thesis statement for 13 colonies

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

The 13 Colonies

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 14, 2023 | Original: June 17, 2010

The 13 colonies founded along the Eastern seaboard in the 17th and 18th centuries weren't the first colonial outposts on the American continent, but they are the ones where colonists eventually pushed back against British rule and designed their own version of government to form the United States.

These 13 original colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) were established by British colonists for a range of reasons, from the pursuit of fortunes, to escape from religious prosecution to the desire to create new forms of government.

English Colonial Expansion

Sixteenth-century England was a tumultuous place. Because they could make more money from selling wool than from selling food, many of the nation’s landowners were converting farmers’ fields into pastures for sheep. This led to a food shortage; at the same time, many agricultural workers lost their jobs.

Did you know? Virginia Dare, the first American-born child of English parents, was born in Roanoke in 1587.

The 16th century was also the age of mercantilism, an extremely competitive economic philosophy that pushed European nations to acquire as many colonies as they could. As a result, for the most part, the English colonies in North America were business ventures. They provided an outlet for England’s surplus population and (in some cases) more religious freedom than England did, but their primary purpose was to make money for their sponsors.

The Tobacco Colonies

In 1606, King James I divided the Atlantic seaboard in two, giving the southern half to the London Company (later the Virginia Company) and the northern half to the Plymouth Company. 

The first English settlement in North America had actually been established some 20 years before, in 1587, when a group of colonists (91 men, 17 women and nine children) led by Sir Walter Raleigh settled on the island of Roanoke. Mysteriously, by 1590 the Roanoke colony had vanished entirely . Historians still do not know what became of its inhabitants.

In 1606, just a few months after James I issued its charter, the London Company sent 144 men to Virginia on three ships: the Godspeed, the Discovery and the Susan Constant. They reached the Chesapeake Bay in the spring of 1607 and headed about 60 miles up the James River, where they built a settlement they called Jamestown . 

The Jamestown colonists had a rough time of it: They were so busy looking for gold and other exportable resources that they could barely feed themselves. It was not until 1616, when Virginia’s settlers learned how to grow tobacco, that it seemed the colony might survive. The first enslaved African arrived in Virginia in 1619.

In 1632, the English crown granted about 12 million acres of land at the top of the Chesapeake Bay to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. This colony, named Maryland after the queen, was similar to Virginia in many ways. Its landowners produced tobacco on large plantations that depended on the labor of indentured servants and (later) enslaved workers.

But unlike Virginia’s founders, Lord Baltimore was a Catholic, and he hoped that his colony would be a refuge for his persecuted coreligionists. Maryland became known for its policy of religious toleration for all.

The New England Colonies

The first English emigrants to what would become the New England colonies were a small group of Puritan separatists, later called the Pilgrims, who arrived in Plymouth in 1620 to found Plymouth Colony . Ten years later, a wealthy syndicate known as the Massachusetts Bay Company sent a much larger (and more liberal) group of Puritans to establish another Massachusetts settlement. With the help of local natives, the colonists soon got the hang of farming, fishing and hunting, and Massachusetts prospered. 

As the Massachusetts settlements expanded, they formed new colonies in New England. Puritans who thought that Massachusetts was not pious enough formed the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven (the two combined in 1665). Meanwhile, Puritans who thought that Massachusetts was too restrictive formed the colony of Rhode Island, where everyone–including Jewish people–enjoyed complete “liberty in religious concernments.” To the north of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a handful of adventurous settlers formed the colony of New Hampshire.

The Middle Colonies

In 1664, King Charles II gave the territory between New England and Virginia, much of which was already occupied by Dutch traders and landowners called patroons, to his brother James, the Duke of York. The English soon absorbed Dutch New Netherland and renamed it New York.

Most of the Dutch people (as well as the Belgian Flemings and Walloons, French Huguenots, Scandinavians and Germans) who were living there stayed put. This made New York one of the most diverse and prosperous colonies in the New World.

In 1680, the king granted 45,000 square miles of land west of the Delaware River to William Penn, a Quaker who owned large swaths of land in Ireland. Penn’s North American holdings became the colony of “Penn’s Woods,” or Pennsylvania. 

Lured by the fertile soil and the religious toleration that Penn promised, people migrated there from all over Europe. Like their Puritan counterparts in New England, most of these emigrants paid their own way to the colonies and had enough money to establish themselves when they arrived. As a result, Pennsylvania soon became a prosperous and relatively egalitarian place.

The Southern Colonies

By contrast, the Carolina colony, a territory that stretched south from Virginia to Florida and west to the Pacific Ocean, was much less cosmopolitan. In its northern half, hardscrabble farmers eked out a living. In its southern half, planters presided over vast estates that produced corn, lumber, beef and pork, and–starting in the 1690s–rice. 

These Carolinians had close ties to the English planter colony on the Caribbean island of Barbados, which relied heavily on African slave labor, and many were involved in the slave trade themselves. As a result, slavery played an important role in the development of the Carolina colony. (It split into North Carolina and South Carolina in 1729.)

In 1732, inspired by the need to build a buffer between South Carolina and the Spanish settlements in Florida, the Englishman James Oglethorpe established the Georgia colony. In many ways, Georgia’s development mirrored South Carolina’s.

What’s the Difference Between Puritans and Pilgrims?

Both sought a different religious practice than what the Church of England dictated, but they were otherwise distinct groups of people.

10 Things You May Not Know About the Jamestown Colony

Explore surprising facts about America’s first permanent English settlement.

13 Facts About the 13 Colonies

The 13 British colonies eventually joined to form the United States—but as colonies, they were often more different than they were alike.

The Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris

In 1700, there were about 250,000 European settlers and enslaved Africans in North America’s English colonies. By 1775, on the eve of revolution, there were an estimated 2.5 million. The colonists did not have much in common, but they were able to band together and fight for their independence. 

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was sparked after American colonists chafed over issues like taxation without representation, embodied by laws like The Stamp Act and The Townshend Acts. Mounting tensions came to a head during the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, when the “shot heard round the world” was fired. 

It was not without warning; the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770 and the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 showed the colonists’ increasing dissatisfaction with British rule in the colonies. 

The Declaration of Independence , issued on July 4, 1776, enumerated the reasons the Founding Fathers felt compelled to break from the rule of King George III and parliament to start a new nation. In September of that year, the Continental Congress declared the “United Colonies” of America to be the “United States of America.”

France joined the war on the side of the colonists in 1778, helping the Continental Army conquer the British at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution and granting the 13 original colonies independence was signed on September 3, 1783.

13 Colonies Flag

During the Revolutionary War, a flag featuring thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen five-pointed stars arranged in a circle was adopted. This variant is also known as the " Betsy Ross Flag," as she was believed to have designed it. The stars and stripes represent the 13 colonies.

HISTORY Vault: The American Revolution

Stream American Revolution documentaries and your favorite HISTORY series, commercial-free.

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

AP® US History

The ultimate ap® us history guide to the 13 colonies.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Without the 13 colonies there would be no AP® United States History. Kind of obvious, right? But how much do you really know about these early European communities and the governments that they created? It can be a little daunting getting them all straight, especially since they each had their own identities, histories, places of origin, etc. But not to worry, we’ve created this APUSH review to get this info down for you just in time for the upcoming AP® US History exam.

This APUSH review on the 13 colonies has been organized to provide you with all the details you will need for your exam. We’ve got the nitty-gritty dates and names of when each colony was created, populated, etc., but we’ve also organized each colony’s history into easy to understand themes, including the analytical information you’ll need to know for the essay writing sections of the APUSH exam. Stick with this ultimate AP® US History guide to the 13 colonies and we’ll get you that much closer to earning a 5 on your exam!

The 13 Colonies

Let’s get the most obvious information out of the way first. The 13 colonies consisted of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island (and the Providence Plantations). The colonies eventually spread over almost the entire eastern seaboard of what would become the United States as we know it today, giving each their own uniqueness in terms of geography, economy, and history. But they did share a number of similarities as well.

What follows is a thorough breakdown of both the similarities and differences that make up the history of the American 13 colonies. First, we are going to categorize the 13 by region: the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the southern colonies. Here we will highlight the ways that each colony held historical similarities similar to their region, but unique to the others.

Second, and this is key for the APUSH exam since it seems to pop up quite a bit, we will cover the ways that all 13 colonies maintained cultural, political, and ideological ties to one another. This discussion will be a perfect segue for you to start studying the Revolutionary War (another obvious common topic for the AP® US History exam!). And finally, we will tie all this info together by providing you with specific examples of how the lovely people at the College Board have asked about the 13 colonies in previous versions of the APUSH exam.

The 13 Colonies by Region

The new england colonies, massachusetts.

Much like Virginia to the South, this is the most important colony in the northern region of England’s 13 colony experiment. Originally called the Massachusetts Bay colony, this site was founded in the Plymouth area by the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1623. However, unlike the Chesapeake region, money was not the number one concern of those living in the area, religion was.

This colony, right off the bat, was founded by a small group of Puritan separatists (who were also called Pilgrims) who were looking for a safe haven to practice their religion. Also unlike those to the south, the colonists who settled here were willing to listen to the native peoples, who ended up helping to teach them the best ways to hunt, fish, and farm the area.

The key things to remember about this colony for your upcoming AP® US History exam is that the people of Massachusetts (and much of the rest of New England) were concerned with raising healthy, Christian families more so than making profit. They too created a representative government, but you had to be a landowning male if you wanted to vote. These two things became a spring board for more of the other 13 colonies in New England to sprout from.

New Hampshire

As Massachusetts continued to grow and succeed as a colony, many wanted to expand the British territories. So, in 1629, an offshoot of colonists from the Massachusetts colony got permission from Plymouth and the crown to create a new colony in what is now New Hampshire and Maine.

Unlike many of the other 13 colonies, New Hampshire residents generally stayed to themselves and kept out of trouble. The most important thing to remember from this review of the New England colonies is that New Hampshire was evidence that the New England model was expanding its reach in North America. Although they were religiously tolerant, the colonists mirrored what was taking place in Massachusetts. Their government was tied to the one in Massachusetts; they created small communities of farmer families, and relied on agriculture and timber for profit.

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

The land that would come to be known as Rhode Island was originally settled by the Dutch and was part of the colony of New Netherlands. Much like New Hampshire, this colony was created as an offshoot of Massachusetts but with its own twist.

Whereas the colonists of New Hampshire were looking for new ventures and new horizons, those of Rhode Island were looking to escape religious persecution taking place in Massachusetts. Exiled preacher Roger Williams and Baptist leader Anne Hutchinson each laid claim to extensive plots of land in the area. They eventually appealed for and received an official charter in 1643.

Unlike the other New England colonies, Rhode Island only had an elected “president” as a government representative. But what you should ultimately take away from this APUSH review is that Rhode Island became a safe haven for those who were religiously persecuted. Quakers, Jews, Catholics, etc. who did not fit into the Puritan or Protestant models of living found safety here (for the most part). And the colonies began to look more diverse as time went on.

Connecticut

Much like New Hampshire this New England colony was created as an offshoot of Massachusetts. As successes in farming and family life led to growth in the Massachusetts colony, colonists moved north to the New Hampshire area, but also went south towards the Connecticut River. Finding excellent water supplies and fertile land for agriculture, these settlers founded the colony in 1636.

But there are two ideas that you really want to get down for your APUSH exam. First, unlike Rhode Island, founder Thomas Hooker was a Puritan minister and wanted to replicate the religious society that had been created by the founders of Massachusetts. Those who lived in Connecticut elevated religious purity to the highest level, similar to those in Massachusetts. And second, the representative government that formed in Connecticut created the first constitution of sorts. Called the Fundamental Order (1638), this document argued that the government’s job is to protect the rights of the individual. This would obviously become an important model for things to come…

The Middle Colonies

New York was actually originally founded by Dutch colonists. Eventually, however, the area did fall into the hands of the British in 1664. After gaining the territory from the Dutch, the King of England gave the land to his brother, the Duke of York (thus, the name). The ties between England and Holland became so deep in fact that the Prince of Orange married the Duke of York’s daughter (they are better known as William and Mary).

Ultimately, what you want to remember about New York for your AP® US exam is that it was truly a middle colony. Being smack dab in the middle of the New England and Southern colonies, New York’s harbor acted as a perfect central trading epicenter for the New World. Because of this industry boomed in the big cities and agriculture thrived in the more rural areas. New York was also interesting because a lot like today, the people who lived there were from all over the place. This meant that unlike the other regions, not one religion dominated and there was no single economic powerhouse characterized the workforce.

Just like New York, New Jersey was originally a territory of the Dutch. And, as a result, their histories parallel New York’s almost perfectly. Just like the other Middle Colonies, New Jersey had a long history of population diversity, from the presence of the Dutch, to the French, and even the Swedes in the region. When England gained the territory from the Dutch in 1664, it was to be governed by the Duke of York as well. Ultimately, neither industry nor agriculture dominated the economy, the population was diverse, and there was no religious monopoly. Just remember for the APUSH exam, that New Jersey and New York or almost exactly the same.

Pennsylvania

Somewhat similar to New York and New Jersey, the land that was to be Pennsylvania was originally occupied by other Europeans. But instead of the Dutch, this time, it was the Swedes. But alas, the Dutch eventually took over anyways. When the British received the Dutch territories in 1664, the king of England used the land to pay off a debt. He owed the Penn family significant money and gave the land in the New World to William Penn in 1681 as repayment. Pennsylvania actually means “Penn’s woods.” Very fitting, right?

Almost accidentally Penn would help to create on one of the most religiously tolerant places in the 13 colonies. He himself was a Quaker, but did not intend on Pennsylvania to become a Quaker’s paradise. Instead, Quakers and other persecuted believers fled Europe and heard that Penn himself was a tolerant man. Plus the land was rich and fertile. This attracted quite a few families who could afford to leave their homeland without falling into servitude.

What is most important about Pennsylvania is that this combination of rich land and religious tolerance helped it to become the most egalitarian of the 13 colonies.  But similar to the other Middle colonies, cities like Philadelphia emerged as industrial hubs, where outside the cities, farming dominated, which led to a diversified economy. Again, diverse populations, varied economic opportunities, and religious diversity characterized this middle colony.

Delaware ultimately came as a result of an argument between Duke Baltimore and William Penn (remember them?). And like the other Middle Colonies, Delaware began as a Dutch territory, then went to the Swedes, back to the Danes, and then was eventually handed over to the British. Anyways, Penn wanted Pennsylvania access to the sea, so he tried to get his hands on the Delaware area, but Baltimore said no way. The battle went on for 100 years until 1750 when the border was finally defined. But what’s important to note for the APUSH exam is how similarly this history is to the rest of the Middle Colonies—in fact, most of the main actors are even the same!

The Southern Colonies

Virginia (often called a chesapeake colony)  .

This was the first successful British colony in North American and a topic you are simply going to have to know if you want to ace your APUSH exam. Whereas previous voyages were mostly military or intel related, the crown had sent John Smith (backed by the London Company) in 1607 with over 170 colonists with the idea of staying permanently.

This colony was created in the Jamestown area with profit in mind. Unfortunately this almost led to their demise. Men greatly outnumbered women (so families didn’t grow), they spent most of their time looking for gold rather than planting crops, and constantly fought with the indigenous peoples. After their first several years, nearly 80 percent of the population had perished from starvation or battle.

Two events took place in the early years of the Virginia colony’s history that would forever change the rest of the 13 colonies and the history of the United States forever. First, they began planting tobacco in 1612 which became a huge cash crop. And second, in 1619 the colonists created the House of Burgesses, which was the first representative form of government in the New World.

