Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Chahid Hamma Lakhdhar University- Eloued

Faculty of Arts and Languages

Department of Arts and English Language

University Lectures in Contemporary American Civilization

Master Level

Dr. Mohammed Naoua

The War of Independence: The American Revolution

The Event that preceded the American Revolution

Britain's War with France and Spain

The Need for money

The Stamp Act

The Boston Massacre

The Boston Tea Party

the Intolerable Acts.

The First Continental Congress

For many centuries colonists had been migrating from Europe to the Americas in
search of economic opportunities and religious freedom. In the new world, they
founded settlements under the authority of the monarchs of Europe, to whom the as a
the colonists owed their loyalty and obedience.

Life was difficult for the first settlers who came to the Americas. When they arrived,
they found no cities, no paved streets, and no markets. All they found was the
wilderness. These first settlers built cities from scratch, and paved the way for later
immigrants, bringing civilization to these wild lands

As civilization advanced in the new world, and began to resemble life in Europe, the
lives of the people became easier and more comfortable. This allowed them to spend
more time pursuing hobbies, and in the service of their communities.

New schools were established in the colonies, and the education level among
colonists began to increase.

Europe’s View of the Colonies

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Europeans viewed the colonies as their property. They existed in order to serve their
home nation. The colonies produced crops and goods that could then be shipped back
to their mother country in order to enrich those who lived there. The colonies also
existed, in their view, as a place where goods could be sold. The colonies were
expected to remain loyal to their mother country, and submit to any decisions made
on their behalf by their mother country.

Colonies were controlled by governors which were appointed by the crown. These
governors had a great deal of authority within the regions they were responsible for.
In this way, the crown maintained their authority in a colony. The governor appointed
all judges, and other officials within the colony.

Many colonies also had a legislator which was made up of elected officials. These
legislatures made recommendations to the governor, but had no real power.

The British Empire Goes to War

In 1760, a new king came to power in Great Britain named King George III. George
III used the powerful British Navy to wage war with France. These wars brought the
British Empire vast new territory, including all of Canada, as well as all the land in
North America east of the Mississippi River.

This war, which greatly enlarged the territories of Great Britain, proved to be very
costly and nearly bankrupt the national treasury. As a result, King George III was in
desperate need of raising funds to keep his government operating. To do this, he
looked to the colonies in the Americas.

The Stamp Act

In order to help cover the cost of the war between Great Britain and France, British
officials began to establish new taxes in the Colonies. In 1765, a tax was passed by
Great Britain known as the stamp act. This law required all colonists to pay a tax to
Great Britain on all of the printed materials that they used, newspapers, magazines,
and even playing cards. All of these materials were required to have a stamp placed
on them, in order to show that the tax had been paid.

Colonist were outraged, and responded by boycotting all British goods. They also
attacked officials who were sent by Great Britain to enforce the Stamp Act, and
burned the stamps in the street. Many of the colonies sent representatives to a special
meeting in New York, which they called The Stamp Act Congress, where the
colonies voted and declared that Parliament did not have the right to pass taxes on the

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colonies because they did not have any representation in Parliament. Many of the
colonists began crying - "No taxation without representation!"

As a result, the British Parliament repealed the stamp act just one year later in 1766.

The Boston Massacre

Parliament in Great Britain had lost the battle over the Stamp Act. However, they
were determined to assert their control over the colonies. In 1766, they passed a new
decree that reaffirmed their right to pass laws regarding the colonies. The next year
they passed a number of new taxes, including a tax on glass, lead, paper, and tea.

The colonies were again outraged, and many refused to pay them. In order to enforce
these new tax laws, British officials requested military troops to aid them.

These military troops outraged the colonists. In the winter of 1770, a small group of
colonists in Boston were taking out their frustration with the troops by taunting them
and throwing snowballs at them. In retaliation, these soldiers opened fire, killing four
of the Bostonians. This event became known as the Boston Massacre.

The events of the Boston Massacre were spread quickly by newspapers throughout
the colonies, further angering colonists. As a result, Great Britain was forced to once
again repeal all of the new taxes they had enacted. However, in order to send a
message that they were still in charge, they left the tax on tea in place.

