Malcolm Rivera
The 13 American colonies were known as the United Colonies of North America before they declared independence from Britain and became the United States of America. The colonies were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now the eastern United States. They were British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America, which broke away from the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The colonies were independent of one another before 1774, with each having its own well-established system of self-government and elections. The Continental Congress, which convened in 1774 and 1775, coordinated resistance against the British and declared independence in 1776, with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of colonies | 13 |
| Name | The United Colonies of North America |
| Year of independence | 1776 |
| Date of Declaration of Independence | 4 July 1776 |
| Date ties were cut with Great Britain | 4 July 1776 |
| Date the United States of America was established | 4 July 1776 |
| Date the Second Continental Congress formally dropped the name "United Colonies of North-America" | 9 September 1776 |
| Date the Second Continental Congress met | 14 May 1776 |
| Date the Second Continental Congress voted for independence | 2 July 1776 |
| Date the Continental Congress hosted a convention of delegates for the Thirteen Colonies | Spring 1775 |
| Date the Continental Congress raised an army to fight the British | Spring 1775 |
| Date George Washington was named commander of the army | Spring 1775 |
| Date the Second Continental Congress convened | May 1775 |
| Date the Revolutionary War against the British began | April 1775 |
| Date the First Continental Congress convened | September 1774 |
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What You'll Learn
The Thirteen Colonies
The colonies were independent of one another before 1774 and had their own unique systems of self-government and elections based on the Rights of Englishmen, which they were determined to protect from imperial interference. During the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with one another and sharing inter-colonial activities and concerns through colonial printers and newspapers. This led to calls for the protection of the colonists' "Rights as Englishmen", particularly the principle of "no taxation without representation". The British Empire at the time operated under a mercantile system, where all trade was concentrated inside the Empire, and trade with other empires was forbidden. This policy aimed to enrich Britain and its merchants, but it increasingly frustrated the colonists, as it was not in their interests.
In the 1730s, Parliamentarian James Oglethorpe proposed that the area south of the Carolinas be colonised with the "worthy poor" of England to provide an alternative to overcrowded debtors' prisons. Oglethorpe and his compatriots secured a royal charter for the colony of Georgia in 1732, with the hope of establishing a utopian colony that banned slavery. However, by 1750, the colony remained sparsely populated, and the proprietors gave up their charter. Georgia then became a crown colony. The population of the Thirteen Colonies grew immensely in the 18th century, with over 90% of colonists living as farmers, though some seaports also flourished. By 1770, the economic output of the Thirteen Colonies made up 40% of the gross domestic product of the entire British Empire.
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The United Colonies of North America
The colonies were independent of one another before 1774, and all began as separate and unique settlements or plantations. They had well-established systems of self-government and elections based on the Rights of Englishmen, which they were determined to protect from imperial interference.
In the spring of 1775, all royal officials had been expelled, and the Continental Congress hosted a convention of delegates for the Thirteen Colonies. They raised an army to fight the British, naming George Washington its commander, and made treaties. In April 1776, Congress opened colonial ports, a major step towards severing ties with Britain.
In early 1776, Thomas Paine's pamphlet, 'Common Sense', called on the 13 colonies to write a new constitution and declare their independence. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, declared that "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent states". Two days later, on July 4, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, which formally cut the colonies' ties with Great Britain and established the United States of America. On September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formally dropped the name "United Colonies of North-America" in favour of the "United States of America".
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The American Revolutionary War
The war was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The outcome of the war seemed uncertain for most of its duration. However, the tide turned in 1781 when Washington and the Continental Army achieved a decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown, leading King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war.
The roots of the American Revolutionary War can be traced back to the growing tensions between the residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British Crown. The colonies were independent of one another before 1774, functioning as separate and unique settlements or plantations. However, by 1720, half of the colonies were under the control of royal governors who were closely tied to the government in London. The British Empire operated under a mercantile system, where all trade was concentrated within the Empire, and trade with other empires was forbidden. This policy aimed to enrich Britain at the expense of the interests of the colonists, leading to increasing restiveness among Americans.
In the mid-1760s, the British Parliament enacted a series of measures, including the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts, designed to increase revenue from the colonies. The colonists argued that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them as they were not directly represented in Parliament. This tax dispute was part of a larger divergence between British and American interpretations of the British Constitution and the extent of Parliament's authority in the colonies. The colonists' protests against these acts were unsuccessful, resulting in the closing of the port of Boston and the declaration of martial law in Massachusetts.
In response to these actions, colonial governments sent delegates to the First Continental Congress in 1774 to coordinate a colonial boycott of British goods. The Second Continental Congress, which convened in May 1775, began recruiting soldiers for the Revolutionary War, printing its own money, and appointing George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 marked the start of the armed conflict, with the rebels waging a full-scale war for their independence by the following summer.
In February 1776, the Prohibitory Act established a blockade of American ports and declared American ships to be enemy vessels, further strengthening public support for independence. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, drafted by a committee including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, with Thomas Jefferson as the main writer. The Declaration summarised the colonists' motivations for seeking independence and confirmed their official alliance with France. With French assistance, the Continental Army achieved a decisive victory at Yorktown, effectively winning their independence, though fighting continued until 1783. The American Revolutionary War concluded with the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of the United States.
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The Continental Congress
The idea for the Continental Congress first arose in 1754 at the start of the French and Indian War, initially known as the Albany Congress. Representatives from seven of the thirteen colonies attended, including Benjamin Franklin, who proposed that the colonies join in a confederation. The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1774, in response to escalating tensions between the colonies and the British, which culminated in the passage of the Intolerable Acts. The Congress was structured with an emphasis on the equality of participants and to promote free debate. It was comprised of delegates from each of the 13 colonies, except Georgia, which was fighting a Native American uprising and was dependent on the British for military supplies.
The First Continental Congress met for about six weeks, mainly to try to repair the relationship between Britain and the colonies while asserting the rights of colonists. It proclaimed and passed the Continental Association, a unified trade embargo against Britain, and successfully built consensus for the establishment of a second congress. The Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, soon after hostilities broke out in Massachusetts. It sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, established the Continental Army, and elected George Washington as commander of the new army.
As the war progressed, the Continental Congress became the de facto national government of the country, and, as such, conducted diplomacy on behalf of the new United States. The Second Continental Congress served as the provisional government of the U.S. during most of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, it took the momentous step of declaring America’s independence from Britain. Five years later, the Congress ratified the first national constitution, the Articles of Confederation, under which the country would be governed until 1789, when it was replaced by the U.S. Constitution.
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The Declaration of Independence
The American colonies were independent of one another before 1774. All 13 colonies began as separate and unique settlements or plantations with their own systems of self-government and elections. However, by 1720, half of the colonies were under the control of royal governors, who were appointees closely tied to the government in London.
The Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule. It justifies the independence of the colonies, citing 27 colonial grievances against King George III and asserting certain natural and legal rights, including a right of revolution. It also summarised the colonists' motivations for seeking independence, including British imperial policies regarding taxation and frontier policy.
The Declaration was an act of treason against the Crown, punishable by torture and death. It was, however, necessary for the colonies to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.
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Frequently asked questions
The American colonies were called the "United Colonies of North America" before the Constitution was drafted.
The United Colonies of North America was the official name used by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia for the newly formed proto-state comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and 1776, before and as independence was declared.
The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and joined to form the United States of America.