So, in brief, for your APUSH review, remember that Virginia was founded as a money maker. This also almost led to its downfall until tobacco started bringing in the dough. It became so essential to Virginia that the colonists began using indentured servitude to multiply the product and quickly turned to enslaved Africans (1619) because that would bring in even more money. Finally, Virginia is the birthplace of representative government in America. What they did would become a model for the other 13 colonies.

Maryland (Often Called a Chesapeake Colony)

Maryland became the fourth colony to be established in North American b the British. It started off as a proprietary (these were colonies that the king of queen gave to allies and were ruled by people in place of the British crown) colony granted by the king of England in 1632 to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore. If you remember anything from this APUSH review on Maryland, remember that it was a colony that was created for the idea of religious freedom.

When Lord Baltimore received this land, England was in religious turmoil. Catholics were commonly persecuted and being a Catholic himself, Lord Baltimore wanted his Maryland colony to be a safe haven for religious tolerance. But this didn’t last long and when Protestants outnumbered the Catholics, they overthrew the government and replaced it with one that mimicked that of Virginia—Protestant and profitable. These two things would come to define the 13 colonies.

What started out as an experiment in religious freedom ended up as a place of persecution for non-Protestants. But they had taxes to pay as well. With Virginia being so successful to the south, leaders decided to turn towards the plantation system and the cultivation of tobacco in order to gain economic profits. Also like Virginia, this led to the increase of labor needs and the eventual exploitation of enslaved Africans.

North Carolina and South Carolina

North and South Carolina were actually just Carolina until the British crown split them in two in 1729. The area had originally been fought over between the French, Spanish, and British. The Brits eventually beat them all out and built towns beginning in 1655.

Now, for the APUSH exam, you are going to want to think about the Southern economy. The area of the Carolinas was actually rather massive, stretching all the way to Florida. But there were no real cities except for Charleston, which became hugely successful because of how close it was to the Caribbean points of trade.

But remember that agriculture was king here. And eventually cotton would come to dominate. North Carolina was filled with smaller, struggling farms that ultimately aimed for survival. But South Carolina had some of the wealthiest colonists in all the 13 colonies. Massive plantations began to develop, with tobacco, indigo, and rice being main products. But cotton soon picked up in popularity and the plantation owners increasingly turned to slaves in order to make immense profits. Slavery was so central to South Carolina’s economy that in 1720, 65 percent of the population was enslaved.

Georgia is sort of the odd man out here. The area rested in between Florida and the Carolina, and like we mentioned above, there was a constant struggle going on over the region. This was Georgia for you. It was a battleground and nobody wanted to live there until the British took over and made it a colony in 1732.

But still nobody really wanted to live there, so the British army built a fort and Georgia became sort of a buffer between Spanish Florida and the British 13 colonies. Eventually as the Spanish left North America, Georgia’s economy began to mimic that of North and South Carolina—plantations sprouted up as the system of slavery made farmers very wealthy.

The Lost Colony

Roanoke was one of the first colonization efforts by the British and if luck had been on its side, you probably would be studying the 14 colonies for your APUSH exam. Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a charter to set up a colony on Roanoke Island in North Carolina and after some fits and starts it was colonized in 1587. It has been called the “Lost Colony” because when resupply ships returned less than five years later, it had been entirely abandoned. To this day, no one is sure what happened.

This is ultimately a fascinating story and one you should be familiar with for you APUSH exam, but the mystery of this is not likely to pop up on test day. What you do want to remember, however, is how willing the British were to get a stronghold set up in the New World. True, this was the Age of Exploration, but Europeans were also looking for wealth. Failures like this (even Jamestown almost starved itself into nonexistence!) prevented neither the monarchy nor the explorers from returning with greater resolve.

The 13 Colonies and the Road to Revolution

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

OK, so we have shown you in this APUSH review the ways that the three regions that made of the 13 colonies were geographically, culturally, and economically different from one another. But you should have also noticed that there were similarities not only within each region, but between the regions as well. These are the things that explain the origins of the American Revolution—which is pretty much the entire reason for the existence of the United States, and therefore, something you really should get to know for your APUSH exam.

First, religion played a key role. And in several of the 13 colonies, the idea of religious tolerance was seen as an important asset. Remember, this was a time when religious wars were taking place across Europe. The colonists wanted to escape this for sure.

Second, this was the age of mercantilism. In fact, the main reason for the colonies to have existed was to make profit. So, even though the South increasingly relied on slavery, when the New England colonies did not, profit was still a central goal.

And third, even though all the colonists were British, they were all starting to get real tired of the crown. The king and queen taxed their businesses, even though they received little in return. They couldn’t even vote in English elections, only their own. Which gave them a sense of independence from the crown—something that would keep getting stronger over time.

So, remember these three central themes about the 13 colonies for your upcoming APUSH exam. If you think about all 13 I these terms, you’ll get an idea of how different each region was, but also how similar. These are the foundations for both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

What You Need to Know for the AP® US History Exam

Now that we’ve got a pretty solid sense of the histories and themes that are important for the 13 colonies, let’s take a look at the ways the College Board has looked at the topic in years past.

Here is an example multiple-choice question taken from the AP® US History Course and Exam Description put out by the College Board. Read the excerpt and then answer the question:

“Be it enacted … That after the five and twentieth day of March, 1698, no goods or merchandises whatsoever shall be imported into, or exported out of, any colony or plantation to his Majesty, in Asia, Africa, or America … in any ship or bottom, but what is or shall be of the built of England, Ireland, or the said colonies or plantations … and navigated with the masters and three fourths of the mariners of the said places only … under pain of forfeiture of ships and goods.” — English Parliament, Navigation Act, 1696

1. The excerpt most directly reflects which of the following goals for England’s North American colonies?

(A) Developing them as a producer of manufactured goods

(B) Aiding them in developing trade with other European nations

(C) Integrating them into a coherent imperial structure based on mercantilism

(D) Protecting them from American Indian attacks

The answer is C. Remember that this was an age of mercantilism and profit. All the 13 colonies—New England, the Middle, and the South—were concerned with this and this passage proves it.

“Analyze the origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1607 to 1776.”

You now know that the Southern Colonies increasingly relied on cash crops like tobacco, rice, and eventually cotton in order to make profits. This was especially true after Virginia failed extraordinarily at searching for gold and other ways to make a quick buck. These crops were labor intensive, however. But that didn’t stop the South from importing numerous slaves from African and making themselves rich in the process.

Just remember everything that we have covered in this APUSH review of the 13 colonies and you’re sure to get questions like these down for your upcoming AP® US History exam!

Looking for AP® US History practice?

Kickstart your AP® US History prep with Albert. Start your AP® exam prep today .

Interested in a school license?​

12 thoughts on “the ultimate ap® us history guide to the 13 colonies”.

The best info ever!

Glad you found it helpful!

thank you so much for uploading this. It helped me so much

Glad it helped!

I had so many Questions and all of this helped me answer them

Hi my name is Kyle and i was wondering what the colony’s had to do to become a nation?

By issuing the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen American colonies severed their ties to Great Britain and declared themselves an independent nation.

It’s hard to find well-informed people on this subject, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about!

This helped me so much! Please do one on the 50 states!

You’re welcome, Maxwell! Glad you found it helpful — we don’t have plans to do one on the 50 states right now but maybe in the future.

Comments are closed.

Popular Posts

AP® Score Calculators

Simulate how different MCQ and FRQ scores translate into AP® scores

AP® Review Guides

The ultimate review guides for AP® subjects to help you plan and structure your prep.

Core Subject Review Guides

Review the most important topics in Physics and Algebra 1 .

SAT® Score Calculator

See how scores on each section impacts your overall SAT® score

ACT® Score Calculator

See how scores on each section impacts your overall ACT® score

Grammar Review Hub

Comprehensive review of grammar skills

AP® Posters

Download updated posters summarizing the main topics and structure for each AP® exam.

Declaration of Independence

Server costs fundraiser 2024.

The Declaration of Independence is the foundational document of the United States of America. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it explains why the Thirteen Colonies decided to separate from Great Britain during the American Revolution (1765-1789). It was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on 4 July 1776, the anniversary of which is celebrated in the US as Independence Day.

The Declaration was not considered a significant document until more than 50 years after its signing, as it was initially seen as a routine formality to accompany Congress' vote for independence. However, it has since become appreciated as one of the most important human rights documents in Western history. Largely influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly those of John Locke , the Declaration asserts that "all men are created equal" and are endowed with the "certain unalienable rights" to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness"; this has become one of the best-known statements in US history and has become a moral standard that the United States, and many other Western democracies, have since strived for. It has been cited in the push for the abolition of slavery and in many civil rights movements, and it continues to be a rallying cry for human rights to this day. Alongside the Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence was one of the most important documents to come out of the American Revolutionary era. This article includes a brief history of the factors that led the colonies to declare independence from Britain, as well as the complete text of the Declaration itself.

Road to Independence

For much of the early part of their struggle with Great Britain, most American colonists regarded independence as a final resort, if they even considered it at all. The argument between the colonists and the British Parliament, after all, largely boiled down to colonial identity within the British Empire ; the colonists believed that, as subjects of the British king and descendants of Englishmen, they were entitled to the same constitutional rights that governed the lives of those still in England . These rights, as expressed in the Magna Carta (1215), the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, and the Bill of Rights of 1689, among other documents, were interpreted by the Americans to include self-taxation, representative government, and trial by jury. Englishmen exercised these rights through Parliament, which, at least theoretically, represented their interests; since the colonists were not represented in Parliament, they attempted to exercise their own 'rights of Englishmen' through colonial legislative assemblies such as Virginia's House of Burgesses .

Parliament, however, saw things differently. It agreed that the colonists were Britons and were subject to the same laws, but it viewed the colonists as no different than the 90% of Englishmen who owned no land and therefore could not vote, but who were nevertheless virtually represented in Parliament. Under this pretext, Parliament decided to directly tax the colonies and passed the Stamp Act in 1765. When the Americans protested that Parliament had no authority to tax them because they were not represented in Parliament, Parliament responded by passing the Declaratory Act (1766), wherein it proclaimed that it had the authority to pass binding legislation for all Britain's colonies "in all Cases whatsoever" (Middlekauff, 118). After doubling down, Parliament taxed the Americans once again with the Townshend Acts (1767-68). When these acts were met with riots in Boston, Parliament sent regiments of soldiers to restore the king's peace. This only led to acts of violence such as the Boston Massacre (5 March 1770) and acts of disobedience such as the Boston Tea Party (16 December 1773).

While the focal point of the argument regarded taxation, the Americans believed that their rights were being violated in other ways as well. As mandated in the so-called Intolerable Acts of 1774, Britain announced that American dissidents would now be tried by Vice-Admiralty courts or shipped to England for trial, thereby depriving them of a jury of peers; British soldiers could be quartered in American-owned buildings; and Massachusetts' representative government was to be suspended as punishment for the Boston Tea Party, with a military governor to be installed. Additionally, there was the question of land; both the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 restricted the westward expansion of Americans, who believed they were entitled to settle the West. While the colonies viewed themselves as separate polities within the British Empire and would not view themselves as a single entity for many years to come, they had nevertheless become bound together over the years due to their shared Anglo background and through their military cooperation during the last century of colonial wars with France. Their resistance to Parliament only tied them closer together and, after the passage of the Intolerable Acts, the colonies announced support for Massachusetts and began mobilizing their militias.

When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, all thirteen colonies soon joined the rebellion and sent representatives to the Second Continental Congress, a provisional wartime government. Even at this late stage, independence was an idea espoused by only the most radical revolutionaries like Samuel Adams . Most colonists still believed that their quarrel was with Parliament alone, that King George III of Great Britain (r. 1760-1820) secretly supported them and would reconcile with them if given the opportunity; indeed, just before the Battle of Bunker Hill (17 June 1775), regiments of American rebels reported for duty by announcing that they were "in his Majesty's service" (Boatner, 539). In August 1775, King George III dispelled such notions when he issued his Proclamation of Rebellion, in which he announced that he considered the colonies to be in a state of rebellion and ordered British officials to endeavor to "withstand and suppress such rebellion". Indeed, George III would remain one of the biggest advocates of subduing the colonies with military force; it was after this moment that Americans began referring to him as a tyrant and hope of reconciliation with Britain diminished.

Writing the Declaration

By the spring of 1776, independence was no longer a radical idea; Thomas Paine 's widely circulated pamphlet Common Sense had made the prospect more appealing to the general public, while the Continental Congress realized that independence was necessary to procure military support from European nations. In March 1776, the revolutionary convention of North Carolina became the first to vote in favor of independence, followed by seven other colonies over the next two months. On 7 June, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a motion putting the idea of independence before Congress; the motion was so fiercely debated that Congress decided to postpone further discussion of Lee's motion for three weeks. In the meantime, a committee was appointed to draft a Declaration of Independence, in the event that Lee's motion passed. This five-man committee was comprised of Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.

The Declaration was primarily authored by the 33-year-old Jefferson, who wrote it between 11 June and 28 June 1776 on the second floor of the Philadelphia home he was renting, now known as the Declaration House. Drawing heavily on the Enlightenment ideas of John Locke, Jefferson places the blame for American independence largely at the feet of the king, whom he accuses of having repeatedly violated the social contract between America and Great Britain. The Americans were declaring their independence, Jefferson asserts, only as a last resort to preserve their rights, having been continually denied redress by both the king and Parliament. Jefferson's original draft was revised and edited by the other men on the committee, and the Declaration was finally put before Congress on 1 July. By then, every colony except New York had authorized its congressional delegates to vote for independence, and on 4 July 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration. It was signed by all 56 members of Congress; those who were not present on the day itself affixed their signatures later.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. 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 separation. Remove Ads Advertisement 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 toward these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such a 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 to 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. Remove Ads Advertisement 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 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 mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. Love History? Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of 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 harass 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 benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: 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 rules 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, be declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. 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 and 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 against us, and has endeavored 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 the 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.

The following is a list of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, many of whom are considered the Founding Fathers of the United States. John Hancock , as president of the Continental Congress, was the first to affix his signature. Robert R. Livingston was the only member of the original drafting committee to not also sign the Declaration, as he had been recalled to New York before the signing took place.

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton.

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins , William Ellery.

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott.

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris.

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark.

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross.

Delaware: George Read, Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean.

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr., Arthur Middleton.

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton.

Subscribe to topic Bibliography Related Content Books Cite This Work License

Bibliography

• Boatner, Mark M. Cassell's Biographical Dictionary of the American War of Independence. London: Cassell, 1973., 1973.
• Britannica: Text of the Declaration of Independence , accessed 25 Mar 2024.
• Declaration of Independence - Signed, Writer, Date | HISTORY , accessed 25 Mar 2024.
• Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives , accessed 25 Mar 2024.
• Meacham, Jon. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2013.
• Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage, 1993.

About the Author

Translations

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate this article into another language!

Questions & Answers

What is the declaration of independence, who wrote the declaration of independence, who signed the declaration of independence, related content.

Second Continental Congress

Natural Rights & the Enlightenment

First Continental Congress

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

The Enlightenment

Free for the world, supported by you.

World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.

Recommended Books

Cite This Work

Mark, H. W. (2024, April 03). Declaration of Independence . World History Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2411/declaration-of-independence/

Chicago Style

Mark, Harrison W.. " Declaration of Independence ." World History Encyclopedia . Last modified April 03, 2024. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2411/declaration-of-independence/.

