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| The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen British colonies in North America. The war began largely as a colonial revolt against the economic policies of the British Empire, and eventually widened far beyond British North America, with France, Spain, and the Netherlands entering the war against Great Britain. Additionally, many American Indians fought on both sides of the conflict. |
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| Patriots (also known as Partisans, or Rebels) were British North American colonists who rebelled against the Crown during the American Revolution and established the independent states that became the United States of America. Patriots were influenced by John Locke and the American Enlightenment. Historians in recent decades have also emphasized the influence of British "Old Whig" or "country-party" writers on the American Patriots. |
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Samuel Adams (September 27, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American revolutionary and organizer of the Boston Tea Party. He was also the cousin of another revolutionary and a future president of the Unites States of America, John Adams, one of the signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776).
Born to a wealthy Boston family, Adams attended Boston Latin School and then Harvard College where he received a bachelor's degree in 1740 and a Master of Arts degree in 1743; prophetically, the subject of his master's thesis was "Whether it be lawful to resist the supreme magistrate if the commonwealth cannot otherwise be preserved."
After he completed his college education, Adams and his father, Old Samuel Adams, began a partnership in a brewery. Adams's father, however, soon lost most of his wealth due to the failure of an investment venture in paper currency, which was made illegal by the British government in 1744, thus exacerbating the family's dislike for the central government. The elder Adams died in 1748, and Samuel took full charge of the family brewery.
Adams, in the meantime, became tax collector of Boston and was vocal in town meetings, which brought him significant political influence among his peers. He was a leader of a group of radicals called the Sons of Liberty. When the brewery, never enormously profitable, failed in 1764, Adams began devoting himself full time to political matters, first drafting the colony's negative response to the Sugar Act in May 1764, and the next year being elected to a seat in the Massachusetts colonial legislature (called the "General Court"), where he immediately became a vocal opponent of the Stamp Act, even to the extent of helping to instigate Boston's Stamp Act riots of that year.
While a member of the legislature, Adams served as clerk of the house, in which capacity he was responsible for drafting written protests of various British governmental acts during his tenure, which continued to 1774. Notable among these was a circular letter he drafted as a response to the 1767 Townshend Acts, distributed among the other twelve colonies in a bid to achieve a united front of resistance to these acts. The failure of the legislature to rescind the contents of this letter at the express demand of King George is usually cited as one of the main factors resulting in the stationing of troops in Boston beginning in 1768.
This British troop presence in Boston, aggravated by protest activities such as Adams' formation of the Non-Importation Association, led to the Boston Massacre (a term coined by Adams) two years later. After the incident Adams chaired a town meeting which formed a petition, presented to acting governor Thomas Hutchinson, demanding the removal of two British regiments from Boston proper. Hutchinson at first claimed no responsibility for the matter, owing to his temporary status as governor, but stated he would be willing to move one regiment; the meeting was re-convened and Adams successfully urged the crowd of over 5,000 present to stand firm on the terms: "Both regiments or none!" Fearing open warfare, Hutchinson had both regiments removed to Castle William, an old fort on an island in Boston Harbor. These regiments would thereafter be known in the British Parliament as "The Sam Adams Regiments."
In 1772, after a British declaration that judges should be paid by the Crown rather than by the colonial legislatures, a demand from the people of Boston for a special session of the legislature to reconsider this matter was refused by Hutchinson. It was at this point Adams devised a system of Committees of Correspondence, whereby the towns of Massachusetts would consult with each other concerning political matters via messages. Such a scheme was still technically legal under British law, but led to a de facto colonial legislative body. Dabney Carr of Virginia later proposed the adoption of this system throughout the thirteen colonies, which led eventually to the formation of the Continental Congress.
Adams is perhaps best remembered for helping to organize, with William Molineux, the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, in response to the Tea Act. As British tea-ships sat in Boston Harbor awaiting payment of the import duties, Adams energized a large crowd gathered at the port with his oratory, and later donned costume and led a band of men aboard ship where they dumped the tea into the harbor, to the delight of the assembled spectators on shore. In response to this escapade, Parliament passed what were later to be known as the "Intolerable Acts," which called for the revocation of the colonial charter of Massachusetts and the closing of the port of Boston. Reaction from the colonies was to expedite the opening of a Continental Congress, and when the Massachusetts legislature met in Salem on June 17, 1774, Adams locked the doors and made a motion for the formation of a colonial delegation to attend the Congress. A loyalist member, faking illness, was excused from the assembly and immediately went to the governor, who issued a writ for the legislature's dissolution; however, when the legislator returned to find a locked door, he could do nothing.