The Boston Tea Party

The tax on tea that Parliament had passed greatly affected the tea business in the
colonies. The price of tea in the Americas increased, making it more difficult for tea
growers, producers, and shippers to survive. In order to insure that British companies
would not be hurt by this new tax, Parliament passed a law that exempted British
companies from having to pay the tax. This meant that these companies could sell
their tea cheaper, almost guaranteeing that companies based in the Americas would
go out of business.

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In protest, a group of individuals dressed up as Native Americans, boarded a cargo
ship in Boston Harbor, and dumped its entire load of tea into the harbor waters. This
event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

In response to the Boston Tea Party, the Parliament in Great Britain passed a number
of new laws which completely closed down the Boston Harbor until colonists paid for
the cost of the tea that had been dumped into the harbor. These new laws also greatly
limited the freedoms of the colonists, requiring them to obtain permission from the
governor prior to holding any public meetings, and greatly limiting the power of the
legislature.

The First Continental Congress

The Intolerable Acts

The Intolerable Acts, which had been passed by the British Parliament, convinced the
colonists in the Americas that the gap between the colonies and their home country
would widen and their relationship might witness critical situations. At the same,
these acts as we can see below had quickened the pace towards revolution and liberty.

Impartial Administration of Justice Act

This act enabled the governors appointed by the Monarch to try the settlers in other
colonies or even to be deported to England if he doubted that local juries colonies would
stand beside the offenders.

Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act

This act intended to regulate the government of the province of the Massachusetts Bay
in New England. It issued that members of local judicial would, from then on be
selected, and appointed by the royal governors. Additionally, this act required that all
settlers to have approval of the royal governor before they could hold any type of
meeting.

Boston Port Act

This act was passed as a response to the Massachusetts community for their severe
protest against the Boston Tea stamp. Three act had three types of punishment:
financial, economic, and administrative. The financial punishment required the Boston
community to pay the price of the dumped tea. The economic one replaced Boston port
with Marblehead as the official port of entry for the Massachusetts colony. Concerning
the third sanction, it moved the capital of Massachusetts to Salem.
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 An act to discontinue, in such manner, and for or such time as are therein
mentioned, the landing and discharging, lading or shipping, of goods, wares, and
merchandise, at the town, and within the harbour, of Boston, in the province of
Massachusetts Bay, in North America.

Quartering Act

The settlers considered this act as humiliating since it allowed English royal troops to
stay in houses or empty buildings if barracks were not available

The Quebec Act

The Quebec Act granted civil and religious freedom to Catholics living in Quebec. Of
course, the colonists themselves have continuously been deprived of these types of civil
and religious rights.

These Acts were the harshest so far of all the Acts passed by Parliament. The closing
of Boston's port alone would cost the colony (and the American colonies as a whole)
a ton of money. The Regulating Act was aimed at curtailing revolutionary activities.
The Quartering Act angered colonists who didn't want soldiers (especially Redcoats)
in their houses. And the Quebec Act was a direct insult to Americans, who had been
denied the same sorts of rights that the Quebec residents now got.

However, rather than containing the colonists' anger against these acts generated the
spirit of revolt and rebellion against their native country and led to the holding of the
First Continental Congress.

The First Continental Congress

September 5, 1774, 56 delegates were sent from each of the 13 colonies to meet in
Philadelphia as representatives of the First Continental Congress. These representatives
debated the issues of the rights of colonists as a united group. For the first time in
history, the 13 colonies were working as a group and not as individual colonies. Patrick
Henry, a delegate from Virginia, stated, ―I am not a Virginian, I am an American.‖

The First Continental Congress passed resolutions stating that the British Parliament
did not have the right to pass laws in the colonies, and only had the right to regulate
trade between the colonies and Great Britain. They further resolved that by December
of the same year they would cease importing any goods from Great Britain, and that
by September of the following year, they would cease exporting any goods to Great
Britain.
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The Shot Heard Around the World

In April of 1775, tensions in the colonies were very high. Many of the 13 colonies
had begun to raise armies in order to defend themselves against the possibility of war
with Great Britain. Colonists in Boston had suffered more than many of the other
colonists.