Mark, Harrison W.. " Declaration of Independence ." World History Encyclopedia . World History Encyclopedia, 03 Apr 2024. Web. 10 Aug 2024.

License & Copyright

Submitted by Harrison W. Mark , published on 03 April 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike . This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples

If you’re looking for American Revolution topics for research paper or essay, you’re in the right place. This article contains everything you might need to write an essay on Revolutionary war

🗽 Top 7 American Revolution Research Topics

✍ american revolution essay: how to write, 🏆 american revolution essay examples, 📌 best american revolution essay topics, 💡 most interesting american revolution topics to write about, ⭐ interesting revolutionary war topics, 📃 american revolution topics for research paper, ❓ american revolution essay questions.

American Revolution, also known as Revolutionary War, occurred in the second half of the 18th century. Among its causes was a series of acts established by the Crown. These acts placed taxes on paint, tea, glass, and paper imported to the colonies. As a result of the war, the thirteen American colonies gained independence from the British Crown, thereby creating the United States of America. Whether you need to write an argumentative, persuasive, or discussion paper on the Revolutionary War, this article will be helpful. It contains American Revolution essay examples, titles, and questions for discussion. Boost your critical thinking with us!

• Townshend Acts and the Tea Act as the causes of the American Revolution
• Ideological roots of the American Revolution
• English government and the American colonies before the Revolutionary war
• Revolutionary War: the main participants
• The American Revolution: creating the new constitutions
• Causes and effects of the American Revolution
• Revolutionary War: the key battles

Signifying a cornerstone moment for British colonial politics and the creation of a new, fully sovereign nation, the events from 1765 to 1783 were unusual for the 18th century. Thus, reflecting all the crucial moments within a single American Revolution Essay becomes troublesome to achieve. However, if you keep in mind certain historical events, then you may affect the quality of your paper for the better.

All American Revolution essay topics confine themselves to the situation and its effects. Make sure that you understand the chronology by searching for a timeline, or even create one yourself! Doing so should help you easily trace what date is relevant to which event and, thus, allow you to stay in touch with historical occurrences. Furthermore, understand the continuity of the topic, from the creation of the American colony until the Declaration of Independence. Creating a smooth flowing narrative that takes into consideration both the road to revolution and its aftereffects will demonstrate your comprehensive understanding of the issue.

When writing about the pre-history of the Revolution, pay special attention to ongoing background mechanisms of the time. The surge of patriotism, a strong desire for self-governed democracy, and “Identity American” all did not come into existence at the Boston Tea Party but merely demonstrated themselves most clearly at that time. Linking events together will become more manageable if you can understand the central motivation behind them.

Your structure is another essential aspect of essay writing, with a traditional outline following the events in chronological order, appropriately overviewing them when necessary. Thus, an excellent structure requires that your introduction should include:

• An American Revolution essay hook, which will pique your readers’ interest and make them want to read your work further. Writing in unexpected facts or giving a quote from a contemporary actor of the events, such as one of the founding fathers, are good hook examples because they grab your readers’ attention.
• A brief overview of the circumstances. It should be both in-depth enough to get your readers on the same level of knowledge as you, the writer, and short enough to engage them in your presented ideas.
• An American Revolution essay thesis that will guide your paper from introduction to conclusion. Between overviewing historical information and interest-piquing hooks, your thesis statement should be on-point and summarize the goal of your essay. When writing, you should often return to it, assessing whether the topics you are addressing are reflective of your paper’s goals.

Whatever issues you raise in your introduction and develop in your main body, you should bring them all together in your conclusion. Summarize your findings and compare them against your thesis statement. Doing so will help you carry out a proper verdict regarding the problem and its implications.

The research you have carried out and the resulting compiled bibliography titles will help you build your essay’s credibility. However, apart from reading up on the problem you are addressing, you should think about reading other sample essays. These may not only help you get inspired but also give excellent American Revolution essay titles and structure lessons. Nevertheless, remember that plagiarizing from these papers, or anywhere else, is not advisable! Avoid committing academic crimes and let your own ideas be representative of your academism.

Want to sample some essays to get your essay started? Kick-start your writing process with IvyPanda and its ideas!

• Sex During the American Revolution American Revolution is one of the most prominent and groundbreaking events in the history of the United States of America. One of the most interesting facts from the video was the usage of clothing and […]
• The American Revolution and Its Effects It is an acknowledgeable fact that the American Revolution was not a social revolution like the ones that were experienced in France, Russia or China, but it was a social revolution that was aimed at […]
• Summary of “Abraham Lincoln” and “The Second American Revolution” by James M. McPherson According to McPherson, the war, that is, the Civil War, was aimed at bringing about liberty and ensuring the extension of protection to the citizenry which he had a clue of the fact that the […]
• The American Revolution and Independence Day Celebration This article will help us understand the American Revolution and determine whether Americans have a reason to celebrate Independency Day every Fourth of July or not, whether all American supported the war, and whether the […]
• Changes Leading to the Colonies to Work Together During the American Revolution Ideally, the two settlements formed the basis of the significant social, political, and economic differences between the northern and southern colonies in British North America.
• American Revolution: Principles and Consequences One expanded the number of lands of the young country due to the confiscation of territories that were under the possession of the English government and loyalists, that is, people supporting the crown.
• The American Revolution’s Goals and Achievements The Patriots’ goals in the War, as well as the achievements of the revolution and the first Constitution in relation to different groups of population will be discussed in this essay.
• Haudenosaunee’s Role in the American Revolution They also signed treaties in relation to the support needed by the Americans and the Indians to avoid the conflicts that arose between the nations.
• Causes and Foundations of the American Revolution Speaking about what led to the revolution in the United States – the Boston Massacre, the Tea Party, or the Stamp Act – the most rational reason seems to be the result of all these […]
• The American Revolution: Role of the French The revolutionary war became the fundamental event in the history of the USA. For this reason, the rebellion in America became a chance to undermine the power of the British Empire and restore the balance […]
• The Unknown American Revolution In his book, Gary unveiled that the American Revolution’s chaos was through the power of Native Americans, enslaved people, and African Americans, not the people in power. The book boldly explains the origins of the […]
• Causes of the American Revolution: Proclamation & Declaration Acts The Proclamation was initially well-received among the American colonists because of the emancipation of the land and the cessation of hostilities.
• The American Revolution and Its Leading Causes Two acts passed by the British Parliament on British North America include the Stamp Act and the Townshend Act, which caused the Boston Massacre.
• A Woman’s Role During the American Revolution Doing so, in the opinion of the author, is a form of retribution to the people long gone, the ones who sacrificed their lives in honor of the ideals that, in their lifetime, promised a […]
• The Battles of the American Revolution The initial cause of the battle is the desire of the British to take over the harbors in Massachusetts. The battle of Bunker Hill marked the end of the peaceful rebellions and protests and became […]
• American Revolution’s Domestic and Worldwide Effects The American Revolution was a world war against one of the world’s most powerful empires, Great Britain, and a civil war between the American Patriots and the pro-British Loyalists. The main domestic effects of the […]
• The Heroes of the American Revolution However, their role was forgotten by the emergence of heroes such as Washington and Adams, white men who reformed the country.
• American Revolution: Seven Years War in 1763 As a result of the passing the Tea Act in 1773 British East India company was allowed to sell tea directly to the colonist, by passing the colonists middlemen.
• The History of American Revolution and Slavery At the same time, the elites became wary of indentured servants’ claim to the land. The American colonies were dissatisfied with the Royal Proclamation of 1763 it limited their ability to invade new territories and […]
• The Experience of the American Revolution One of such events was the American Revolution, which lasted from 1775 to 1783; it created the independent country of the United States, changed the lives of thousands of people, and gave them the real […]
• Causes of the American Revolution Whereas we cannot point to one particular action as the real cause of the American Revolution, the war was ignited by the way Great Britain treated the thirteen united colonies in comparison to the treatment […]
• Impact of American Revolution on the French One After the success of the American Revolution, there was a lot of literature both in praise and criticism of the war which found its way to the French people.
• The Leadership in Book ‘Towards an American Revolution’ by J. Fresia It’s an indication of the misuse of the people by the leaders in a bid to bar them from enlightenment and also keep them in manipulative positions.
• American Revolution Information People in the colonies were enslaved in tyranny of churches as well as monarchies, and Benjamin, believed that with proper undertaking of education, the colonies would arise to their freedom and Independence.
• American Revolution: An Impact on the Nation The American Revolution can be characterized as one of the milestone events in American history which led to the formation of the state and the nation.
• Benjamin Franklin and the American Revolution Radical interpretations of the Revolution were refracted through a unique understanding of American society and its location in the imperial community.
• The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution: Book Analysis Even these facts from the author’s biography make “The Shoemaker and the Tea Party” a reliable source of the knowledge on the American past.”The Shoemaker and the Tea Party” is based on the story of […]
• Figures of the American Revolution in «The Shoemaker and the Tea Party» The book The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred Young is a biographical essay describing events of the 18th century and life one of the most prominent figures of the American Revolution, George Robert […]
• The American Revolution Causes: English and American Views The American Revolution was brought about by the transformations in the American government and society. The taxes were not welcome at all since they brought about a lot of losses to the colonies.
• American Revolution and Its Historical Stages The following paragraphs are devoted to the description of the stages that contributed to a rise of the revolution against British rule.
• The American Revolution and Political Legitimacy Evolution At the beginning of the article, the Anderson highlights Forbes magazine comments where they stated that the businesses that would continue to feature in the future Forbes directory are the ones that head the activists’ […]
• American Revolution: Perspective of a Soldier Revolution became the event that radically changed the American society of that period and, at the same time, contributed to its unification.
• American Revolution and the Current Issues: Course The understanding of the critical issues in the history of the American Revolution will make the students intellectually understand the subsequent wars in American History and the events that may occur later.
• American Revolution in the United States’ History Americans had a very strong desire to be free and form their own government that would offer the kind of governance they wanted.
• Vietnam War and American Revolution Comparison Consequently, the presence of these matters explains the linkage of the United States’ war in Vietnam and the American Revolution to Mao’s stages of the insurgency.
• American Revolution in Historical Misrepresentation Narrating the good side of history at the expense of the bad side passes the wrong information to the students of history.
• American Revolution Against British Power They considered the fashions and customs of the British to be the best in the world; they sent their children to London for education, and they were very proud of the constitutional monarchy that governed […]
• The American Revolution as a People’s Revolution An idealized conception of a revolution leads to the conclusion that the American Revolution was not a representation of a “people’s revolution”.
• Battle of Brandywine in the American Revolution The Squad’s mission is to reconnoiter the location of the enemy during the night before the battle and prevent the possible unexpected attack of the enemy by enhancing the Principles of War.
• African Americans in the American Revolution Both the slave masters and the British colonizers sought the help of the African Americans during the American Revolution. The revolutionary nature of the American Revolution did not resonate with both the free and enslaved […]
• Post American Revolution Period: Washington Presidency The formation of the National Government during the years of 1789-1815 was associated with many challenging situations, and it was characterized by the opposition of the Federalists and Republicans, among which the important roles were […]
• American Revolution: Reclaiming Rights and Powers As a result, British Government Pursued policies of the kind embodied in the proclamation of the 1763 and the Quebec act that gave Quebec the right to many Indian lands claimed by the American colonists […]
• Women Status after the American Revolution This revolution enabled women to show men that females could participate in the social life of the society. Clearly, in the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century women were given only […]
• Impact of Rebellion on the American Revolution The rebellion was retrogressive to the cause of the American Revolution because it facilitated the spread of the ruling class and further hardened the position of the ruling class regarding the hierarchical arrangement of slavery.
• Was the American Revolution Really Revolutionary? The nature of the American Revolution is considered to be better understandable relying on the ideas offered by Wood because one of the main purposes which should be achieved are connected with an idea of […]
• The American Struggle for Rights and Equal Treatment To begin with, the Americans had been under the rule of the British for a very long time. On the same note, the British concentrated on taxing various establishments and forgot to read the mood […]
• African American Soldier in American Revolution It was revealed that the blacks were behind the American’s liberation from the British colonial rule, and this was witnessed with Ned Hector’s brevity to salvage his army at the battle of Brandywine.
• The Revolutionary War Changes in American Society The Revolution was started by the breakaway of the 13 American Colonies from the British Crown. A significant consequence of the American Revolution is that it led to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence […]
• American Revolution and the Crisis of the Constitution of the USA In whole, the American people paving the way to independence have to face challenges in the form of restricted provisions of Constitution, wrong interpretation and understanding of the American Revolution, and false representation of conservative […]
• American Revolutionary War: Causes and Outcomes The colonists vehemently objected to all the taxes, and claimed that Parliament had no right to impose taxes on the colonies since the colonists were not represented in the House of Commons.
• The Ideas of Freedom and Slavery in Relation to the American Revolution Although many Founders discussed the phenomenon of slavery as violating the appeals for freedom and liberty for the Americans, the concepts of slavery and freedom could develop side by side because the Founders did not […]
• French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812 In the course of the war, a peace treaty was signed in 1763 where the Britons acquired most of the territory that belonged to the French.
• American Women and the American Revolution Women’s standing, as much as they, in point of fact, turned out to be narrower and inflexibly defined subsequent to the war, was enhanced.
• Abigail Adams in American Revolution The presidency is a highly celebrated position and in her husband’s capacity, she was elevated to the eyes of the whole nation.
• The American War of Independence The American Revolution denotes the social, political and intellectual developments in the American states, which were characterized by political upheaval and war. The move by the colonizers seemed unpopular to the colonists and a violation […]
• Domestic and Foreign Effects of the American Revolution
• Reasons for English Colonization and American Revolution
• Native Americans During the American Revolution
• The American Revolution: The Most Important Event in Canadian History
• Women’s Rights After the American Revolution
• Philosophical, Economic, Political and Social Causes of the American Revolution
• American Revolution: The Result of Taxation, Military Occupation in the Colonies and the Negligence of the British
• The American Revolution and Women’s Freedom
• Reasons for the American Revolution – Tax, Military Presence, Merca
• Colonial Independence and the American Revolution
• The History, Transformative Quality, and Morality of the American Revolution
• Political and Economic Cause of the American Revolution
• American Revolution and Mexican Independence
• American Revolution: The Result of the French and Indian War
• Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution
• Battles That Changed the Outcome of the American Revolution
• After the American Revolution: Conflicts Between the North and South
• The Reasons Why People Chose to Be Loyalist During the American Revolution
• Identity: American Revolution and Colonies
• The Expansion and Sectionalism of the American Revolution
• The Relationship Between Nova Scotia and the American Revolution
• World Events That Coincided With the American Revolution
• The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
• The Republican Ideology and the American Revolution
• The Men Who Started the American Revolution
• Slavery and the American Revolution
• Economic and Political Causes for the American Revolution
• Ideas, Movements, and Leaders in the American Revolution
• American Revolution and the American Civil War
• Cultural Differences, the Ineffectiveness of England’s Colonial Policy, and the Effects of the French and Indian War as the Causes of the American Revolution
• American Democracy, Freedom, and the American Revolution
• Benjamin and William Franklin and the American Revolution
• The Major Factors That Led to the American Revolution
• Labor During the American Revolution
• Finding Stability After the American Revolution
• Autonomy, Responsibility and the American Revolution
• George Washington and the American Revolution
• African Americans and the American Revolution
• British and American Strengths in the American Revolution
• American Revolution and How the Colonists Achieved Victory
• What Was The Catalyst Of The American Revolution?
• Was the American Revolution a Conservative Movement?
• How Inevitable Was the American Revolution?
• Was the American Revolution Inevitable?
• Was the American Civil War and Reconstruction a Second American Revolution?
• How did the French and Indian War shape the American Revolution?
• What Were the Origins of the American Revolution?
• Why Did Tensions Between Great Britain and their North American Colonies Escalate so Quickly in the Wake of the French and Indian War?
• How the American Revolution Changed American Society?
• Was the American Revolution About Freedom and Political Liberty, or Just About Paying Fewer Taxes?
• Why Was American Revolution Unjust?
• How America and Great Britain Benefited from the American Revolution?
• Was The American Revolution A British Loss or An American Victory?
• How Did the American Revolution Impact Concordians, and Americans, not just Physically but Emotionally and Politically?
• Was the American Revolution Moderate or Radical?
• How Radical Was the American Revolution?
• Did the American Revolution Follow the Broad Pattern of Revolutions?
• How Did The American Revolution Affect Slaves And Women?
• How Did the American Revolution Get Started?
• How England Instigated the American Revolution?
• Who Benefited Most from the American Revolution?
• How Did People Contribute to the Political and Grassroots Areas to Gain Support of the American Revolution?
• Was the American Revolution the Fault of the United States or England?
• Was the American Revolution a Genuine Revolution?
• How Did Labor Change After The American Revolution?
• Did The American Revolution Help Spur The French Revolution?
• How Freemasonry Steered the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War?
• How Outrageous Taxation Lead to the American Revolution?
• How American Revolution Affect Natives?
• Is British Oppression: The Cause of the American Revolution?
• Globalization Essay Topics
• Industrial Revolution Research Ideas
• Civil Rights Movement Questions
• Industrialization Topics
• Cuban Revolution Ideas
• Revolutionary War Essay Ideas
• American Politics Paper Topics
• Civil War Titles
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 27). 149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/american-revolution-essay-examples/

"149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples." IvyPanda , 27 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/american-revolution-essay-examples/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples'. 27 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples." February 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/american-revolution-essay-examples/.