Adams was one of the major proponents of the Suffolk Resolves drafted in response to the Intolerable Acts, and adopted in September 1774. Also that month the Continental Congress held its first meeting, and Adams retired from the legislature and was sent to Philadelphia as a representative from the Massachusetts colony. During his time in the Congress he was from the beginning one of the most vocal proponents of independence. (Notably, only he and John Hancock were exempted from the general amnesty offered by Thomas Gage to Massachusetts rebels in 1775.) After signing the Declaration in 1776, Adams, wary of a strong central government, was instrumental in the development and adoption of the loose government embodied in the Articles of Confederation, to which he was also a signatory in 1777. He continued serving in the Congress until 1781, when he was elected to the state senate of Massachusetts. He served in that body until 1788, becoming its president.
At the time of the drafting of the United States Constitution, Adams was considered an anti-federalist, but more moderate than others of that political stripe. His contemporaries nicknamed him "the last Puritan" for his views; in 1788 he would write in his diary regarding the federalist and anti-federalist factions, "Neither Interest, I fear, display that Sobriety of Manners, Temperance, or Frugality—among other manly Virtues—which once were the Glory and Strength of our Christian Sparta on the Bay...". He finally came in on the side of ratification, with the stipulation that a bill of rights be added. Additionally, Adams was a member of the conventions that drafted the first Massachusetts state constitution in 1779, and the second one in 1788.
Samuel Adams grave markerHe stood unsuccessfully for election to the House of Representatives for the first Congress, but was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1789–94. He was elected as governor in 1793 to succeed John Hancock, and served to 1797, afterwards retiring to his home in Boston.
Adams died at the age of 81 and was interred at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston. Owing to his occupation as a brewer, today a popular brand of Boston beer bears his name. |
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| Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737–June 8, 1809), intellectual, scholar, revolutionary, and idealist, is widely recognized as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A radical pamphleteer, Paine anticipated and helped foment the American Revolution through his powerful writings, most notably Common Sense, an incendiary tract advocating independence from Great Britain. An advocate for political liberalism and constitutional republican government, he outlined his political philosophy in The Rights of Man, written both as a reply to Edmund Burke's view of the French Revolution and as a general political philosophy treatise. Paine was also noteworthy for his support of deism, taking its form in his treatise on religion The Age of Reason, as well as for his eye-witness accounts of both the |
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Thomas Jefferson (April 13 (April 2 Old Style), 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founders of the United States. Achievements of his presidency include the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806).
A political philosopher who promoted classical liberalism, republicanism, and the separation of church and state, he was the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779, 1786), which was the basis of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. He was also the founder and leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, which dominated American politics for over a quarter-century. Jefferson also served as second Governor of Virginia (1779–1781), first United States Secretary of State (1789–1795), and second Vice President (1797–1801).
In addition to his political career, Jefferson was also an agriculturalist, horticulturist, architect, etymologist, archaeologist, mathematician, surveyor, paleontologist, author, lawyer, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia. Many people consider him to be among the most brilliant men ever to occupy the Presidency. President John F. Kennedy welcomed 49 Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962, saying, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." |
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| John Hancock (January 12, 1737 (O.S.) – October 8, 1793 (N.S.)) was President of the Continental Congress, and the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence. According to legend, he signed his name largely and clearly to be sure King George III could read it, causing his name to become an eponym for "signature". However, other examples show that Hancock always wrote his signature this way. |
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Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia on March 16, 1751. His parents Colonel James Madison, Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) and Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway (January 9, 1731 – February 11, 1829) were the prosperous owners of the tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia where Madison spent most of his childhood years. In 1769, he left the plantation to attend Princeton University (it was called the College of New Jersey at the time), finishing its four-year course in two years, but exhausting himself from overwork in the process. When he regained his health, he served in the state legislature (1776-79) and became known as a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. In this capacity he became a prominent figure in Virginia state politics, helping to draft their declaration of religious freedom and persuading Virginia to give their northwestern territories (consisting of most of modern-day Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) to the Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1780-83), he excelled as a legislative workhorse and master of parliamentary detail. Back in the state legislature he welcomed peace, but soon became alarmed at the fragility of the Confederation. He was a strong advocate of a new constitution, and played the leading role in drafting and negotiating the main points at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. To foster the ratification effort, he joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write "The Federalist" papers, one of the most influencial documents in American political history. Back in Virginia in 1788, he led the fight for ratification of the constitution at the state's convention--oratorically outdueling Patrick Henry and formatible forces aligned againt acceptance of the constitution. For his efforts, Madison is known as the "Father of the Constitution."
