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Period: to
American Society and Culture
The key event of this time period was the American Revolution. -
British Colonial System
In 1732, the last of the British proprietary colonies, Georgia, was established. The proprietary colonies were granted by the British monarch to important British aristocrats, considered to be their property, and populated and developed under their ownership and for their personal enrichment. These colonies were chiefly in the South and represented a significant form of British colonial administration. -
The Royal Proclamation
After the French and Indian Wars, the British gained lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, the Ohio Valley. Because of governmental administrative problems, due to the likelihood of disputed land claims between previous French residents and British colonists moving westward into their lands, and due to threats of attacks by hostile Native-Americans, the king of England made a Royal Proclamation declaring limits for the expansion of British colonists into these lands. -
The Declaration of Independence
Arising from continuing and increasing antagonisms between the British colonists and the British colonial government, in 1776, the Continental Congress authorized five members, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, to draft a document demonstrating the colonists' intentions for independence. Entitled “The Declaration of Independence,” the document was a critical element in the start and pursuit of the Revolutionary war of the colonists against the British. -
The end of the Revolutionary War
Initiated formally by the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War started in 1776. The war was ended by a victory over British troops by American revolutionary troops at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. After the British surrender, negotiations for the determination of the final agreements between Britain and the United States was moved to Europe, on neutral territory. The Revolutionary War was officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. -
The Bill of Rights
The Declaration of Independence established the intention of the colonists to break away from British rule. The U.S. Constitution set forth basic outlines of a new national government For many colonists, official statements of the rights and protections for American citizens against the power of the government was demanded. Written by James Madison, the “Bill of Rights” made up the first ten Amendments to the Constitution providing Americans guarantees of those rights and protections. -
The War of 1812
After the Revolutionary War, contentions between Britain and the new United States continued, focusing on impressment of U.S. sailors and ships by the British navy, and trade and territorial conflicts, war between the two countries broke out again. There were important British victories, but the Americans also won a number of victories. The war was settled without significant changes by the signing of The Treaty of Ghent in 1814.