1. IvyPanda . "149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples." February 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/american-revolution-essay-examples/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "149 American Revolution Essay Topics & Examples." February 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/american-revolution-essay-examples/.

Chapter 2 Introductory Essay: 1607-1763

Written by: w.e. white, christopher newport university, by the end of this section, you will:.

• Explain the context for the colonization of North America from 1607 to 1754

Introduction

The sixteenth-century brought changes in Europe that helped reshape the whole Atlantic world of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. These events were the rise of nation states, the splintering of the Christian church into Catholic and Protestant sects, and a fierce competition for global commerce. Spain aggressively protected its North American territorial claims against imperial rivals, for example. When French Protestant Huguenots established Fort Caroline (Jacksonville, Florida, today) in 1564, Spain attacked and killed the settlers the following year. France, Britain, and Holland wanted their own American colonies, and privateers from these countries used safe havens along the coast of North America to raid Spanish treasure ships. But North America did not hold the gold and silver found in Spanish possessions in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Peru. In the end, Spain concentrated on these more profitable portions of its empire, and other European nation states began to establish their own claims in North America.

Europe’s political, religious, and economic rivalries were fought in both European wars and in a struggle for colonies throughout the Atlantic. England’s Queen Elizabeth I supported Protestant revolts in Catholic France and the Spanish Netherlands, which put her at odds with Spain’s Catholic monarch, Philip II. So did her support for English privateers such as Sir Frances Drake, Sir George Summers, and Captain Christopher Newport, who preyed on Spanish treasure ships and commerce. In 1584, Elizabeth ignored the Spanish claim to all of North America and issued a royal charter to Sir Walter Raleigh, encouraging him and a group of investors to explore, colonize, and rule the continent.

Sixteenth-century Europe was defined by the rise of nation-states and the division of Christianity due to the Protestant Reformation. Increased competition for wealth fueled by both developments spilled over into the New World, and by the early seventeenth century, Spain, Portugal, England, France, and the Netherlands all had a presence in North America.

England, France, and the Netherlands

By 1600, the stage had been set for competition between the European nations colonizing the Americas, and several quickly established footholds. The Spanish founded St. Augustine (in what is now Florida) in 1565. In 1607, English adventurers arrived at Jamestown in the Virginia colony (see The English Come to America Narrative).

The French established Quebec in what today is Canada, in 1608. Spanish Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico) was founded in 1610. The Dutch established Albany (now the capital of New York) as a trading center on the Hudson River in 1614, and New Amsterdam (called New York City today) in 1624. English Separatists, now known as Pilgrims, established Plymouth Colony in 1620. Ten years later, in 1630, Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. European settlement grew exponentially. Seventeenth-century North America became a place where diverse nations—European and Native American—came into close contact.

By the 1650s, the English, French, and Dutch were well established in North America. French traders used the waterways to move ever deeper into the interior of the continent from their toehold in Quebec, trading with American Indians. French Jesuit priests lived peacefully with American Indians, learned their languages, recorded their society norms and customs, and worked to convert them to Christianity. Europeans traded imported goods to American Indians for beaver and other furs that brought high profits in Europe (see The Fur Trade Narrative). The American Indians’ economy and culture, and relationships with other native tribes, were changed by their new focus on the fur trade and by the metal tools and firearms the Europeans offered. By the mid-1700s, the French had claimed the St. Lawrence River Valley, the Great Lakes region, and the whole of the Mississippi River Valley.

By about 1650, the Atlantic coast had all been claimed by rival European powers. American Indians resisted European encroachment in various ways and with varying degrees of success. Struggles between American Indians and European settlers continued throughout the colonial period and beyond. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)

The Dutch settled the Hudson River Valley and established New Amsterdam. They began with a fur-trading site established in 1614 near what is today Albany, New York. It grew steadily during the next several decades, and historians estimate that by the 1660s, about nine thousand people inhabited the Dutch colony.

Britain’s settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, which started as an entrepreneurial joint-stock company, struggled initially. Investors in the Virginia Company of London sent settlers with supplies and instructions to discover profitable commodities for trade. They were also to search for the legendary Northwest Passage to Asia and its lucrative trade. Gold, of course, was at the top of the Virginia Company’s list, but precious metals and jewels eluded the settlers. There were a number of schemes for making money, but it was not until 1617, when John Rolfe exported his first four barrels of Orinoco tobacco—a sweet-scented variety he obtained from the Caribbean and planted in Virginia—that the Virginia economy took off. By 1619, settlers were enjoying private property rights and had elected the House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in the New World. Tobacco drove the Virginia economy until the twentieth century. A land- and labor-intensive crop, tobacco led the settlers to spread out and establish isolated plantations where indentured servants and later slaves toiled.

Watch this BRI Homework Help Video on The Colonization of America for a review of the differences among the European colonies in the New World.

Native nations in North America sought the advantages of trade and the help of European allies to counter their enemies. But they also strove to control and resist the growing European presence on their land, using both diplomacy and military strikes. During the winter of 1609–1610, for example, Powhatan, an Algonquin chief and the father of Pocahontas, stopped trading with and providing food to the Jamestown settlers. His warriors laid siege to Jamestown and killed all who left the fort. During that winter, described by Englishmen as the “starving time,” Powhatan came close to ending the colony’s existence. Indians again waged war in the Second Anglo-Powhatan War of 1622 and the Third Anglo-Powhatan War of 1644, but by that time, the English presence in Virginia was too strong to resist (see The Anglo-Powhatan War of 1622 Narrative).

In the New Amsterdam and New England regions, Dutch and English traders wanted to control the lucrative fur trade. So did American Indian groups. The Pequot began expanding their influence in the 1630s, pushing out the Wampanoag to their north, the Narragansett to the east, and the Algonquians and Mohegan to the west. But they also came into conflict with the English of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Connecticut colonies. Tensions came to a head in the Pequot War of 1637, when the Pequots faced an alliance of European colonists and the Narragansett and Mohegan Indians. The conflict ended in disaster for the Pequot: The survivors of the defeated tribe were given to their Narragansett and Mohegan enemies or shipped to the Bahamas and West Indies as slaves.

In these and other conflicts, American Indian nations and European nations competed among themselves and with each other for land, trade, and dominance. In the end, however, Europeans kept arriving and growing in numbers. Even more devastating was that American Indians had no immunity to European diseases like measles and smallpox, which caused 90 percent mortality rates in some areas. Epidemics spread across North America while Europeans steadily pushed American Indians farther west.

This sixteenth-century Aztec drawing shows the suffering of a typical victim of smallpox. Smallpox and other contagious diseases brought by European explorers decimated native populations in the Americas.

Enslavement of Africans was introduced early in the settlement of the Americas. In the early 1500s, Spain imported enslaved Africans to the Caribbean to meet the high demand for labor. The Dutch played a key role in the Atlantic slave trade until the 1680s, when the English gained control and allowed colonial shippers to participate. The Atlantic slave trade consisted of transporting captives from the west coast of Africa to the Americas in what became known as the “Middle Passage.” The Middle Passage was one leg of a profitable  triangular trade  in the Atlantic. Ships transported raw materials from the Americas to Europe and then shipped manufactured goods and alcohol to Africa, where they were used to purchase human beings from the West Africans. Ships’ captains packed their human cargo of chained African men, women, and children into the holds of the ships, where roughly 10 to 15 percent died.

Slaves were literal cargo on board ships in the Middle Passage, as this cross-section of the British slave ship Brookes shows. Ships’ decks were designed to transport commodities, but during the Atlantic slave trade, human beings became the cargo. This illustration of a slave ship was made in the late eighteenth century, after the American Revolution.

Despite high mortality rates, merchant financiers and slave-ship captains made significant profits. More than ten million Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas during the three-century–long period of the slave trade. Most were destined for Brazil or the West Indies. About 5 percent of the African slave trade went to British North America.

The first Africans in British North America arrived at Jamestown aboard a Dutch ship in 1619. Historians are not certain about their initial status—whether they were indentured servants or slaves. What is clear, however, is that over time, a few gained freedom and owned property, including slaves. During the next several decades, laws governing and formalizing the racial and hereditary slave system gradually developed. By the end of the seventeenth century, every colony in North America had a slave code—a set of laws defining the status of enslaved persons.

In Maryland and Virginia, enslaved persons provided labor for the tobacco fields. Farther south, in the Carolinas, indigo and rice were the cash crops. A southern plantation system developed that allowed wealthy landowners to manage many slaves who cultivated vast land holdings. Most whites were not large landowners, however. Many small farmers, businessmen, and tradesmen held one or two slaves, while others had none. Some paid a master for a slave’s labor in a system known as hiring out. By 1750, almost 25% of the population in the British colonies was enslaved. In Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, the percentages were higher than in the North. In those southern colonies, slaves accounted for almost half the population. In South Carolina, almost two-thirds of the population were slaves.

In this 1670 painting by an unknown artist, slaves work in tobacco-drying sheds.

No one escaped the brutality of the slave system. Ownership of another human being as chattel property—like a horse or a cow—was often enforced by violence, and violence was always at hand, though masters also provided a variety of incentives such as time off or small gifts at Christmas. Masters and overseers used physical and mental coercion to maintain control. The whip was an ever-present threat and used with horrific results. A master was not faulted or legally punished for killing a rebellious slave. But perhaps one of the most powerful threats was the auction block, where fathers, sons, daughters, and mothers could be sold away from family. The children of enslaved mothers inherited the condition and were born into a life of servitude. Under the law, they were property a master could dispose of as he saw fit.

Enslaved people were treated like property and bought and sold on auction blocks. This ledger was used to track the sale of slaves sold in Charleston, South Carolina.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most runaway slaves had no place to go. Before the American Revolution, some southern slaves ran away to Spanish Florida, but every British colony enforced slavery and slave laws, even as a few individuals and groups denounced the brutality of slavery and the slave trade (see the Germantown Friends’ Antislavery Petition, 1688 Primary Source). People of African descent could be arrested without cause anywhere they were strangers or unknown by the community. Even the few free blacks (probably no more than 0.5 percent of the African American population in 1750) stayed close to communities where they were known, where influential whites vouched for their free status. Law, society, and custom all suppressed the fundamental rights of blacks. This system, enforced by fear and violence, spawned revolts. Some were small; individuals ran away, broke tools, or damaged crops. Other revolts were larger and more violent, like the1739 Stono Rebellion in South Carolina (see The Stono Rebellion Narrative).

Watch this BRI Homework Help Video on the Development of Slavery in North America for a review of the main ideas covered in this section.

In 1620, a group of English separatists known as the Pilgrims settled at what today is known as Cape Cod Bay. The Pilgrims were “separatists” because they believed the protestant Church of England remained too close to Catholic doctrine, and they saw no other solution but to leave or separate from the church. Because they dissented from the established state church, they were persecuted, and they decided to leave England (see the Pilgrims to the New World Decision Point). The Pilgrims applied to the Virginia Company of London in 1619 and received a patent to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River. When they reached North America, poor sailing conditions and treacherous waters forced them to settle at Cape Cod Bay instead, where they established the colony they called Plymouth.

This 1805 painting by Michele Felice Corne depicts the landing of the Pilgrims in the winter of 1620. Note how the painter assumes that American Indians were watching the landing party.

In 1628, another group of English religious dissenters arrived in nearby Massachusetts Bay and settled there on behalf of the Massachusetts Bay Company. Like the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, these new emigrants believed the Church of England was too Catholic in its practices, but instead of separating, these migrants, known as Puritans , sought to purify or reform the Church from within. They hoped to establish a “city upon a hill,” as one of their leaders, John Winthrop, described it—a shining example to their brethren in England of a good and Godly community (see the A City Upon a Hill: Winthrop’s “Modell of Christian Charity,” 1630 Primary Source).

Puritans came to America in part for the freedom to practice their religion as they saw fit. Therefore, they enforced a strict religious orthodoxy in Massachusetts and Connecticut. When Roger Williams advocated a separation between church and government and preached freedom of conscience, he was forced to flee Massachusetts. In 1636, he founded Providence, Rhode Island, which became a haven for Protestant religious dissenters. Anne Hutchinson challenged the established Massachusetts Bay clergy on doctrine, an act all the more presumptuous coming from a woman. Banished from the colony, she sought refuge in Rhode Island (see the Anne Hutchinson and Religious Dissent Narrative).

Puritan society was torn in other ways as well. In the 1690s, a group of teenage girls accused members of the community of Salem (today Danvers, Massachusetts) of consorting with the Devil, beginning a period of mass hysteria known as the Salem witch trials, during which several residents were executed. The factors that led to the flurry of accusations were complex and may have included a belief in supernatural forces, England’s control over New England, and economic tensions that made the accusations believable. The hysteria ended only when town leaders themselves were charged with witchcraft and turned against the accusers, leading the newly appointed royal governor to declare the trials over (see The Salem Witch Trials Narrative).

Guidebooks for identifying witches were common in Europe and the colonies during the 1600s. This book, entitled Cases of Conscience concerning evil SPIRITS Personating Men, Witchcrafts, infallible Proofs of Guilt in such as are accused with that Crime. All Considered according to the Scriptures, History, Experience, and the Judgment of many Learned men, was written by Increase Mather, president of Harvard College and Puritan minister, in 1693.