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When the Constitution was ratified, Madison was elected to the United States House of Representatives from his home state of Virginia and served from the First Congress through the Fourth Congress, and was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party during his final term in the House. In 1789, he successfully offered a package of twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution, the final ten of which became what is collectively known as the Bill of Rights by December 15, 1791, based upon earlier work by George Mason. The chief characteristic of Madison's time in Congress was his desire to limit the power of the federal government. He led the unsuccessful attempt to block Hamilton's proposed Bank of the United States, arguing the new Constitution did not explicitly allow the federal government to form a bank. Most biographers see a sea-change with Madison moving from strong nationalism in 1787-88 to a states' rights position that became extreme in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798. Other scholars, notably Lance Banning, see more continuity, arguing Madison was never caught up in Hamilton's dream of a powerful nation.
During Madison's time in Congress, the debate between Hamilton and Jefferson led to the formation of the first political parties (the first ones in world history). Madison was instrumental in the creation of the Democratic-Republican party, whose members supported Jefferson and believed strongly in limiting centralized power. Opposed to the Democratic-Republicans was the Federalist party, whose members followed Hamilton and believed in a strong central government.
In 1794, Madison married Dolley Payne Todd, who cut as attractive and vivacious a figure as he did a sickly and antisocial one. It is Dolley who is largely credited with inventing the role of "First Lady" as political ally to the president.
In 1797 Madison left Congress; in 1798 he and Jefferson secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which insisted the states could block unconstitutional federal laws. With Jefferson's victory in 1800-01, became Secretary of State, though he had never travelled abroad.
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The main challenge Madison faced was navigating between the two great empires of Britain and France, which were almost constantly at war. The first great triumph was the Louisiana Purchase on 1803, made possible when Napoleon realized he could not defend that vast territory, and it was to France's advantage that Britain not seize it. Madison tried to maintain neutrality, but at the same time insisted on the legal rights of the U.S. under international law. Neither London nor Paris showed much respect, however. The Jefferson administration decided on an Embargo to punish Britain, which meant forbidding all Americans to trade with any foreign nation. The Embargo failed as foreign policy and instead caused massive hardships in the northeastern seabord, which depended on foreign trade. The Republican Caucus chose presidential candidates for the party, and Madison was chosen in the election of 1808, easily winning election. The Embargo was repealed just before Madison took office.
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British insults continued, especially the practice of using the Royal Navy to intercept unarmed American merchant ships and "impressing" (seizing) all sailors who might be British subjects for service in the British navy. Madison's protests were ignored, so he helped stir up public opinion in the west and south for war. One argument was that an American invasion of Canada would be easy and would be a good bargaining chip. Madison carefully prepared public opinion for what everyone at the time called "Mr. Madison's War," but much less time and money was spent building up the army, navy, forts or state militias.
In the ensuing War of 1812, the British won numerous victories, including the capture of Detroit after the American general surrendered to a small force without a fight, and occupation of Washington, D.C., forcing Madison to flee the city. The British also armed American Indians in the West, most notably followers of Tecumseh. Finally a standoff was reached on the Canadian border. The Americans built warships on the Great Lakes faster than the British, and gained the upper hand. At sea the British blockaded the entire coastline, cutting off both foreign trade and domestic trade between ports.
After the defeat of Napoleon both sides were exhausted, the causes of the war had been forgotten, and it was time for peace. New England Federalists, however, set up a secret defeatist Hartford Convention and threatened secession. In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent ended the war, allowing each side to keep the territory it held when the treaty was finalized. The Battle of New Orleans, in which Andrew Jackson defeated the British regulars, was fought 15 days after the treaty was signed but before it was finalized. With peace finally established America was swept by a sense of euphoria and national achievement in finally securing independence. Madison was hailed and the Federalists fell apart and disappeared from politics, as an Era of Good Feeling emerged with a much lower level of political fear and vituperation.
In his last act before leaving office, Madison vetoed a bill for "internal improvements," including roads, bridges, and canals:
"Having considered the bill...I am constrained by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling this bill with the Constitution of the United States...The legislative powers vested in Congress are specified...in the...Constitution, and it does not appear that the power proposed to be exercised by the bill is among the enumerated powers..." [1]
Madison rejected the view of Congress that the General Welfare Clause justified the bill, stating:
"Such a view of the Constitution would have the effect of giving to Congress a general power of legislation instead of the defined and limited one hitherto understood to belong to them, the terms 'common defense and general welfare' embracing every object and act within the purview of a legislative trust."
