Summary Committees of correspondence were groups created by American colonial legislatures and local governments to communicate with their agents in Britain, or to facilitate communication between other towns and colonies. Early committees of correspondence tended to be informal, temporary organizations that were dissolved shortly after serving their immediate purpose. The first formal committee of correspondence … Read more
Introduction Written by Alexander Hamilton and published in the Independent Journal on October 27, 1787. To the People of the State of New York: AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks … Read more
Written by John Jay and published on October 31, 1787. WHEN the people of America reflect that they are now called upon to decide a question, which in its consequences must prove one of the most important that ever engaged their attention, the propriety of their taking a very comprehensive, as well as a very … Read more
James Madison was born in 1751 near modern-day Port Conway, Virginia and lived with his family at Montpelier, the Madison family estate. Madison was well educated, graduating from the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) in 1771. After graduation, Madison embarked on a distinguished political career. A supporter of American independence from Great Britain, Madison … Read more
Early Life and Education John Jay was born on December 12, 1745. He was the eighth child and sixth son of a family of wealthy New York City merchants. Jay spent his childhood in Rye, New York, near New York City. He received his early education from private tutors. Jay graduated from King’s College, now … Read more
The Quasi-War (1798-1800) was an undeclared naval war between the United States and France during the Presidency of John Adams.
Aaron Burr Quick Facts Who was Aaron Burr? Aaron Burr was born on February 6, 1756, in Newark, New Jersey, His father, the Reverend Aaron Burr Sr., was a co-founder and then second president of the College of New Jersey — Princeton University. His mother, Esther Edwards Burr was the daughter of the famous New … Read more
Quick Facts Born January 4, 1746, in Byberry, Pennsylvania. Graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) in 1760. Received MD degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1768. Elected to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania in 1776. Signed Declaration of Independence in 1776. Appointed Surgeon-general to the armies of the middle department of … Read more
Biography of Paul Revere Paul Revere was a hero of the Revolutionary War immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” published in the 1860s. Revere’s infamous ride warned his fellow colonists of an impending British attack on weapons stores in Concord, Massachusetts. Born in Boston in 1735, Revere became a … Read more
I am persuaded, Mr. Chairman, that I in my turn shall be indulged in addressing the committee. We all in equal sincerity profess to be anxious for the establishment of a republican government on a safe and solid basis. It is the object of the wishes of every honest man in the United States, and … Read more
Summary of the Second Continental Congress Although there was still great sentiment among the delegates to seek reconciliation with Great Britain, the movement towards independence could not be reversed. The delegates were soon forced to turn their attention to forming an army, crafting a Declaration of Independence, conducting the war, and establishing a new national … Read more
Early Life and Education Thomas Paine was born on February 9, 1737, in Thetford, a town in Norfolk, England. His parents were Joseph and Frances Pain. From 1744 to 1749, Paine attended the Thetford Grammar School. Around the time he was 12 or 13, he took on a 7-year apprenticeship working for his father making … Read more
Biography of Patrick Henry Patrick Henry was a Founding Father, member of the Continental Congress, and five-time Governor of Virginia. He is best remembered for his “give me liberty or give me death” speech in 1775, which served as an inspiration for the cause of independence. Henry continued to champion liberty after the Revolution, as … Read more
Stamp Act Congress Summary The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting of 27 delegates from nine of the 13 Original Colonies that took place in New York City from October 7 to October 25, 1765. They met to discuss a unified colonial response to the provisions of the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was passed … Read more
Summary of the Tea Act of 1773 As a result of colonial protests, in 1770, Parliament repealed the Townshend duties, except for the tax on tea. The colonists responded by boycotting British tea and drinking smuggled tea. By 1773, the British East India Company was in financial distress due in part to the colonial boycott … Read more
Summary of the Townshend Acts The acts bear the name of Charles Townshend, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed them. The Townshend Acts were based on the premise that Parliament had the authority to govern the colonies as it saw fit, including laws that controlled taxes, courts, and government. Although colonists held to … Read more
The act bears the name of Charles Townshend, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed it. The general purpose of the act was to establish a revenue flow from the colonies to Great Britain and to tighten Britain’s control over colonial governments. Colonists responded to the act by boycotting British goods and the Massachusetts … Read more
The Molasses Act is considered part of the Acts of Trade and Navigation, which were a series of laws passed by Parliament during the 17th and 18th centuries to ensure profitable control of the industry and commerce of British colonies around the globe. It received Royal Assent from King George II on May 17, 1733. … Read more
Stamp Act Summary The Stamp Act of 1765 was an act of Parliament that levied taxes on the American colonies for the purpose of raising revenue for the British Treasury. The bill received Royal Assent from King George III on March 22, 1765, and went into effect on November 1. It required publishers and printers … Read more
Summary of the Declaratory Act On March 22, 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, the first direct tax imposed on colonial Americans. To Parliament’s great surprise, outraged Americans responded angrily with legislative protests and street violence. Taken aback by the colonial reaction, and succumbing to pressure from British merchants who were suffering financially from American … Read more