Religion was a defining feature of other North American settlements as well. Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, was an English noble and a Roman Catholic. He received a charter from King Charles I of England allowing him to establish the Maryland proprietary colony and giving him and his family full control of it. Lord Baltimore founded Maryland on religious toleration and provided a safe haven for English Catholics. The first colonists arrived in 1634 and settled at St. Mary’s City. Despite the colony’s 1649 Toleration Act, however, religious tolerance was short-lived. In the 1650s, in the wake of the English Civil Wars, a Protestant council ruled the colony and persecuted Roman Catholics (see The Founding of Maryland Narrative).

The American colonies offered a variety of religious experiences, including religious freedom, religious toleration, and established churches.

William Penn received a grant of North American land from King Charles II and founded the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681 as a haven for Quakers like himself (see the William Penn and the Founding of Pennsylvania Narrative). Quakers were another Protestant group that frequently clashed with the Church of England; Penn had been imprisoned for a time in the Tower of London for his religious views. He saw his proprietorship of Pennsylvania as an opportunity to provide a refuge for Quakers and others persecuted for their beliefs: a “holy experiment” (see the Penn’s Letter Recruiting Colonists 1683 Primary Source). The colony practiced religious toleration welcoming those of other faiths. Penn pledged to maintain just relations with American Indians and purchased land from the Lenape nation.

Penn also intended for the colony to be prosperous, with a diverse population specializing in a wide array of occupations. By the mid-1700s, Philadelphia was one of North America’s most prosperous and rapidly growing trading ports.

As colonies prospered and their populations grew, younger generations became increasingly secular, leading to tensions with traditional established churches. Between the 1730s and 1740s, a wave of religious revivalism known as the Great Awakening swept over the colonies and Europe (see The Great Awakening Narrative). Church services during this revival were characterized by passionate evangelicalism meant to evoke an emotional religious conversion. The Great Awakening was opposed to the rationalism of the Enlightenment and questioned traditional religious authority. Historians continue to debate the legacy of this period of religious and cultural upheaval (see the What Was the Great Awakening? Point-Counterpoint).

The British Take Control

In the late 1600s and early 1700s, the British consolidated their control over the eastern seaboard of North America. During the period 1675 to 1676 New England fought against the Wampanoag and their allies in what was called King Philip’s War. The conflict resulted in staggeringly high casualties on both sides and the physical expansion of colonies in New England. It helped convince the English government to revoke the Massachusetts charter and establish greater control over the colony (see the King Philip’s War Decision Point and the Maps Showing the Evolution of Settlement 1624–1755 Primary Source).

Some conflicts arose between the colonists and royal colonial administrations when officials prevented settlers from expanding into American Indians’ lands or failed to protect the settlers when they did. In 1676, western colonists were alarmed by a series of attacks by American Indians, and even more by the perception that Governor William Berkeley’s government in Jamestown was doing little to protect them. Nathaniel Bacon demanded a military commission to campaign against the Indians, but Berkeley refused. The refusal prompted Bacon and his followers—including small planters indentured servants and even slaves—to take up arms in defiance of the governor. Ultimately, the rebellion collapsed, and the English crown sent troops to Virginia to reestablish order. White farmers on smaller farms won tax relief and an expanded suffrage. With better economic conditions in England, fewer people migrated as indentured servants increasing the demand for enslaved people (see the Bacon’s Rebellion Narrative and the Bacon vs. Berkeley on Bacon’s Rebellion 1676 Primary Source).

European nations sought to control the flow of goods and materials between them and their colonies in a system called mercantilism. Mercantilism held that the amount of wealth in the world was fixed and best measured in gold and silver bullion. To gain power, nations had to amass wealth by mining these precious raw materials or maintaining a “favorable” balance of trade. Mercantilist countries established colonies as a source of raw materials and trade to enrich the mother country and as a consumer of manufactures from the mother country. The mercantilist countries established monopolies over that trade and regulated their colonies. For example, the British and colonial trade in raw materials and manufactured goods was expected to travel through British ports on British ships. The result was a closely held and extremely profitable trading network that fueled the British Empire. Parliament passed a series of laws called the Navigation Acts in the middle of the seventeenth century to prevent other nations from benefiting from English imperial trade with its North American colonies.

In the mid-1600s, the English went to war with the competing Dutch Empire for control in North America. The English seized New Amsterdam in 1664 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. King Charles II gave it to his brother, the Duke of York, as a proprietorship, and the colony was renamed New York in the Duke’s honor, thus eliminating the Dutch toehold in North America. By the 1700s, therefore, there were only two major European powers in North America: Britain and France.

During the early eighteenth century, the French extended their influence from modern-day Canada down the St. Lawrence River Valley through the Great Lakes and into the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. By 1750, French influence extended all the way down the Mississippi to Louisiana. Tensions were high as rivalry between France and Great Britain played out against the backdrop of the North American frontier (see the Albany Plan of Union Narrative).

European settlements in 1750 before the French and Indian War. (credit: “Map of North America in 1750” by Bill of Rights Institute/Flickr CC BY 4.0)

War with France

By 1750, both Britain and France claimed the Ohio River Valley. In 1753, the French began building a series of forts there on land claimed by British land companies such as the Ohio Company and the Loyal Company. Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie, an investor in the Ohio Company sent a young Virginia militia major named George Washington to the Ohio country to warn the French to leave. They refused.

By the spring of 1754, the French were building another fort at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers (the site of modern-day Pittsburgh). Governor Dinwiddie sent Major Washington back with a contingent of troops. This time, Washington attacked the French and their Indian allies, then moved his force to Fort Necessity. Surrounded there by French, Shawnee, and Delaware fighters, he surrendered after a brief battle on July 4, 1754. This incident sparked the Seven Years’ War—or the “French and Indian War,” as it was known in America (see the Washington’s Journal: Expeditions to Disputed Ohio Territory 1753–1754 Primary Source).

The Seven Years’ War was mainly fought in Europe and North America, but engagements also occurred around the world (see the A Clash of Empires: The French and Indian War Narrative). In North America, American Indians continued their complex foreign policy, allying themselves in ways they hoped would allow them to dominate trade in their region. Many tribes sided with the French, but the Iroquois Confederacy and Catawba fought with the British. While British and colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock failed to capture Fort Duquesne, other forces moved northward and westward from New York to try to capture key French fortifications.

The campaign was a disaster for Britain. But in 1759, the British captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain and then defeated the French at Quebec and Fort Niagara. The following year, in Montreal, Governor Vaudreuil negotiated terms with British General Jeffery Amherst and surrendered. In 1763, France and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the French and Indian War and giving Britain control of all of North America east of the Mississippi River and of Canada. France was expelled from North America, and British colonists celebrated their victory. Never did these colonists feel more patriotic toward king and country. One reason was that they expected an opportunity to push farther westward as a result of their success in battle (see the Wolfe at Quebec and the Peace of 1763 Narrative).

These two maps show land holdings before (left) and after (right) the Seven Years’ War. What changes and continuities do you see in the balance of power on the North American continent?

The Path to Revolution

That same year, 1763, a coalition of Great Lakes, Illinois region, and Ohio region American Indians went to war against the British. The British emerged victorious, but the Indian nations demonstrated they would not easily submit. Led by an Ottawa man named Pontiac, American Indians warred with British soldiers and colonists across the frontier from Detroit to the Ohio River Valley.

The British believed they no longer had to court and negotiate with the American Indians. However, they wanted to end the costly conflicts between the colonists and American Indians. Thus, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763 and temporarily prohibited settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists protested. They believed they had the right to settle those lands. In the meantime, the British had incurred massive debts during the Seven Years’ War and wanted American colonists to pay a share in their protection. Parliament soon passed a series of restrictions and taxes on the colonies without their consent that eventually drove a wedge between them and the mother country.

By the mid-eighteenth century, Great Britain had defeated its rivals and emerged as the dominant force in North America. The cost of this dominance however would prove precarious for the relationship between Great Britain and its thirteen mainland colonies.

Additional Chapter Resources

• Mercantilism Lesson
• Colonial Comparison: The Rights of Englishmen Lesson
• Benjamin Franklin Mini DBQ Lesson
• Civics Connection: The Colonial Origins of American Republicanism Lesson
• Benjamin Franklin and the American Enlightenment Narrative
• Colonial Identity: English or American? Point-Counterpoint

Review Questions

1. Which of the following was not a reason that colonization became a major focus of European exploration in the Americas during the period from 1607 to 1763?

• Wars of religion in Europe caused many to look for an escape from religious persecution.
• Profits from cash crops such as tobacco provided economic incentives to establish colonies in the New World.
• Colonial possessions strengthened the prestige of European nations at home.
• Cooperative native populations invited colonization to increase trade.

2. Why did Spain value its interests in the Caribbean Mexico and Peru more than it valued colonies along the Atlantic seaboard in North America during the period from 1607 to 1763?

• The English had established colonies in North America long before the Spanish made any serious attempts to explore the northern continent.
• French settlers successfully fended off Spanish attacks on Fort Caroline in Florida.
• Resistance by native populations in North America tended to be more organized and successful than in South America.
• Spain focused its efforts on the possessions that were most likely to directly enrich the empire with gold and silver.

3. During the sixteenth century all the following provided an incentive for continued European exploration and colonization of the New World except

• the Protestant Reformation
• the rise of centralized governments in nation-states
• an appreciation of the cultural accomplishments of American and African societies
• competition for global commerce and trade

4. England’s Queen Elizabeth I created military and political tension with Spain when she

• refused to recognize Spanish claims to all North American territory
• established English colonies in Mexico and South America
• supported the Catholic Church over the oppositions of the Protestant reformers
• sanctioned privateers such as Walter Raleigh to attack English ships on behalf of Spain

5. The establishment of colonies in Jamestown by the English in Quebec by the French and in Albany by the Dutch is best explained by which of the following statements?

• Many European nations acquiesced to Spanish dominance in North America.
• American Indian populations in North America were successful in driving off Spanish conquistadors.
• Spain’s focus on the Caribbean Mexico and South America opened the door for other nations to establish footholds in North America.
• Cooperative efforts by European monarchs led to the successful colonization of North America.

6. The French successfully established territorial claims in

• present-day Florida
• the St. Lawrence River Valley
• the Hudson River Valley
• the Chesapeake Bay area

7. The formation of the House of Burgesses in Virginia indicates the English

• were focused on Christian missionary work sponsored by the crown
• wanted cooperation between their settlers and American Indians on a diplomatic level
• established a representative government in their North American colonies
• followed an economic policy focused on agriculture especially cotton

8. All the following were accomplishments of English settlements in Virginia by the early 1600s except

• the discovery of gold and other precious metals in North America
• election of the first representative government in the Americas
• existence of private property rights
• development and growth of a tobacco industry

9. The most significant American Indian group in New England that came into conflict with English settlers in Massachusetts in the 1630s was

• the Narragansett
• the Powhatan
• the Mohegan

10. Which of the following best describes the outcome and consequence of the Pequot War of 1636-1639?

• The Pequot successfully rallied neighboring American Indian peoples to join their resistance to English settlers.
• After a long struggle, the Spanish defeated the Pequot and solidified their claims to territory in present-day Mexico.
• The Pequot were defeated by the combined forces of the English the Narragansett and the Mohegan.
• The Pequot were successful in gaining concessions from the English settlers in return for support against the Narragansett people.

11. All the following were factors that led to the eventual end of American Indian resistance to European explorers and colonists in North America except

• the relatively few Europeans who came to the Americas
• divisions and competition among different groups of Native Americans
• the technological superiority of European weapons
• the American Indians’ lack of immunity to European diseases such as smallpox

12. Which best describes the impact European diseases had on Native American populations?

• Native American people were able to develop immunities to these diseases after exposure.
• Native Americans and Europeans suffered from an exchange of diseases they were not used to.
• Native populations were decimated throughout the Americas.
• Europeans were able to develop treatment for these diseases thanks to assistance from Native American populations.

13. What was the Middle Passage?

• The long-sought waterway through North America that would provide access to Asia
• The second leg of the profitable triangular trade route that transported humans from West Africa to the Americas to be sold as slaves
• The exchange of goods and services between the Americas and Europe
• The trade routes established by the French that connected Quebec to the Mississippi River

14. Which of the following statements regarding the African slave trade is most accurate?

• Most African slaves were sold to plantation owners in British North America.
• Brazil and the West Indies were the most common destinations for African slaves.
• Because of high mortality rates, the profits to merchants and ship owners from the slave trade were relatively low.
• The French imported slaves into their territories via the Mississippi River Valley.

15. What was the purpose of slave codes in the North American colonies?

• To provide a list of rights and protections for slaves
• To set laws defining the legal status of enslaved individuals
• To establish agreement between European powers on the logistics of the slave trade
• To develop better living conditions during the Middle Passage

16. Which of the following statements best reflects the reasons for slavery in North America?

• Labor-intensive crop production required cheap labor.
• A surplus of European laborers depressed salaries.
• The absence of economic opportunities limited Europeans’ motivation to settle in North America.
• Warfare between colonial rivals meant most colonists served as soldiers rather than as laborers.

17. Pilgrims were referred to as “separatists” because

• they had been forcibly removed to North America in retaliation for their political beliefs
• they sought to establish an independent nation separate from England
• they thought the Church of England could not be reformed and they needed to separate themselves from it
• they successfully petitioned for the creation of Rhode Island as a separate colony

18. Roger Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island after he was forced to flee Massachusetts because of his

• support of the Church of England
• status as a royally appointed governor of the colony
• treatment of neighboring American Indians
• disagreement with the established religious authorities

19. How did the establishment of Maryland contrast with that of the New England colonies?

• Maryland was initially founded by Dutch settlers.
• Maryland was less tolerant of religious differences than the New England colonies.
• Maryland was founded as a safe haven for persecuted Catholics.
• Maryland prohibited slavery.

Free Response Questions

• Explain the different types of labor systems that emerged in the settlement of New England and Virginia.
• Explain the motivations for English immigration to New England and to the Chesapeake regions in North America.
• Compare the motivations of England and France in their settlement in North America.

AP Practice Questions

“There goes many a ship to sea with many hundred souls in one ship whose weal and woe is common and is a true picture of a commonwealth or a human combination or society. It hath fallen out sometimes that both papists [Catholics] and protestants Jews and Turks [Muslims] may be embarked in one ship; upon which supposal I affirm . . . these two hinges that none of the papists, protestants, Jews, or Turks be forced to come to the ship’s prayers of worship nor compelled from their own particular prayers or worship if they practice any. I further add that I never denied that notwithstanding this liberty the commander of this ship ought to command the ship’s course yea and also command that justice peace and sobriety be kept and practiced both among the seamen and all the passengers . . . if any refuse to obey the common laws and orders of the ship . . . the commander or commanders may judge resist compel and punish such transgressors according to their deserts and merits.” Roger Williams Letter to the Town of Providence 1655

1. According to the excerpt from Roger Williams his Letter to Providence challenges what prevailing norm?

• Religious freedom
• Separation of church and state
• Religious orthodoxy
• Slave labor

2. Which of the following statements would a historian use to support the argument presented by Roger Williams in the excerpt provided?

• People have no obligation to follow law.
• Religious diversity is dangerous to a stable society.
• All government actions enforcing laws are illegitimate.
• People should be able to practice the religion of their choice.

“Wee must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekeness gentlenes patience and liberality. Wee must delight in eache other; make other’s conditions our oune; rejoice together mourne together labour and suffer together allwayes haueving before our eyes our commission and community in the worke as members of the same body. Soe shall wee keepe the unitie of the spirit in the bond of peace . The Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us as his oune people and will command a blessing upon us in all our wayes. Soe that wee shall see much more of his wisdome power goodness and truthe than formerly wee haue been acquainted with. Wee shall finde that the God of Israell is among us when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when hee shall make us a prayse and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations the Lord make it likely that of New England . For wee must consider that wee shall be as a citty upon a hill. The eies of all people are uppon us.”