It should be noted that although Madison would support internal improvement schemes only through constitutional amendment, he urged a variety of measures that he felt were "best executed under the national authority," including federal support for roads and canals that would "bind more closely together the various parts of our extended confederacy." |
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Loyalists (often capitalized L) were British North American colonists who remained loyal subjects of the British crown during the American Revolutionary War. They were also called Tories or "King's Men". Those Loyalists settling in what would become Canada are often called United Empire Loyalists. Their colonial opponents, who supported the Revolution, were called Patriots, Whigs, or (more loosely) just Americans. From an American perspective, the Loyalists were traitors who turned against their fellow colonists and collaborated with an oppressive British government [1]; from a Canadian and British perspective, the Loyalists were the honourable ones who stood by the Crown and the British Empire, while the American rebels were the traitors.
Loyalists were loosely associated with Anglicanism in the same way that Patriots were associated with Presbyterianism. They also enjoyed the reputation of being relatively wealthier and better-educated than their Patriot opponents; but there were also many Loyalists of humble means, particularly in New York's Mohawk Valley and on the frontiers of Georgia and South Carolina.
Historians estimate that about 15-20% of the adult white male population of the thirteen colonies were Loyalists. An often cited statement by John Adams, in which he seemed to suggest that about one-third of the people were Loyalists, was taken out of context and did not refer to the sentiments of the colonists. |
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| who thoughtn of a militia in the United States |
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The early Puritan colonists of America considered the militia an important social structure, necessary to defend their colonies from Indian attacks. All able-bodied males were expected to be members of the town militia. During the French and Indian Wars the town militias formed a recruiting pool for the Provincial Forces. The legislature of the colony would authorize a certain force level for the season's campaign, and based on that set recruitment quotas for each town militia. In theory militia members could be drafted by lot if there were not volunteers enough to meet the quota, however this was rarely resorted to as Provincial soldiers were highly paid (more highly paid then their regular British Army counterparts) and rarely engaged in combat.
In the American Revolutionary War, colonial militiamen or armed citizens agreed to turn out for service at a minute's notice. The term minutemen is used especially for the men who were enrolled (1774) for such service by the Massachusetts provincial congress. These were also known as the "valiant farmers" who fought against the British at the battles of Lexington and Concord.
The delegates of the Constitutional Convention, (the founding fathers/framers of the United States Constitution) under Article 1; section 8, paragraphs 15 and 16 of the federal constitution, granted Congress the power to "provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining (regulating/training) the Militia," as well as, and in distinction to, the power to raise an army and a navy. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was intended to formalize this balance between the "well-regulated" militia and organized military forces. The militia act of 1792 clarified whom the militia consists of; " I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years" In contrast the United States National Guard, created by the Militia Act of 1903, was a federalized portion of the State militias which were converted into regular troops kept in reserve for the United States Army. The Defense Act of 1916 placed all state militia units under the National Guard. This act was later amended in 1933 under the National Guard Mobilization Act, to place all National Guard units under the control of the United States Army effectively ending their status as "militia" under Article 1, section 8, paragraphs 15,16, of the Federal Constitution and the second amendment of the Federal Constitution.
The current United States Code, Title 10 (Armed forces), section 311 (Militia: Composition and Classes), paragraph (a) states "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard." Section 313 of Title 32 refers to persons with prior military experience who could serve as officers. These persons remain members of the militia until age 65. Paragraph (b) further states, "The classes of the militia are: (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia."[1].
The National Guard is the largest of the organized federal reserve military forces in the United States. The National Guard is classified (under title 10, see above) as the organized federal militia as it is under both federal and state control, and both the President of the United States and state governors can call upon it. Since the 2003 Invasion of Iraq many National Guard units have served overseas (under the Total Force Policy of 1973 which effectively combined the National Guard with the armed forces making them regular troops.) This can lead to problems for states that also face internal emergencies while the Guard is deployed overseas. To address such issues, many of the states, such as New York and Maryland also have organized state "militia" forces or State Guards which are under the control of the governor of a state, however many of these "militia" also act as a reserve for the National Guard and are thus a part of it (varies from state to state depending on individual state statutory laws). New York and Ohio also have active naval militias, and a few other states have on-call or proposed ones. In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Perpich v. Department of Defense that the Federal government has plenary power over the National Guard, and greatly reduced (to the point of nonexistence) the state government's ability to withhold consent to Federal deployments and training missions of the National Guard.[2]
During some wars, both the suitability and effectiveness of the National Guard have been questioned, because of perceptions that personnel are often hastily, or not fully, trained for the roles they are asked to perform. For many decades, there were persistent allegations of nepotism, favoritism and/or the use of influence in the commissioning and assignment of officers. (See, for example, George W. Bush military service controversy.)
Numerous states have their own Guard units separate from the National Guard; some authorized by the states themselves, like the Alabama State Defense Force, others simply are acknowledged by the state as their official State Guard. These units have no affiliation with the National Guard. |
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