In response to the Boston Tea Party, Great Britain had closed down the Boston
Harbor. The result was that life in Boston became very difficult. Many who lived
there had lost their jobs. British troops were also being sent to Boston in mass. In
order to house these troops, Bostonians were forced to let them live in their homes
and eat their food.

As tensions rose, officials in Great Britain ordered the governor of Massachusetts to

send troops to Boston, and take possession of the weapons and ammunition that the
colonists had gathered in a stock house.

The British soldiers were the best trained military force on Earth. They also had
superior weapons. Everyone in Great Britain expected that they would have little
difficulty marching to Boston to take these ammunitions.

Colonists in Boston had prepared themselves for any military actions by Great
Britain. They had formed a group of soldiers known as Minutemen. These
Minutemen were made up of farmers, shop owners and peasants, who could be called
upon to respond with just a minute's notice.

Minutemen were called to stand against the British troops. As the two armies faced
each other, someone fired a shot. No one knows who fired it, or which side they were
on. This shot became known as the shot heard around the world, and it touched off a
conflict that would help further the tensions between Great Britain and her colonies.

As the British troops began advancing towards where the ammunition and weapons
were being stored, Paul Revere and William Dawes rode ahead of them shouting,
"The Redcoats are coming!"

Their warning allowed the colonists the time they needed to get the Minutemen in
place along the route. Hiding behind trees and buildings, these Minutemen were able
to easily defeat the British soldiers, who were marching in formation in the open.

The defeat of the British military humiliated Great Britain and energized the
colonists, showing them that it was possible to win their independence militarily.

The Olive Branch Petition

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In May of 1775, the Second Continental Congress met to discuss the ongoing
problems between Great Britain and the colonies. A small group of radicals, led by
John Adams, felt that war with Great Britain was inevitable. However, in an effort to
avoid war, they passed a resolution known as the Olive Branch Petition.

This petition was sent to King George III, and addressed the wrongs that had been
perpetrated against the colonies. They asked King George III to correct these wrongs,
and to repair unfair trading practices which favored Great Britain. They reaffirmed
that they did not desire to go to war, and that they were not seeking to become
independent.

King George III refused to even read the petition, and declared that the colonies had
come out in open rebellion against the Crown and against Great Britain.

Common Sense

In January of 1776, a man by the name of Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet entitled
Common Sense, in which he outlined the reasons that he felt it was time for the
colonies to part company with Great Britain, and form their own independent nation.

Common Sense was widely distributed and read throughout the colonies, and was
influential in convincing many thousands of colonists that it was indeed time to form
a new united nation.

Common Sense had a profound impact on the mood of Americans and helped greatly
to change the opinions of important and influential colonists who had been holding
out hope for resolving the conflict with Great Britain without going to war.

The Declaration of Independence

About Jefferson:

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the
United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence
(1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the
ideals of republicanism in the United States.

Major events during his presidency include the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and

the Lewis andClark Expedition (1804–1806).

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As a political philosopher, Jefferson was a man of the Enlightenment and knew many
intellectual leaders in Britain and France. He idealized the independent yeoman
farmer as exemplar of republican virtues, distrusted cities and financiers, and favored
states' rights and a strictly limited federal government.

Jefferson supported the separation of church and state and was the author of the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779, 1786). He was the eponym of
Jeffersonian democracy and the co-founder and leader of the Democratic-Republican
Party, which dominated American politics for a quarter-century. Jefferson served as
the wartime Governor of Virginia (1779– 1781), first United States Secretary of State
(1789–1793) and second Vice President (1797–1801). A polymath, Jefferson
achieved distinction as, among other things, a horticulturist, statesman, architect,
archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor and founder of the University of
Virginia. When President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners
to the White House in 1962 he said, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection
of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White
House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

Words That Changed the World

When the colonists in America decided to declare independence from Great Britain,
their leaders knew they needed a special document. It would explain all the reasons
they were willing to take this big step. A young man named. Thomas Jefferson wrote
a beautiful essay. It inspired people to change the world.