John Winthrop A Modell of Christian Charity 1630

3. This excerpt from John Winthrop’s sermon given while en route to the Massachusetts Bay Colony might be used by a historian to support the development of which of the following ideas in U.S. history?

• Limited government
• American exceptionalism

4. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the excerpt provided?

• We must serve as an example to others.
• We will triumph over our enemies
• Others will praise us for our piety.
• We must endure persecution for our beliefs.

Primary Sources

The First Charter of Virginia: https://lonang.com/library/organic/1606-fcv/

Suggested Resources

Anderson Fred. The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War . New York: Penguin 2006.

Baker Emerson W. A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience . Oxford: Oxford University Press 2016.

Berkin Carol. First Generations: Women in Colonial America . New York: Hill and Wang 1997.

Berlin Ira. Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2000.

Calloway Colin. New Worlds for All: Indians Europeans and the Remaking of Early America . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 2013.

Calloway Colin. The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2007.

Horn James. 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy . New York: Basic Books 2018.

Kidd Thomas S. American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths . New Haven: Yale University Press 2016.

Morgan Edmund S. American Slavery American Freedom . New York: W.W. Norton 2003.

Philbrick Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage Community and War . New York: Penguin 2007.

Taylor Alan. American Colonies: The Settling of North America . New York: Penguin 2001.

Taylor Alan. Colonial America: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2012.

Williams Tony. The Pox and the Covenant: Mather Franklin and the Epidemic That Changed America’s Destiny. Naperville IL: Sourcebooks 2010.

Related Content

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

In our resource history is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment.

Calendar of Events

Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence

National archives museum online.

In his account of the origins of American unity, John Adams described July 1776 as the moment when 13 clocks managed to strike at the same time. So how did these American colonies overcome long odds to create a durable union capable of declaring independence from Britain? In this history of the 15 months that culminated in the Declaration of Independence, author Robert G. Parkinson provides a troubling answer: racial fear. Tracing the circulation of information in the colonial news systems, Parkinson reveals how the system’s participants constructed a drama featuring virtuous men suddenly threatened by ruthless Indians and defiant slaves acting on behalf of the king. Parkinson argues that patriot leaders used racial prejudices to persuade Americans to declare independence. Between the Revolutionary War’s start at Lexington and the Declaration, they broadcast any news they could find about Native Americans, enslaved Blacks, and Hessian mercenaries working with their British enemies.

July 4th at the National Archives is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of John Hancock, AARP, and Dykema.

All events listed in the calendar are free unless noted.

Department of History

"Our Common Father": The Image of George III in Colonial America

By Juan José López Haddad '22 Advised by Professor Michael A. Blaakman

I. Introduction: A Nation in Need of a King

In 1785, John Adams arrived in England to serve as the first minister plenipotentiary from the United States to Great Britain. On the first day of June, his coach delivered him to St. James’s Palace. The antiquated Tudor brick structure was deemed outdated at the time, as the king found it small, cramped, and uncomfortable. 1 Nevertheless, it remained the ceremonial center of a monarchy that was frugal in relation to the great powers of continental Europe. After being led through an enfilade of increasingly restricted state rooms, Adams finally found himself in the presence chamber, the inner sanctum of this modest temple of empire. Before him stood King George III.

After performing the customary three reverences, Adams presented his ambassadorial credentials and addressed the monarch, declaring: “I think myself more fortunate, than all my fellow Citizens, in having the distinguish’d Honour, to be the first to Stand in your Majestys Royal Presence, in a diplomatic Character.” With an affected and tremulous voice, the British king replied, recognizing the “extraordinary” circumstances of their audience. He made clear that while he was “the last to consent to the Separation” he would be “the first to meet the Friendship of the United States as an independent Power. 2

The account of this remarkable encounter between two former adversaries is still fresh in the minds of many today, in part due to its dramatization in the eponymous HBO miniseries John Adams . Astonishingly for a piece of popular historical fiction, the scene depicting this encounter adheres almost entirely to the script laid out in Adams’ correspondence. There is only one exception: as Adams (played by Paul Giamatti) exited the scene, King George III said the following closing words: “I pray, Mr. Adams, that the United States does not suffer unduly from its want of a monarchy.” 3 While this line was the fictional work of a screenwriter—possibly intending to inject dramatic flair into what could be seen as a stale diplomatic reception—the sentiment behind the king’s final declaration was so faithful to the times that it might as well have been spoken by George III himself.

During the struggle for independence, the thirteen American Colonies had rejected the sovereignty of the British monarch. However, they had not done so out of disdain for the institution of kingship or the character of George III. In truth, before formally declaring independence in 1776, the thirteen colonies were deeply monarchical societies, where the king was celebrated as an integral part of their government and identity. 4 The colonies’ break with their royalist sensibilities came to be only a few months before the Declaration of Independence was issued. 5 Their newfound “want”—or lack—of a monarchy profoundly affected a society that had previously depended so strongly on the figure of the King.

George III was the monarch that presided over the period that would result in the colonies’ separation and reconstitution into the United States. The text of the Declaration of Independence has immortalized him in popular history as a tyrant, seemingly despised by the always proto-republican colonists. This portrayal influenced historians’ perspectives for centuries, resulting in a much-maligned version of a king who was universally scorned among his colonial American subjects. 6 However, the truth of the matter was quite different. From his accession to the throne in 1760 to the very last moments before independence was formally declared in 1776, King George III commanded the love and veneration of many of the American colonists. His popularity west of the Atlantic was in fact even greater than in his homeland, where apathy toward the monarch had become the norm since the entrenchment of parliamentary sovereignty after the Glorious Revolution. 7

While historians have investigated colonial attitudes toward British monarchy, no work has yet closely explored how George III was conceived by the imagination of imperial America. This shall be the goal of the present study. By examining the rich tradition of popular printed media in the American colonies, as well as the epistolary record of some of its most prominent figures, this paper will reveal a colonial landscape that was captivated by the figure of George III. Provincials revered George III not only as a king but also as an individual, paying great interest to the personal qualities that earned him both love and hate in his native Great Britain. Furthermore, this paper will show that as the imperial crisis worsened, loyalty for George III did not wane, but rather increased substantially. Displays of love and admiration—both official and communal—soared among the colonists as they fought the levies and measures that started with the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, and proceeded into the 1770s until independence. While this increase in demonstrations of loyalty could have been a façade to justify their rebellion, the colonists’ constant deference to the king’s name and their repeated appeals to his character, both in public and private, suggest a genuine attachment to their monarch. By the mid 1770s, the provincials’ trust and respect for parliamentary authority had all but vanished, and these “reluctant revolutionaries” clung to their loyalty to George III as a last link to their trans-Atlantic motherland—a bond they were unwilling to sever. 8 This paper will aim to contribute to the better understanding of politics and society during colonial America, showing a land that was not proto-revolutionary, but rather a bastion of monarchical loyalism—an atmosphere that prevailed until independence became imminent. While not being an apology for George III, this study seeks to contribute to the recent wave of scholarship directed at correcting the historiography surrounding the last king of America—a figure much derided by whig historians and national mythologies from both sides of the Atlantic. As a conclusion, this study will discuss how the colonists’ attachment to George III and their abrupt rejection of his authority shaped their conception of the United States’ newly formed republican government.

Royal America

While the study of attitudes toward royalty in colonial America is a relatively nascent effort, the most comprehensive work on the subject has been carried out by Brendan McConville. In The King’s Three Faces , McConville chronicles the emergence and ultimate downfall of a staunchly Protestant and almost regressive vision of monarchy in the colonies. Many of the early English settlements in North America started as havens for radical Protestants seeking to flee a Church of England corrupted by Catholic influences. However, McConville argues that the Glorious Revolution of 1688 proved a turning point away from an attitude of distrust toward the king and his Church. By expelling the openly Catholic James II—brother of the tyrannical Charles II who had converted to Catholicism on his deathbed—“William and Mary… had saved Englishmen everywhere from ‘Popery, Slavery and Arbitrary Power.’” 9 The Glorious Revolution’s establishment of firmly Protestant rulers made the highly reformist colonists in America more willing to develop stronger ties with their mother country. This was also in the interest of Great Britain, which sought to increase its administrative control over the colonies in a conscious effort toward statebuilding—an area in which the previous Stuart monarchs had failed. Furthermore, while the colonies opened their doors to royal authority and imperial culture, they were oblivious to the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy, which had taken hold in Britain after 1688. In many ways, colonists clung to a regressive idea of the king as the source of sovereignty. As McConville remarks, “It was not that a royalized core controlled a latently republicanized or democratic fringe, but rather that the imperial fringe’s enthusiasm for Protestant monarchy contrasted sharply with the metropolitan center’s apathy toward the monarch.” 10

To reap the benefits of a strong Protestant settlement brought about by the Glorious Revolution, the first families of Virginia, the Anglo-Dutch of the mid-Atlantic, and the Puritan elites of New England were forced to share their domains with imperial administrators they did not entirely trust. 11 It was especially challenging for New Englanders and their puritanism. For those that had settled in the colonies in hopes of founding a “new Jerusalem” modeled in thoroughly reformed theology, government and religion were inseparable aspects of life. With this new arrangement of religious diversity, the king was their political head, but only a religious authority to those who practiced Anglicanism. This disjunction in the king’s leadership forced those colonists to rethink their relationship with the Crown. It moved from being a “covenant” of divine transcendence to being a “contract” based mainly on protection, though not entirely devoid of religion. 12 Thus, imperial institutions imported the political theology of the king’s two bodies—the body natural, finite and corporeal, and the body politic, legal and infinite— to aid in bridging this religious gap. 13

Nevertheless, the religious dimension of royal rule in the colonies always remained important, even more so when the Protestant Stuart line died out with Queen Anne. The throne then passed to the distantly related house of Hanover, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire in present-day Germany. The crown landed on the head of George I, great-grandfather to George III, after skipping over more than 50 Catholic relatives who were disinherited by the Act of Settlement of 1701. 14 George I and subsequent Hanoverian monarchs found themselves in an uncomfortable position in terms of legitimacy. Their claim to the throne relied almost exclusively on their Protestantism, so they leaned into it increasingly. As McConville writes, “provincial pulpits, a primary source of information and means of communication, celebrated these Protestant kings.” However, due to the lack of religious uniformity in the colonies, relying on church institutions was not enough. To create civic and emotional attachment to the monarchy, imperial officials instituted holidays that celebrated the monarch and the empire.

Initially, William and Mary had decreed three annual holidays: the monarch’s birthday, coronation day, and Pope’s day—now known as Guy Fawkes day. But by 1740, during the reign of George II, “public spectacles celebrating the monarch and the empire, involving local elites and military display, occurred at least six times a year in major population centers, while modest activities occurred on twenty other days.” These rituals, despite being more civic in nature, still emphasized Protestant virtue, as exemplified by one of the most widely celebrated of these holidays: Pope’s day. This festivity occurred every fifth of November, where the people commemorated the failure of the “Popish Plot” to blow up parliament and the king was commemorated by the manufacture, parade, and burning of an effigy of the Roman pontiff. This celebration also frequently possessed strong political elements, as effigies of the Catholic Stuart pretenders and other enemies of the king were often burned in accompaniment. This annual, state-sponsored, and widely popular display of anti-Catholic and anti-Stuart zeal reaffirmed Protestantism as the one true faith of the colonies, and the house of Hanover as the one true royal dynasty. While some still objected to these celebrations as being unchristian—such as the Puritan Samuel Sewall—these dissenters conformed eventually. Sewall even came to celebrate many of these festivals, noting so in his diary. The institution of these “red letter days,” as these holidays were called, was effective in creating a nation of ardent monarchists. Such was the case that “by 1740, colonials saw the king as a caring figure who expressed his affections to them in royal proclamations, in political rites, and in his behavior as reported by the colonial newspapers.” This emotional attachment became the key tie between provincials and the Crown. 15

II. New Beginnings: The Promise of a Patriotic King (1760-1764)

Accession and coronation.

But who is HE, whose youthful Form proclaims The Majesty of Empire? Wisdom guides, And Valour guards his reign, the favour’d Muse Shall eternize his Fame in grateful Lays. Hark! the fell genius of ensanguin’d War, Fast bound in brazen chains, reluctant raves. Returning Peace shall glad the widow’s land, Exulting Commerce fill her copious horn, Fair Science flourish ‘mid her learned groves. Religion’s hallowed fires shall beam around, and kindred Virtue catch the heavenly flame.

But oh! what wonders destiny unfolds! Visions of Glory! spare my aking Eyes! Too bright for mortal view, a while recide!

Hail! Princely Youth! may guardian powers defend Thee, Britain’s safety; and to distant times Transmit the honours of thy lengthen’d sway.

-Signed Æ* C** (Anonymous). Boston News-Letter , January 1, 1761. 16

News of the death of George II on October 25, 1760, reached the colonies in late December and early January of the following year, after the usual two months’ journey across the Atlantic. The first to hear of the king’s demise were the colonists of Massachusetts Bay, which possessed the highest number of print shops and newspapers in British North America. 17 As the town heralds proclaimed the death of the late monarch and the accession of his grandson, George III, printers rushed to disseminate the news. 18 Their papers constituted one of the most important sources of news for most colonists, and limited only by their weekly schedule and the speed of a horse, they carried the news from one colony to another. 19

Apart from news, newspapers also featured literary compositions, such as poetry, a genre that abounded in print as momentous occasions were marked. The example above was penned by a “Gentleman” from Boston, who most likely paid the Boston News-Letter to insert it in their issue bearing the news of the accession. 20 In this lyrical piece, the grief caused by the death of the late king is dissipated by the glorious, young figure of George III. The dawn of his reign is portrayed as the beginning of a new age, where the majesty of the empire is preserved by the young king’s wisdom and valor. In George III’s realm, peace triumphs over war, commerce fosters economic prosperity, science flourishes, and most importantly, religion and Protestant virtue illuminate the path forward. The publication of this poem was not an isolated phenomenon, however. Multiple odes to the new king were similarly submitted to other colonial papers, such as the ones penned by “an ingenious young Gentleman” in New York, and by two other authors in New Hampshire. 21 The laudatory language of these poems, coupled with the fact that their authors had to pay to get them published, bears testament to a new king that was sincerely esteemed by members of colonial society. The prophetic language employed by the Gentleman of Boston—and its specific predictions of peace, prosperity, scientific advancement, and religious revival—signal a great anticipation for the reign of a young monarch who would somehow stand out from his predecessors. George III was indeed different, and his subjects across the Atlantic were just as aware of this fact as those in Britain.

As Linda Colley notes, George III differed from his homonymic predecessors “because he had grown up in a much safer and grander political world than his forebears, exposed to new circumstances and new ideas.” 22 The young man who would become America’s last king was raised without having to worry too much about the issues of legitimacy that had largely occupied the mind of his two predecessors. Therefore, and with the help of his father, Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-1751), he realized what was wrong with the model of monarchy that was current in his realm. With the entrenchment of parliamentary supremacy, politicians had made the monarchy in Britain subservient to their will, and its prestige had severely diminished—both because of its willingness to engage in political bickering and due to the tight hold exerted by Parliament on the royal purse.

