Colonial life in America

By the year 1733 the English owned thirteen separate colonics along the Atlantic coast of
North America. Most people divided them into three main groups. Each group had its own way
of life and character.

In the far north was the New England group centered on Massachusetts. Most were small
farmers or craftsmen, working the stony soil and governing themselves in small towns and
villages. Other depended on the sea for a living.

The nearest colonies to the south of New England were called the middle colonies (New York
and Pennsylvania). Most of their people lived by farming. But in the cities there were numbers
of craftsmen and merchants. The people of the Middle Colonies were usually more tolerant of
religious. Many of them had German, Dutch or Swedish ancestors.

The southern colonies of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. In the hot and fertile river valleys
wealthy landowners farmed large plantations. They lived in fine houses. Most of the work in
the fields was done by black slaves.

A new settlement began. It’s called the frontier. They moved north along the fertile valley of
the Mohawk River of New York. They grew their own food and built their own houses. They
developed their own kinds of music, entertainment, art wand religious. Nobody had special
rights and privileges, people were equal.

The roots of revolution

In the eighteenth century Britain and France fought several wars. They were fighting the seven
Years War or the French and Indian war. It’s a territory fight. The war was ended by the peace
of Paris. Britain had won empire. But its victory led directly to conflict with American colonies.
They became angrier when the British government told them they must pay new taxes on
imports.

In 1765 a new law called the Stamp Act appeared. They have to pay for their security to
defense the colonies. The same year representatives from nine colonies met in NY and formed
the Stamp Act Congress and organized opposition to the other plan.

Fighting for independence

On the night of April in 1775, 700 British soldiers marched silently out of Boston. But the
colonists were warned that the soldiers were coming. In the village of Lexington the British
found seventy American militiamen, farmers and tradesmen barring their way. Someone fired
a shot and then more and more. Eight minutemen fell dead. The first shots had been fired in
what was to become the American war of independence. The British soldiers destroyed some
of the weapons and gunpowder there. But then minutemen shot down one by one, 273 British
soldiers died.

On 4 july it issued the declaration of the independence. Is the most important document in
American history. This claimed that all men had a natural right to “life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness”. This new definition said that governments should consist of representatives
elected by the people. The main reason was protect the rights of individual citizens.
Washington’s army was more of an armed mob than an effective fighting force. Few of the
men had any military training. In September 1776 the British captured Ny. But Americans
military trapped a British army of almost 6000 men and the prisoners were put on board ships
and sent back to England.

Two years later the French king signed an alliance with the Americans. French ships, soldiers
and money were soon playing an important part in the war. The British started to withdraw
their forces and began to discuss peace terms. Britain recognized her former colonies as an
independent nation.

A new nation

In 1783 most American felt more loyalty to their own state than the new United States. His
first big problem was how to join together the little countries into one united nation. The
states had agreed to work together in national congress to which each state sent
representatives this was called the articles of confederation. It was clear for USA to survive
there would have to be changes in that articles. In 1788 George Washington was elected as
the first president of the United States.

The constitution of the United States gave them a “federal” system of government. A central
or federal, authority has some of it and the rest is in the hands of local authorities in the
separate regions that make up the country. This gave it the power to collect taxes, to organize
armed forces, to make treaties with foreign countries and to control trade of all kinds.

The president: it the head of the executive side of the nation’s government. It would be his job
to run the country’s everyday affairs and to see that people obeyed the laws.

The legislative: this was made up of representatives elected by the people. Congress was to
consist in 2 parts: the senate and the House of Representatives (make the country’s law).

Supreme Court controls the judicial part of the nations. The job was to make decisions in any
disagreements about the meaning of the laws and the constitution.

The bill of right was an added into the constitution in 1791. It promised all American freedom
of religion, a free press, free speech, the right to carry arms, the right to a fair trial by jury and
protection against cruel and unusual punishments.

There were two political parties the Federalist Party favored a strong president and federal
government (rich people) and the Democratic Republican Party supported the rights of the
individual states. To people like small farmers and craftsmen.