants moved to North America, most of them were British, many came from other European countries, and many black slaves were trafficked from Africa. They have made important contributions to the development of North America.

At that time, the capitalist economy of British North American colonies developed rapidly and became the mainstream of economic development. At the same time, there are also many backward economic components. The colonial rule model was established according to the British political system, and each colony had its own governor and parliament. The Governor-General ruled the colonies on behalf of Britain, and had administrative, economic and military powers, and could veto bills passed by Parliament.

After 100 years of development, the economic exchanges between British colonies in North America have become increasingly close, and a unified domestic market has initially formed. At the same time, in the process of long-term communication and integration, English has also changed from various colonies to the same language and gradually produced the same culture. On this basis, the American nation began to form. The national consciousness is gradually awakening. /kloc-In the first half of the 0/8th century, the Enlightenment spread in British North American colonies, and some outstanding thinkers emerged, such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The national and democratic consciousness of British North American colonies is increasing day by day.

/kloc-In the middle of the 0/8th century, the economy of British North American colonies developed rapidly, with developed industry and commerce in the north, abundant wheat in the middle and prosperous plantations in the south. Many products produced in North America can even compete with British products in the international market. In the "Seven Years' War" of 1756- 1763, Britain and France fought a protracted war for the control of the North American colony. Although Britain defeated France and controlled most of North America, it was in financial trouble because of the long-term war. As a result, the British government continuously increased taxes on the North American colonies, implemented a high-pressure policy, and oppressed and brutally exploited the colonies. Britain hopes that North America will always be its raw material producing area and commodity market, and tries its best to suppress the economic development of the colonies and seek more wealth from them. The colonial people were dissatisfied with British exploitation and slavery, and the contradiction between the two sides became increasingly acute, which eventually led to the outbreak of war.

Exploitation and resistance

The colonial people hoped to reduce their dependence on Britain.

Since Britain developed overseas colonies, in order to safeguard Britain's monopoly interests, some laws have been promulgated to restrict the economic development of colonies, such as the Navigation Act. With the development of North American colonies themselves, the colonial people increasingly hope to reduce their dependence on Britain and seek to develop their own economy independently. However, this has aroused the dissatisfaction of the British authorities, because the British authorities hope that the North American colonies can continue to serve as suppliers of cheap raw materials and markets for dumped goods. Therefore, the British authorities began to adopt many high-handed policies to curb the free development of the colonial economy. At first, the British authorities issued a decree forbidding colonial residents to explore the west (mainly because of the Portia rebellion in 1763), forbidding them to issue their own paper money, and then imposing heavy taxes on them and dissolving their parliament. In 1960s, in order to increase the tax revenue of North American colonies, Britain promulgated the Stamp Duty Ordinance of 1765 and the Townsend Tax Law of 1767.

The colonial residents were strongly dissatisfied and held a large-scale demonstration. However, the British authorities not only ignored it, but also sent British troops to North America to shoot Boston residents who resisted the tyranny of the British authorities on March 5, 1970, creating the "Boston Massacre", which aroused the resentment of the colonial people, and then the Boston Tea Party took place on February 6, 1973. 1774, the British authorities promulgated five "intolerable bills", which intensified the contradictions between the two sides.

Stamp duty ordinance

1765, the British came up with a new trick: stamp duty. They stipulate that all official documents, contracts, licenses, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, documents and wills must be stamped with tax stamps before they can take effect and circulate. This aroused the great anger of the colonial people, so secret anti-British organizations such as "sons of liberty" and "Communication Committee" appeared one after another, and anti-British incidents occurred from time to time, such as boycotting British goods, driving away tax collectors, burning tax stamps, armed resistance and so on. All this caused panic in the British government, and they immediately sent troops to suppress it. Anti-British anger is burning in the hearts of colonial people, and a war for independence and freedom is about to burn in the North American continent.

1765, in order to pass on the heavy military burden, the British Parliament directly taxed the British North American colonies. After the Seven Years' War, the British government sent 10,000 troops to North America to further control the colonies and suppress the Indians, and all the expenses were borne by the local government. 1On March 22, 765, the Stamp Duty Ordinance passed by the British Parliament stipulated that the printed materials of the North American colonies included newspapers, books and periodicals, contracts, licenses, diplomas, playing cards and admission tickets. Stamp stamps should be affixed, and the amount of tax varies from 2 pence to several pounds. Offenders are fined or imprisoned. The regulations are scheduled to take effect on June 1 65438+1October1. The stamp duty regulations were strongly opposed by the colonial people. The colonial people insisted that tax decisions could only be made through their own parliaments. Secret societies such as "sons of liberty" and "Communication Committee" organized themselves, led the masses to destroy the tax bureau, burned tax receipts, covered tax collectors with tar, stuck feathers on them, and paraded the streets. 165438+ 10 before the stamp duty act came into effect, all local tax collectors in the colonies were forced to resign. 1765655438+00, new york held a colonial meeting against the stamp duty bill. Resolution 14 was adopted at the meeting, including refusing to pay stamp duty to Britain. In order to resist the stamp duty regulations, the whole colony launched a campaign to boycott British goods, which led to a sharp decline in British exports to the colony. Businessmen and manufacturers in 30 British cities jointly petitioned Parliament to abolish the stamp duty bill. The British Parliament finally passed the resolution to abolish the stamp duty ordinance on March 1766.