As a result, George III consciously endeavored to be different from his forebears in these and various aspects. He refused to become a tool of the Whigs, and instead picked his friends and allies from all political factions. 23 He also renegotiated royal finances with Parliament, which granted him a steady income in exchange for the revenues of the Crown lands. 24 Furthermore, he placed high value on personal and religious virtue, being notably faithful to his wife—unlike his womanizing predecessors—and displaying a high degree of frugality and Protestant piety. The young king also took a keen interest in literature, history, science, and agriculture, the latter of these which would eventually earn him the nickname “Farmer George” later in life. 25 But most importantly, George III had been born and raised in England, with English as his mother tongue. This was contrasted to the Georgian kings that had come before him. Both were German princes born in Hanover, with thick German accents, and who never quite managed to be perceived as anything other than outsiders. George III willfully capitalized on this very important trait; in his first speech to parliament, he declared, “born and educated in this country I glory in the name of Britain.” 26 George III firmly cemented his character on being a true patriot king. Despite being oceans away, the American colonies were aware of the young king’s reputation. Mired in war with the French and their Native American allies, and suffering from the economic and social consequences of this conflict, the colonies were anxious for a change.

Almost one year after his accession, in September 1761, the coronation of George III was celebrated. Notwithstanding the fact that it was a distant event, the colonists anticipated and closely followed the event. Some prominent provincial citizens even journeyed to attend it. Colonial newspapers gave extensive coverage to the solemnity, beginning with notices such as the one published by the New-York Gazette the day before the coronation: “To-Morrow his present Majesty George III is to be crown’d King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, in the City of London, as by his Declaration made on the 8th July.” 27 When accounts of the actual event arrived months later, the papers described it in thorough detail. Newspapers such as the Boston Evening-Post devoted the entire first page of four successive issues to almost verbatim retellings of the ceremony. 28 These written renditions of the coronation included processional orders, the text from the breviary, and excerpts from sermons preached at the event. These descriptions were made in a language deeply reverential to the king, exalting the glory of his person and the grandeur of the service. Through these stories, even the most distant colonist in rural Massachusetts could feel close to the grandeur empire and its center, the king.

However, these extensive renditions were not enough for the colonists. To supplement this demand for royal news, reports of the king’s first opening of Parliament were also printed by both the Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser and the Boston News-Letter . 29 Advertisements for the sale of prints of “A Sermon preached at the Coronation of King GEORGE III… By Robert Lord Bishop of Salisbury” were also run by the Boston Post-Boy and the Evening-Post for an entire month. 30 This best-selling sermon exalted the king and the institution of monarchy as it spoke of the “[divine] Providence, by which all Kings reign, and all Princes decree justice .” It also focused on the divine origins of kingship, highlighting the famous phrase from the book of Romans: “the powers that be, are ordained of God .” Curiously enough, at the end of the sermon, the printed version sold in America contained a small postscript. Among other things, it assured that despite being supreme governor of the Church of England, the king “in no respect interferes with the spiritual concerns of the Church,” and that “at his coronation, [the king] entered into a solemn compact with his people for the maintenance of the Protestant reformed religion.” 31 This disclaimer seems to have been aimed at appeasing the religious sensibilities of the colonists, who often feared the loss of their Protestant way of life. Nevertheless, the popularity of this print, suggested by its persistence, reveals a society that embraced George III's divine right to rule.

However, not all colonists had to experience the events of the coronation vicariously through the pages of newspapers. Distinguished individuals such as Benjamin Franklin and his son, William, made a conscious effort to witness the great solemnity in person. While in Utrecht, on September 14, 1761 the future founding father wrote to his wife, Deborah, saying: “We are now on our Return to London, where we hope to be next Saturday or Sunday, that we may not miss the Coronation.” 32 After witnessing the event, in October of the same year, William Franklin wrote to his sister, Sarah, an extensive account of the coronation. While most of the letter has regrettably been lost, the beginning of his narration shows remarkable enthusiasm, as he eagerly related not using his old ticket, having been given a better one which enabled him “to see the whole Ceremony in the Hall, and to walk in the Procession quite into the Abbey.” 33

The excitement conveyed in these letters might surprise those who are accustomed to the image of Franklin, the revolutionary. In truth, it should not. Apart from being a keen traveler, Benjamin Franklin was an ardent and loyal monarchist for much of his life. Furthermore, he admired George III deeply, as evidenced in many of his writings from the king’s early reign. In June 27, 1763, writing from New York, Franklin told his English friend John Whitehurst of his disappointment with those in England who opposed the Treaty of Paris of 1763, which ended the Seven Years’ War. In recounting his happiness that the war had ended, Franklin praised the king: “The Glory of Britain was never higher than at present, and I think you never had a better Prince.” Nevertheless, being aware of the low levels of popularity enjoyed by the king in Britain, which contrasted his esteem in America, Franklin added: “Why then is he not universally rever’d and belov’d? I can give but one Answer. The King of the Universe, good as he is, is not cordially belov’d and faithfully serv’d by all his Subjects.” 34 By comparing George III to God, and his unpopularity to the faithlessness of some people, Franklin not only elevated the image of the king to a quasi-divine status, but he also completely absolved the king of any fault for what his subjects thought of him. Much like his fellow countrymen, Franklin was more than willing to talk of his king using strikingly beatific language. Franklin genuinely loved and admired his king, not only for his high office, but also because of his personal qualities.

The king’s personality could be a divisive issue, but colonists tended to be fond of it. In December of 1763, the ever-well-connected Franklin received a letter from another of his friends from London, the printer and politician William Strahan (1715-1785). In his letter, dated August of the same year, Strahan informed Franklin of the king’s persistent unpopularity in London, and called him a man “not possessed of any striking Talents, or any great Degree of Sagacity.” Furthermore, Strahan complained of the king’s interest in science and architecture, which he called “trifling Amusements.” He attributed these to the king’s education by Lord Bute (1713-1792), the prime minister at the time, whom he termed “a Man who is himself ignorant of the World.” 35 In his reply, Franklin disagreed. He first praised the king’s scientific and artistic interests. Then, to address Strahan’s worry that Lord Bute’s ministry would stain the king’s reign, Franklin declared:

On the contrary, I am of Opinion, that his Virtue and the Consciousness of his sincere Intentions to make his People happy, will give him Firmness and Steadiness in his Measures, and in the Support of the honest Friends he has chosen to serve him; and when that Firmness is fully perceiv’d, Faction will dissolve and be dissipated like a Morning Fog before the rising Sun, reaving the rest of the Day clear, with a Sky serene and cloudless. Such, after a few of the first Years, will be the future Course of his Majesty’s Reign, which I predict will be happy and truly glorious. 36

Indeed, Franklin’s highly metaphorical and extolling language—as well as the private nature of this correspondence—attest to a man who truly held deep monarchist convictions, and who regarded George III with particular fondness and esteem. Though maybe still influenced by the joy caused by the end of the Seven Years’ War, at this point Benjamin Franklin’s admiration of George III’s public and private virtues was wholly genuine. Perhaps Franklin’s affection was also augmented by his own affinity for science and tinkering, which the king also enjoyed.

However, interest and admiration for the king’s personal virtues and pursuits was not restricted to well-traveled people like Dr. Franklin. Colonial society in general enjoyed reading accounts of the king’s habits. Shortly after his accession, many newspapers such as the Boston Gazette and the New-York Gazette published an article from London detailing the king’s daily routine and his many virtues. The article began by confidently stating that “very few princes in the world have ever so many virtues, or much wisdom as his present majesty king George the third.” It proceeded to recount a day in the monarch’s life, stating that he “riseth at five o’clock every morning” and takes care of most of his morning affairs—such as getting dressed—by himself. 37 This was in stark contrast to the decadent, highly ceremonial levées popularized by Louis XIV and widely practiced in the Catholic monarchies of the continent. 38 After he was done getting ready, the king would go to the chapel to offer morning prayers “in the most religious manner.” Following these devotions, the king received petitions, rode on horseback, and read “some religious or moral book.” When his ministers would come to him for advice, he would be “very ready to give directions and answers, knowing the constitution of all his dominions exceedingly well.” At the end of his day, the king had dinner, which he “eateth temperately.” The report also highlighted how the king was “remarkably respectful and loving to his mother… whom he visiteth every afternoon,” and how he also was “very affectionate and generous to his brothers and sisters… [and] all his household.” The article closed by documenting the king’s distaste for gambling, and his prowess as “a very good mathematician, and a most elegant architect.” 39

The emphasis on Protestant piety and virtue was sure to appeal to the religious attitudes of the colonists. Moreover, portrayal of the king’s constitutional knowledge could have provided provincials with reassurance that their rights and freedoms would be defended by the monarch. Furthermore, emphasis on George III’s temperance and relatively simple lifestyle was meant to contrast him both with his predecessors and other monarchs in Europe, exalting him as the ideal model of dignified, yet limited, British kingship. The article’s numerous reprints suggest a widespread interest, and belief, in the king’s character. Even if London was not charmed by the upright monarch’s habits, the colonists in America arguably esteemed the values espoused by the king’s lifestyle, which largely reflected their own.

George III’s influence upon the lives of the American colonists was not merely limited to fanciful anecdotes from a distant land. The figure of the young king was present in almost every aspect of civic life, and he even stood prominently in many of the provincials’ private lives. During every official procedure, his name was constantly invoked. The “red letter” royal holidays—the king’s birthday, his accession, and his coronation—were celebrated every year. These events tended to be massive, attracting large crowds who would witness the commemorative military maneuvers, and would then gather to feast and drink the king’s health. 40 Privately, the name of George III would be present in the personal prayers of each family, encouraged by a widespread genre of devotional books which contained prayers for the king. These existed across several Protestant denominations, such as German Baptists and Congregationalists, and were not limited to Anglicans. 41 This made the king a permanent fixture of the religious routines that regimented colonial life. The figure of the king would also be used for the education of boys and young men, who were taught to write bonds and debts referencing the present year in the reign of the king. 42 This real but largely ceremonial presence of the king in civic and private life—as attested by the large number of printed materials—formed a constant if not fundamental part of the identity of the 18th century American colonist. Regardless of one’s colony of origin or religion, all were united in their allegiance to the king, and the presence of George III in their lives was one of the few factors these diverse communities had in common.

The Face of The Nation

Royal iconography in the colonies is another useful window into the provincials’ interest for the figure of George III. In a way, the model of monarchy practiced by the British Empire relied on images to enshrine the sovereignty of the king at home and to project it in the faraway dominions. Images of the monarch augmented the power of his figure by giving him a sort of omnipresence throughout his empire. 43 At the same time, the availability of the ruler’s likeness might have given even the most distant populations a sense of closeness with their sovereign. By examining the material culture that surrounded pictorial representations of George III in America, one can appreciate a monarch that was venerated both officially and privately, with imagery highlighting qualities that distinguished him from his predecessors.

The craze for images of George III started at the very beginning of his reign. At that time, as it is presently, it was customary to mint commemorative medals for milestones in the monarch’s reign. The first medals to be produced marked his accession. These were struck by the Royal Mint and sold to serve as mementos, as well as to showcase the loyalty of the owner. Despite being produced in faraway London, the colonists did not miss out on a chance to own this token with the royal likeness. On June 22, 1761, an advertisement for “Sundry Medals of his present most Sacred Majesty GEORGE III” appeared in the Boston Gazette . Besides presenting “an exact Portrait of His Majesty,” the reverse of the medal displayed a remarkable motif. The back was adorned with “a Heart encircled with Oak and Laurel Branches” and “the Motto, Entirely British.” 44 By surrounding the king’s heart with oak and laurel—symbols of Britishness and victory—and by the very explicit motto, the king’s distinctive patriotic origins were exalted above all else. This medal was a commemoration of the accession, but also the celebration of a king with a heart true to the victorious people of Britain and the empire.

The significance of this medal’s presence in the colonies cannot be understated. Since it was produced by the Royal Mint, the dies used to strike the coin would not have been distributed as to prevent forgeries. Therefore, these medals had to be imported by sea, an arduous process that involved months of journeying, not to mention limited space that could be used for other, more desirable goods. These medals had to be worth shipping, and the savvy merchant that sold them probably anticipated their popularity. Notably, he relegated the rest of his merchandise to a brief footnote: “Also, sundry other Articles.” Curiously, the posting also described the medals as being “struck on a fine white Metal,” yet the versions that survive are made of silver and bronze. 45 If the “white metal” had been silver, the advertisement would surely have noted it. The absence of this medal in silver is understandable due to Britain’s prohibitions on exporting bullion to its colonies. 46 Production of these tokens in a third metal implies that the Royal Mint recognized a colonial market for these objects, and possibly struck them specifically for exportation. This exemplifies the colonists’ strong desire to obtain images of the new king and participate in celebrating his remarkably British provenance. The lack of surviving examples of this particular version might be due to the iconoclasm that ensued during the revolution.

The consumption of images of George III was not limited to numismatic artifacts. Pictorial depictions of the king were commonplace in colonial America. These could be painted or, more commonly, printed. Starting during the beginning of the young king’s reign, several advertisements selling pictures of George III ran in many newspapers. A posting in the Pennsylvania Gazette alerted readers of “A CURIOUS Collection of PRINTS,” emphasizing portraits of “His Majesty King GEORGE the Third.” 47 Another advertisement promoted “a few Pictures of his present Majesty King GEORGE the Third… painted by an eminent Hand, from original Pictures.” 48 A similar notice was also posted in the Providence Gazette . 49 Most of these mass-produced, commercially sold prints were imported from Britain. 50 This was typical of the colonists’ reliance on British manufactured goods—especially those that involved a complex production process, such as mezzotint prints. 51 However, demand seems to have been high enough to warrant some production of images in the colonies. An advertisement in the Boston Evening-Post pointed to images of the king “Engrav’d and Sold by Nath. Hurd.” 52 The abundance of notices of this sort signals the wide market that these images enjoyed.

The large size of the market for royal images is a strong indicator of the colonists’ personal attachment to the figure of the king, and not merely of a state-sanctioned distribution of iconography. At the time, foreign travelers noted that the provincials had a tendency to decorate their homes with portraits of family and friends. Printed images of the king were hung alongside depictions of dear relatives and companions, often occupying a place of honor. 53 This presence of the king’s image in the private life of many colonists, adorning the intimacy of their dwellings, attests to a personal admiration for the figure of the monarch. George III was especially popular in that regard. Another instance of the provincials’ private veneration of George III is found in the aforementioned portraits engraved in America. These were made “for Gentlemen and Ladies to put in their Watches.” 54 If the home was already an intimate place to keep an image of a faraway monarch one had never met, the inside of one’s watch was even more special. Only the wearer would have seen this picture, and they would have carried it in their person constantly, like a loved-one’s face in a locket. Furthermore, pictures of the king would often be sold alongside portraits of individuals admired not for a hereditary office, but for their deeds. Such was the case of several of the advertisements mentioned before, which also included likenesses of prime minister William Pitt and General Wolfe, both heroes of the Seven Years’ War. 55 Even when grouped together in this batch of notables, the king’s name was given precedence in the advertisements, and presumably his picture was as well. This places admiration for the king’s person on a level more profound than mere imperial convention. The fact that colonists willingly purchased and kept representations of George III in such a manner shows a sincere desire for closeness to their distant monarch, and genuine affection for him.