Britain’s Parliament (PAR-luh-muhnt) and King George III did not handle this
problem well. Sometimes they ignored the colonists’ complaints. Other times they
were too harsh with the people.

By 1775, the colonists were so angry that they were willing to go to war. The battles
of the American

The Revolution began in April.

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The war had begun. But the people were still not sure exactly what they were fighting
for. Some of them just wanted their faraway leaders to respect their rights. Others
wanted to be free from Great Britain once and for all

An Important Task

In June 1776, a delegate named Richard Henry Lee got up to speak. He proposed that
Congress finally declare independence from Great Britain. A few men still thought
this was a bad idea. But most of the delegates agreed with Lee. They decided to vote
on the idea a few weeks later. Congress thought it should prepare a document. The
document would explain the reasons the colonists wanted freedom. Having it ready
would save time when the big decision was made at last.

The Right Man for the Job

Congress chose a committee of five men to write the declaration. Four of them were
from the North. Their names were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert
Livingston, and Roger Sherman. The only southerner was a quiet delegate from
Virginia named Thomas Jefferson. The committee met to discuss how to handle this
important job. They decided it would be too hard to write as a group. Instead they
decided to have one person write the essay. Then they would all meet to go over it
together.

Jefferson had written some important papers in the past. The committee knew he was
a gifted writer. So, they chose him to write the document. The group told Jefferson
three things he had to write about. He had to describe what makes a good
government. Then, he had to explain why King George had not done a good job.
Finally, he had to announce that the colonists were declaring themselves free of
Great Britain.

The committee made a smart choice when it picked Thomas Jefferson to write the
document. He was a great writer. He was also very excited about the subject.
Jefferson worked as a lawyer back in Virginia. But he was interested in many things
besides the law. He read books for hours every day. Many of them were about
politics and history. These books made Jefferson do a lot of thinking. He also liked to
hear people debate. He was shy and did not always speak up himself. But he learned
a lot by listening.

Jefferson came to believe that freedom was something that people could not live
without. He was happy when the other members of Congress finally agreed with him.

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For more than two weeks, Jefferson worked on his essay. During that time, he rarely
spoke to anyone. He used all his energy to write. He wanted the words to be so
powerful that everyone would agree with them.

A Natural Place to Start

Jefferson began his paper by explaining its important purpose. Many people still
thought it was foolish to declare independence from Great Britain. This essay would
explain to the world why the colonists deserved freedom.

First, he stated that all people are born with equal rights. Everyone deserves the same
basic freedoms . And nobody should ever take those things away. This sounds normal
to us now. But in 1776 it was a new and exciting idea.

Strong Words for the King

The first section of the Declaration of Independence stated that people deserve a
government that protects their rights.

In the second part, the paper described Britain’s government. It explained how the
government had failed to do its job in the colonies.

Jefferson wrote that King George III had done an unforgivable thing. He had kept the
people from making decisions about how to live their own lives.

There was a long list of complaints against the king. Some described how he had
taken away people’s rights. Others told how he had put colonists in danger. A few
mentioned how he had cost them money. Jefferson used very strong words. He made
the king sound as bad as he could.

Leaving the Old World Behind

The final section of the paper contained some remarkable thoughts. First, it pointed
out that the colonists had tried many times to let King George know about their
unhappiness. Each time the king had ignored them. So, Jefferson called the king a
tyrant. This was a very bold thing to say.

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Then, it declared that the colonists would no longer be British citizens. They would
not be loyal to a king who had done such a bad job. In fact, they would no longer
have any political ties to Great Britain.

Instead, they would form a new country called the United States of America. This
country would have all the powers of any other nation. This was an amazing thing to
declare. At that time, all countries were run by a few powerful rulers. People had
never thought that the citizens could create their own government.

A Most Important Vote

When Jefferson finished his essay, he showed it to the committee. They were very
happy with his work. They made some changes to the wording. But they felt he had
done a good job of explaining all the important ideas.