Townsend act

1767, the British Parliament passed the bill of taxing the North American colonies, which was proposed by C Townsend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. After the abolition of stamp duty regulations, on the proposal of Chancellor of the Exchequer Thomson, the British Parliament passed four bills on taxation of colonies in the second half of 1767, collectively known as the Townsend Act. 1The Thomson tax law passed on June 29th, 998 is the second. According to the tax law, all paper, glass, lead, pigments and tea exported from Britain to the colonies are subject to import duties. It also stipulates that the British customs tax collectors have the right to break into colonial houses, warehouses and shops, search prohibited items and smuggle goods.

After the publication of the Thomson tax law, it aroused the angry protests of the colonial people in North America and demanded its abolition. 1768 In February, the Massachusetts Parliament sent a circular letter to the colonial parliaments, reaffirming the principle of "no taxation without representation". The colonial people once again set off a wave of boycotting British goods and used force to resist the search and oppression of British tax collectors. Trade between Britain and North America has fallen sharply. The British government threatened to dissolve the legislatures in New York and Massachusetts, but it met with greater resistance from the colonial people. 1770 in March, Britain was forced to abolish the Thomson tax law.

Boston massacre

1765, after the promulgation of the quartering regulations, the British government sent troops to North America. At that time, the 14 Regiment and the 29th Regiment stationed in Boston ran amok, some made things difficult for pedestrians and some molested women, which led to the deterioration of the relationship between the soldiers and the people. In the past five years, the conflict between the army and the local people has continued, and the grievances between the local people and the British army have deepened, and an undercurrent of resistance has gradually grown. This resistance reached its climax in March 1770. On the evening of March 5th, people in about six towns began to throw snowballs at 10 British soldiers. On March 5, the conflict between British soldiers and a rope maker resumed. Boston rope workers gathered at the customs and threw snowballs at British soldiers guarding the customs. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the bell rang loudly, and people took to the streets with sticks and shouted to drive away the hateful "red shrimp soldiers" (nicknamed the British army in red uniforms). People gathered around the customs in King Street were even more excited. British troops came to suppress it. In the face of the angry people, the soldiers fired at the crowd in a panic, killing three people on the spot, and then two people died of injuries the next day. The first person killed was C. Artax, a black mass leader and a plantation slave. This bloody event is called "Boston Massacre". The news of the Boston massacre soon spread to other cities, and people rose to protest against the existence of Britain. In Boston, a city with a population of only 65,438+7,000, 50,000 people joined the funeral procession for the victims. British troops were forced to withdraw from Boston.

On the morning after the incident, the British army detained Captain Thomas Preston and his eight subordinates who made the tragedy. A week later, the grand jury was sworn in. At the request of the Attorney General, Captain Preston and eight of his subordinates were charged. John adams, a local lawyer who defended British soldiers and was acquitted, was regarded by Americans as one of the leaders of the independence movement, and later became the successor of George Washington, the first American president.

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party is also known as the Boston Tea Party. 1773, the people of Boston, a North American colony, opposed the monopoly of tea trade by the British East India Company. 1773, in order to dump the tea accumulated by the East India Company, the British government passed the Relief Regulations of the East India Company. This provision gives the East India Company the patent right to sell the overstocked tea in the North American colonies, exempting it from paying high import taxes and imposing only a slight tea tax. The regulations explicitly prohibit the sale of "private tea" in the colonies. As a result, the East India Company monopolized the distribution of tea in the North American colonies, and the price of imported tea was 50% cheaper than that of "private tea". This regulation caused great anger among the colonial people in North America, who consumed nine-tenths of smuggled tea. People in new york, Philadelphia and Charleston refused to unload tea.

The organization "Sons of liberty" led by samuel adams, a Boston revolutionary, consists of three groups, each with 50 locals. Dressed as an Indian, it sneaked into three ships, destroyed the cargo on board and dumped 342 boxes of tea into the port. At that time, the lights shone at night as during the day, and many people got up to watch the fun. The whole process was quite peaceful and quiet. However, this move has been criticized by all parties. The British government ordered the closure of Boston port until they repaid the tea money they left behind, and also drove warships and troops into the colony.

