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Period: to
1700-1800
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The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a religious revival in the 1730s and 40s. Sermons become more emotional and connected with masses greatly. Many people came together to listen to sermons and it was the first movement to heavily move all 13 colonies and create ties between all of them. -
Stono Rebellion
The Stono Rebellion occurred in Stono, South Carolina, where enslaved peoples killed and burned down plantations. They freed enslaved people along the way until the rebellion was killed. The rebellion frightened the white plantation owners and restricted their freedom and punished them more severely. At the same time, the punishment for killing enslaved people as a white person was less severe after this incident. -
Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)
Unlike the last few wars between Britain and France, British won decisively. Washington kicked off the war with the Battle of Great Meadows which he lost and France had control over Ohio Country. The British sent Edward Braddock to fight the French and he was humiliated in combat showing the British could be defeated. However, nearing the end of the war, the British won successive victories against the French. In the Treaty of Paris, France gave up a lot of their territory to the British. -
Population reaches 2.5 million
The population in the Americas grew rapidly purely because of the fact that there was much more space to live and better quality of life. In Europe, many cities were suffering from overcrowding and more expensive farmlands -
Continental Congress declares Independence
After Thomas Paine published Common Sense, Americans wanted to proclaim their independence directly towards the king at that time, King George III. On July 4th of 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, creating the United States of America. This begun America's quest for liberty and a free future. -
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the war between the Patriots and Loyalsts/Great Britain, being a civil war and a revolution against Britain. The Patriots fought for their own freedom, embracing the republican ideal where the people elected representatives to make decisions in contrast to the monarchy ideal. The Revolution lasted 7 years, ending with the Treaty of Paris (1783). This was the first example of a revolution against a massive superpower at the time. -
Articles of Confederation enacted
The Articles of Confederation created a sort of weak union between the 13 states and was a basis for the country. It had a one house legislature, no president, no court system, and each state only had one vote for legislature. It couldn't regulate trade or enforce taxes. It was a weak government in its own right, therefore, the enactment was the start of many reforms and led to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution being formed. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
In the Treaty ending the war, Britain recognized America's Independence and the Mississippi River was their new border, effectively doubling the land. However, Native Americans heavily suffered due to the British handing out land that was the Native's in the first place. It was a glorious time for the Americans due to this being the catalyst towards the creation of the world's first and only large representative democracy. -
Adoption of Virginia Statue of Religious Freedom
One thing that came out of the American Revolution is the promise of religious freedom. The radical idea at the time is that religion would be diverse and consensual rather than monolithic and forced by the government. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was a group of men writing a new set of documents detailing what the government was going to be in the country of America. What they ended up with was the idea of federalism where the central government is strong with three branches, Legislative (laws), Executive (President), and Judiciary (Court). They had balance between them where each branch cannot decide anything on their own without approval. A bicameral legislative was adopted as well.