On June 28, the committee presented Jefferson’s rough draft to Congress. The
delegates were pleased with the document. They decided that now was the time to
make a final decision about whether to declare independence.

They spent the next few days in more debate. Finally, on July 2, it was time to vote.
The proposal passed in a landslide. Jefferson’s words had inspired the delegates.
They had done something the world had never seen before.

Preparing a Final Draft

Congress spent two days reviewing Jefferson’s rough draft. They made many small
changes. There was, however, one very important change. In one long section,
Jefferson had criticized Great Britain for trading slaves. The southern colonies
refused to include this part.

They made Congress remove it from the final document. On July 4, 1776,Congress
voted to ratify the final version of the Declaration. This is why we celebrate
Independence Day on 4 July. John Hancock was the president of the Congress so he
signed first. He wrote his name in big, bold letters. He wanted King George to be able
to read it without putting on his glasses!

In August, Congress held a formal signing of the Declaration of Independence. It had

been copied onto special paper. In the end, 56 delegates put their names on this
historic document.

Congress wanted the people to see the Declaration as soon as possible. So they made
many handwritten copies. These were sent to all 13 colonies. The first public reading
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 was in Philadelphia on July 8. A huge crowd listened to the important words. Then,
they set off fireworks and lit bonfires to celebrate. Does this remind you of what
Americans do on the Fourth of July every summer?

Spreading the News

The Congress wanted the people to see the Declaration as soon as possible. So they
made many handwritten copies. These were sent to all 13 colonies. The first public
reading was in Philadelphia on July 8. A huge crowd listened to the important words.
Then, they set off fireworks and lit bonfires to celebrate. Does this remind you of
what Americans do on the Fourth of July every summer?

George Washington ordered the document read to all his troops. It inspired the
soldiers. Now, they could say exactly what they were fighting for.

The Declaration of Independence helped change the world. People decided that they
deserved more say in their lives. The document still moves people who read it today.
It inspires them to fight for equal rights. That is pretty amazing for words written
more than 225 years ago.

The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration is a beautifully written document that officially announced that the
United States were no longer part of Great Britain. That these United States were
establishing a new idea of government; one whose leadership did not govern by divine
right, but was chosen by the people for the people themselves. This new government's
job was to protect the "Rights‖ of its citizens.
In the sections that follow, you will get the chance to try to decide on your own point of
view. To do this, we are going to ask you to do carefully read the Declaration.
In order to assist your exploration, we have explored each of the five parts of the
Declaration separately:
 The introduction — in which Jefferson gives a short statement as to why the
Document needed to be written.
 The Preamble — which describes the ideas, philosophies, and beliefs on which the
new American government would be founded
 Indictment against King George III — where the specific issues the colonists have
with the king are listed
 Denunciation of the British People — where attention is turned to the colonists
issues with the British People

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 Conclusion — where the critical points are tied together and a clear statement of the
colonists intentions are put forward

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve
the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate
that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient
causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to
suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing
invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism,
it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies;
and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of
Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute
Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public
good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance,
unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so
suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people,
unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a
right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant
from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into
compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for
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opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused
for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the
Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for
their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to
encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of
Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for
establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the
tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harrass [sic] our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our
legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution,
and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended
Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders
which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences [sic]:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,
establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to
render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule
into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering
fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to
legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging
War against us.

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He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the
lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the
works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty &
perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head
of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms
against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to
fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on
the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of
warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most
humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A
Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit
to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them
from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration
and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we
have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations,
which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have
been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce
in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of
mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General

Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude
of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these
Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right
ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance
to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of
Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent
States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish
Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right
do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of
divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our
sacred Honor.

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 The Articles of Confederation

Article I introduces that the name of the new confederacy which shall from then on
be "the United States of America"

Article II declares that individual states should retain their sovereignty regarding
freedom, independence, and jurisdiction, and citizens' rights.

Article III explains that the states shall enter into a firm bound or league, and form an
alliance for 'their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and
general welfare'

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