Benjamin Franklin, the former governor of New Jersey, thought that the dumped tea should be compensated and expressed his willingness to pay with his own money. Britain regards this as a provocation against the colonial government.

"intolerable bill"

1774, the British government passed a series of "compulsory acts" aimed at strengthening control. Although these bills are aimed at Massachusetts, they are called "intolerable bills" by North American residents. Later, other ports, such as Philadelphia, responded one after another, which eventually led to the American War of Independence in April 1775.

The beginning of the war of independence

North American Militia in Lexington1775 On April 19, the people of Boston fired the first shot of the War of Independence over Lexington, and the gunfire in Lexington opened the curtain of the American War of Independence. 1775 In April, Thomas Gage, the governor of Massachusetts and commander-in-chief of the garrison, got the news that there was a secret weapons warehouse of the Communications Commission in Concord town not far from Boston. Gage immediately ordered Major Francis Smith and John Pitcairn to lead 800 British troops to destroy them in order to demoralize the militia. The troops set out overnight, and in the early morning of April, 19, they came to Lexington, a small village six miles from Concord.

After a night of marching, the British army advanced in the fog before dawn. They were all sleepy and yawned. Suddenly, they found more than 70 villagers standing on the grass outside the village, armed with long guns. Smith knew that these armed villagers were Lexington's militia, and the residents of the colonies in North America called them "militia" because they acted very quickly. As soon as they heard the alarm, they could gather together in a minute and immediately go into battle. To Smith's surprise, why did these militia know about the British action so quickly? It turned out that the scouts of the "Communication Committee" had already got the information and hung a red light on the top of Boston Church. Paul riveire, the messenger of the "Communication Committee", saw it and immediately rode to Lexington to inform samuel adams, the anti-British leader hiding there, to evacuate, and then rushed to Concord to call the police.

Smith was a little nervous at once when he saw that there were only a few dozen people on the other side of the American Revolutionary War. Pitcairn also ignored these ragged militia and ordered them to surrender. But the militia led by Jonas Parker rejected the British request. Pitcairn ordered the British to surround the militia. In the confusion, I don't know who fired the gun, and fierce fighting broke out immediately. After a few minutes, the gunfire gradually became sparse, and the militiamen were 8 dead 10 injured, because few people quickly withdrew from the battlefield and scattered and hid. Only 1 British soldiers were injured.

Smith was very proud of his first battle and ordered his soldiers to go straight to Concord. When the British army arrived in the town, it was already dawn and the sun was rising, but there was no one in the street. Every household is closed and looks deserted. Smith ordered the search, and the British army went into every house and rummaged for a long time, but found nothing. It turned out that the militia had moved the warehouse and the leaders of the "Communication Committee" had also gone into hiding.

Smith felt that the situation was not good and immediately ordered to retreat. At this time, shouting ShaSheng everywhere outside the town, gunfire suddenly, nearby villages and towns militia have got the news, came from all directions to Concord City. Surrounded the retreating British army. They ambushed behind the fence, in the bushes, on the roof and at the corner of the street, shooting at the British army. The British army fell to the ground one after another, but when the British army fired back, there was no sign of the militia. The British army retreated all the way to Boston and was constantly attacked by militia along the way.

The fighting continued until dusk, and finally reinforcements from Boston rescued Smith and others.

On this day, 273 British soldiers were killed or injured, 95 militiamen were killed, and the rest of the British troops ran out of ammunition. In retrospect, they were scared, too. They tasted the iron fist of the colonial people for the first time. A soldier said, "I haven't eaten for 48 hours. My hat was shot off three times and two bullets penetrated my coat. " . My bayonet was also knocked off. "

Gunfire in Lexington shook the 13 colony on the Atlantic coast. The American War of Independence began.

In order to unite against Britain, the Second Continental Congress of North America decided in June 14 to set up a colonial joint armed force, namely the Continental Army, and appointed Washington as the commander-in-chief. 10 13 years 10 months, decided to set up a continental fleet. 1776 On July 4th, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed the birth of the United States of America. At the beginning of the war, the strength of the two sides was very different. Britain is the most powerful colonial country in the world, with a world-class navy and about 30 thousand British troops stationed in North America, well-equipped and well-trained; The population of North American colonies is only 3 million, and they are short of troops, backward in equipment and lack of training. However, the military and civilians in the colony were United, United as one, and had excellent leaders and military commanders. However, British maritime supply lines are often disturbed and unpopular in North America. So, under the guidance of the Declaration of Independence, Washington led the Continental Army to fight bravely for eight years and won the war of independence. 1783, the United States and Britain signed the Paris Peace Treaty, and Britain recognized American independence.