Nicholas Reimann

American Civilization 1700-015

Sam Todd
February 23, 2016
Written Assignment #1
Chapter 3 in our text book talked a lot about the way the colonies
separated from British Parliament, became independent, and became the
United States. The course of this historical event had various battles, wars
and other issues. There were many key factors that contributed to making
the colonies become the United States. To name a few, there was the First
and Second Continental Congress which was the 1st government of the
Colonists before the colonies became the United States. There was Thomas
Paine who influenced the colonist why they should separate from British rule
and have an American Republic. Another important factor was the Women
and slaves. Without either of these, the war would have been very difficult to
win. Many of these factors played an important role in having the colonies
become the United States.
The 1st Continental congress had a few obstacles to overcome. The
congress came about and formed due to the Stamp Act, which Prime Minister
John Grenville and British Parliament. The Stamp Act was a tax or in other
words, a revenue stamp that was required for anyone that used or that

printed anything on paper. The Congress met and discussed if it was

appropriate for Parliament to impose taxation without representation. The
representatives from the nine colonial legislatures met in New York and
decided that it was not appropriate for Parliament to impose tax.
Unfortunately, this caused their business to weaken and the representatives
thought it would weaken the colonial economy. The 2nd Continental Congress
had met together and approved the creation of a Continental Army with
Washington at the head of the Army. Although it was a great idea and there
were many volunteers, it took several years for the Continental Army to
become a professional force. Washington and many men suffered while at
Valley Forge. Besides the cold winter, limited supplies weakened the men
and disease hit them as well. 2500 of the 11000 men died from malnutrition,
starvation and disease. They were eventually aided by a Prussian Soldier by
the name of Wilhelm von Steuben.
Thomas Paines pamphlet titled Common Sense, rejected the monarchy
and mocked King George III calling him a royal brute. This pamphlet also
questioned whether or not it was right for England to rule over America. This
was a big influence that helped create the desire for the Colonists to create a
new political order and reject the monarchy completely. The Declaration of
Independence was compiled by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams with the
help and support of the congress. The Declaration of Independence included
several complaints or grievances against King George III. The Declaration of
Independence also laid out the foundation of the American Government and

it being a republic. Really Thomas Paine influenced the idea of separating

from British Parliament and creating a new government here in what we
know now as the United States.
Women and slavery played a big role in the Revolution. The British
offered slaves freedom if they would fight and remain loyal to the King, and
pledge to fight with the Loyalist against the rebellious colonists. It was
estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 slaves gained their freedom by
fighting for the British. The Revolutionaries did not offer freedom to slaves
that joined the army. Washington would not freedom but he did allow free
blacks. After the war, the new United States reinforced racial identity and
white people was the nationality of the United States and blacks were
denoted servile status. The women helped the soldiers in the war in various
other ways besides fighting. The women already had domestic and
childbearing responsibilities. The war put an even bigger workload on their
shoulders and other responsibilities. Women were required to provide
everything from clothing to foodstuffs for the war. Although the war put a
much bigger workload on the women, it opened new opportunities for them.
The Daughters of Liberty that was formed in the mid 1760s were doing all
they could to support the soldiers in war. Ester DeBerdt Reed, the wife of
Governor Joseph Reed of Philadelphia, formed the Ladies association of
Philadelphia. Through this association, the women raised almost $300,000 in
the continental for the war. Women also accompanied the army as camp
followers, cooks, washerwomen and nurses.

Overall, there were various key factors that played a big role in the
helping of colonizing The United states. Without these important historical
events, the United States would not exist and would most likely still be under
British rule.