The image of George III also occupied a prominent place in public and civic life. Buildings that housed important colonial institutions, such as state houses, often displayed finely painted portraits of the king and queen, which were shipped from London. The arrival of these objects was frequently celebrated with demonstrations of joy. Such was the case when numerous New England newspapers, the Newport Mercury , the Boston News-Letter , and the Essex Gazette , among others, circulated a story detailing the governor of Rhode Island’s reception of full-length portraits of the king and queen. 56 These portraits were hung in institutional buildings for everyone to admire. Furthermore, the likeness of the king also featured in public places that were less solemn and more

quotidian, such as taverns and public houses. An advertisement in the Pennsylvania Journal informed the reader of a twenty-shilling reward for the return of Elizabeth Stewart, who had “Eloped from her husband… with one John Smith.” The notice instructed that the reward could be cashed by bringing both of the lovers to a tavern marked by a sign with King George III’s face. 57 Inns of this sort were important landmarks and served a major role in their communities. Apart from providing a place to drink communally, their innkeepers usually served as points of contact for their patrons, as suggested by the aforementioned advertisement. The king’s coat of arms, though more commonly used to represent his authority in places like courthouses, was also occasionally employed as a tavern sign.

The likeness of George III also featured in traveling exhibitions of curiosities. In four successive issues, the New-York Gazette advertised exhibits of wax figures of the king and queen. 58 Another posting by the New-York Journal also publicized another, different exposition of royal wax models. 59 As these advertisements show, the image of George III permeated public space, both in solemn and mundane locations. The use of his image by taverns and inns signals George III’s assimilation into the daily culture and identity of the colonists. The frequent exhibitions of his wax effigies show provincials’ desire to bridge the geographic distance separating them from the king, allowing them to “meet” him in a way. More broadly, the conspicuous presence of these images was the mark of a people that widely accepted George III as their sovereign, enjoyed seeing him frequently throughout their day, and wished to infuse even the most common elements of their lives with his royal appearance and prestige.

III. Renewed Zeal: George III and the Imperial Crisis (1764-1766)

The stamp act.

Unrest over British rule started in America during the mid 1760s with the imposition of levies on certain goods traded by the colonies. These taxes were highly unpopular beginning with the Sugar Act in 1764. 60 But it was the Stamp Act of 1765 which truly drew universal condemnation from the colonists, prompting major protests and revolts in an attempt to eliminate the act. 61 This tax affected printers and those at the top of colonial society especially, as it required all printed materials to be produced on expensive stamped paper imported from Britain. This included items such as legal documents, magazines, playing cards, and newspapers. 62 As soon as information of its royal assent arrived from London, the papers started printing articles criticizing the act. This was highly significant, as newspaper printers tended to avoid political critiques in an era where sedition and libel laws could easily shut down a paper. 63 To mitigate this, printers adopted neutrality as the best business model, publishing pieces from all perspectives. Nevertheless, the Stamp Act was perceived as an offense so injurious that many of these papers abandoned any pretense of impartiality and strongly opposed the Stamp Act. 64 In spite of this, as defiance and criticism of the new taxes increased, popular affection toward George III soared. While the reputation of Parliament and prime minister Grenville sank, demonstrations of loyalty toward the king—both during imperial holidays and on the daily—experienced a dramatic rise. This was evidenced in newspaper reports across the colonies, as well as in the content of other popular printed media.

Increased displays of loyalty to the king start to be seen with the celebration of his birthday on June 4, 1765. The previous month, news had already arrived to the colonies of the Stamp Act’s assent into law. While by this point of the king’s reign it had become commonplace to report his birthday with just a few lines, in 1765 coverage was expanded, taking the form of large columns. Emphasis was given to descriptions of elaborate military exercises attended by governors and colonial dignitaries. Papers such as the Boston News-Letter also chronicled sumptuous dinner parties held after the conclusion of military ceremonies. In these “his Majesty’s and other loyal Healths, were drank.” 65 Reports like these abounded throughout the colonies. The Georgia Gazette spoke of similar celebrations culminating in “illuminations, bonfires, &c.,” Stories of this sort were also found in the New-York Mercury , the Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , among others. 66 This increase in celebration not only signals a desire to strongly project loyalty, but also shows a people that were depositing their trust and taking refuge in the image of George III during nascent times of crisis. Some of these demonstrations of allegiance were essentially acts of private devotion, as was the case of the “illuminations” reported in several towns. This practice involved placing expensive candles in all the windows of one’s home, often shining through transparencies depicting famous scenes in British history. 67 This is a clear demonstration of personal admiration, and a continuation of the trend of commemorating the king intimately at home.

Another manifestation of citizens’ personal expressions of loyalty toward George III could be found in the opinions published by colonial newspapers. Citizens would pay printers to publish their written opinions anonymously, hiding their identities by pseudonyms that alluded to notions of liberty. 68 While some pieces defended the Stamp Act, the majority of them strongly condemned it. However, all had a common feature: grand statements of allegiance to George III, often preceding the substance of their arguments and serving as closing words. Boston, the epicenter of unrest over the new taxes, was also the center of publication of these laudatory declarations. An article published by the Pennsylvania Gazette under the pseudonym Amicus Publico devoted almost half its length to a paragraph wishing the King long life and a wise council. 69 This particular piece seems to have gained notoriety, as it was reprinted by the Boston News-Letter . 70 Many more Boston papers published similar letters. An example printed by the Boston Evening-Post closed its argument by proclaiming “love, veneration and esteem for our rightful sovereign King GEORGE the Third.” It then lengthily described his protection of the rights of Englishmen, and his glorious ascendency. Some of these letters were so long that they took two consecutive issues to publish in full, as shown by another article in the Boston Evening-Post . This gigantic opinion piece ended by assuring that the king would “not be deaf to the voice of so great a body of his faithful subjects.” 71 While some of these could have been penned by the printers of each paper themselves—as Benjamin Franklin frequently did with his Pennsylvania Gazette —the bulk of these were submitted by the paying public. 72 The fact that these writers paid to publish these pieces, often occupying extensive space in several issues, attests to a society that revered the king and deposited their hopes for change in him. Virtually no paper at the time published remarks that were even subtly critical of the king. While ministers and Parliament were repeatedly scorned by these articles, the figure of George III occupied an inviolable, sacred space. While these declarations of loyalty could have served as a safeguard against retribution, it is unlikely that this was the primary motivation for their composition. Anonymity already went a long way in protecting these authors, a condition that printers maintained faithfully. 73 Moreover, if imperial authorities discovered the author of a damning piece of criticism, it was implausible that a few words of flattery would spare them punishment.

Declarations of loyalty also saw a marked increase in official and civic settings, starting with the resolutions that many colonial and town assemblies issued in protest of the Stamp Act. Similar to the opinion letters published in the papers, these assemblies produced documents that proclaimed loyalty to the king and rejection of the new taxes. Declarations of fidelity to George III occupied an entire article in these resolutions, which was often the first, and they were widely circulated by the newspapers. An example could be found in the pages of the New-York Mercury , where an account of an assembly of “the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the City and County of New-York” began by stating their “warmest Sentiments of Affection and Loyalty to his present Majesty King George III.” 74 This language and format was standard in these proclamations, with similar statements issued in Essex, New Jersey; Talbot Country, Maryland; Windham, Connecticut; among others. Resolutions like these were also issued by the colonial assemblies of Massachusetts and New York. 75 These writings, while showing a populace opposed to the British ministry at the time, expose a society eager to preserve their ties with their king.

Another avenue for the civic display of loyalty lay, paradoxically, in protests and civil disobedience. A group that arose to organize public dissent were the famous Sons of Liberty. This organization originated in Boston and was crucial in coordinating opposition to the Stamp Act across most of the colonies. Their leadership consisted of prominent men from colonial society, and their followers included significant portions of the populace. 76 But despite their fervent defiance and their modern reputation as radical proto-republicans, each of their events commonly featured extensive shows of reverence to George III. At a meeting in Springfield, New Jersey, the Sons of Liberty opened their session by declaring “true Allegiance to King GEORGE the IIId” adding that they were “as ready to defend his Crown and Dignity, as we are to protect our own Lives and Properties.” As a conclusion to their business, they toasted the health of the king and the royal family. 77 This meeting format was standard, and similar assemblies occurred across the colonies in Philadelphia, Newport, New York, Williamsburg, North Carolina, among others. 78 The song that served an anthem for the Sons of Liberty also professed fidelity to the king, with one of its stanzas reading:

To King George as true subjects, we loyal bow down; But, hope we may call Magna Charta our own: Let the rest of the world slavish workshop decree, Great-Britain has order’d her sons shou’d be Free. 79

Notable figures of the American Revolution were also enlisted in these displays of royal affection. In a letter to John Adams, Thomas Crafts asked the Massachusetts lawyer to write an inscription “with Encomiums on King George Expressive of our Loyalty” for the Sons of Liberty. 80 The overabundance of rhetoric loyal to the king serves to show that even the most radical movements at the time were unwilling to distance themselves from the king. They derided the Grenville ministry. They even questioned Parliament’s authority to tax the Colonies. However, they never doubted the sovereignty of George III, who had their unwavering support.

Other shows of affection for the king were plenty in more popularly organized protests. Notably, a colorful incident occurred in Boston, where a local drove “two extraordinary large fat oxen” to town. One ox bore a flag which read “King GEORGE and Pitt forever! LIBERTY and PROPERTY and NO STAMPS.” It seemed to gain enough notoriety to make it to the New York papers. 81 Examples like this show that, much like the sons of liberty, colonists did not let their strong dislike of the Stamp Act interfere with their loyalty to the king. He was still admired and grouped with other heroes such as Pitt. The literature consumed by the colonists also exposes a prevalent sentiment of allegiance to George III, seeing him as a benevolent and merciful figure.

A Curious Play

During the time of the Stamp Act, a number of pamphlets expressing opinions on the crisis circulated widely. Most of these adhered to the convention seen before, sparing the king of criticism. One of them was particularly remarkable, both by its format and by the intensity of the message it proclaimed. Titled O! Justitia. A complete trial , this pamphlet took the form of a morality play depicting a fictional trial. It was printed in Philadelphia in 1765. The accused was a character by the name of “Saucy Alias Swaggering John.” This conspicuously named figure faced trial for having “Curse[d] the most sacred Person of his Majesty King George the Third,” in a public setting. The jury was composed of men named with similarly vivid names:

Mr. True Heart, Mr. Belief, Mr. Upright, Mr. Hate Bard, Mr. Love Good, Mr. See truth, Mr. Goodword, Mr. Humble, Mr. Moderate, Mr. Thankful, Mr. Loyal, Mr. Union.

The witnesses of the case were “Mr. Yes and Nay , Mr. Faithful,” and “Mr. Trusty.”

As each witness gave testimony, all of them agreed that the accused was guilty of his purported crime. Mr. Faithful even reported the accused had a history of saying “he would sooner be tossed from Post to Pillory, and from Den to Penn, than submit to be under the King’s Government.” The accused then tried to defend himself by claiming that their testimony was made out of spite. This was to no avail, as the virtuous jury unanimously declared him guilty. He was sentenced to public shaming by being tied to a post for several days with egg yolks on his face—the whites serving as his only sustenance. However, at the last minute, the king’s attorney intervened. He insisted that, though guilty of treachery, Swaggering John should be shown mercy, and given a more lenient punishment. His face would no longer be covered with eggs. Moreover, he would also have access to food and water, as well as the care of an official. 82

The distribution of this play in the colonies implies that the need to defend the king’s name from all disloyalty was a prevalent sentiment. It is unlikely that this piece was the product of government propaganda, due to its highly satirical tone and the numerous jokes at the expense of the government itself. The piece, while serving as an enjoyable piece of satire, brought an important message: the king is to be respected, and those who fail to do so are rightfully condemned. The reliability of the conviction is left to no doubt, as indicated by the names of witnesses and jurors. However, the most important takeaway seems to have been that, while those that derided the monarch deserved punishment, the king was a fair and tempered man who preferred mercy. One could be tempted to think that the extravagant lack of subtext and the conspicuous names might suggest that the text should be read with more irony, and that it does not really intend to show the king in a good light. The pamphlet extinguishes all impulse to believe this by its conclusion. The fictional account itself ends with a solemn “GOD SAVE THE KING,” and the last page of the pamphlet presents the reader with charming couplets:

The Duty of all Parent’s with the Rod’s To train their Children in the fear of GOD And like the Bee, to use it as their sting, To learn them how to pray for George their King . 83

This final piece of verse makes it abundantly clear that the play intends to educate each subject of the king to be loyal to him. It also takes the message even further, adding to it a religious dimension that was sure to speak to the immensely pious, Protestant colonists. To obey the king signified not only civic allegiance, but religious devotion. It was the duty of every parent to make sure their children—and presumably, their neighbors— understood this. This was very much in line with custom at the time, as it has been previously noted that most of the popular family prayer books included prayers for the king. This sentiment did not seem to wane during the time of the Stamp Act. If anything, the emergence of new formats like this denotes an increase in royal religious zeal. It was abundantly clear: in times of injustice such as the ones they were living, the king was the source of all justice. And his justice was the one of God.

In 1766, Parliament moved to repeal the much-hated Stamp Act. Its enforcement had failed, and the unrest it provoked was deemed a price too high to pay for a tax that was ineffective. 84 This measure received the full support of George III, who had grown impatient with Grenville. 85 When news of the repeal reached the colonies, public rejoicing immediately erupted. While the colonists celebrated their victory with exuberant festivities, the figure of the king took center stage in every display of joy. At Salem, May 21 was decreed a day of public rejoicing. The colors were flown at Fort William and cannons were fired in commemoration at the climax of the celebration, an oration thanking “His Majesty King George the Third, whom God long preserve,” was read. Subsequently, his health and that of the royal family was toasted. 86

Commemorations of the repeal of the act were not limited to a single day, but continued throughout the year, often being infused with the traditional Imperial holidays. The celebrations for the king’s birthday in 1766 were the most lavish found in any record. In Boston, ships were dressed in flowing colors. In honor of the king, the town elite dressed themselves with fine new English suits, donating all of their locally made clothes to the poor. 87 In New York, two oxen were slaughtered and given to the populace. 88 The sheer scale of these festivities was also noted in private correspondence.

In Philadelphia, Thomas Wharton wrote to Benjamin Franklin, who had been in London lobbying Parliament, mailing him a paper which described the king’s birthday celebrations. The newspaper recounted how “a large number of the inhabitants of Philadelphia” ate “a mammoth public dinner at the banks of the Schuylkill.” There was also a display of illuminations, and toasts were drunk in honor of the king. 89 While colonists were commemorating their victory over unjust taxation, they offered up their rejoicing to the figure of the monarch. These shows of exhilaration denoted the prevalence of a sense of gratitude toward their sovereign. After all, when the act had been in effect, they had appealed to him personally on multiple occasions to be the defender of their rights. These appeals having been fulfilled; it was only just that the king be honored at every opportunity. This sheds light on the depth of the colonists’ attachment to their patriot king, whose name they frequently associated with their Englishness and their rights as Englishmen. The repeal celebrations, besides revealing profound sympathies for the king, served to solidify the king’s dear place in the hearts of his American subjects. Even as George III faced one of his worst waves of unpopularity at home, in his colonies his reputation peaked. 90 A year later, when the anniversary of the repeal was observed as a folk holiday, orations and toast still centered around praising the name of King George. 91

IV. More Acts and More Loyalty: The Prelude to Independence (1766-1775)

Public rejoicing would not last long. While the Stamp Act was no more, Parliament remained unmoved by the colonists’ claim against taxation without representation. This was made clear with the passage of the Declaratory Act in 1766, which reaffirmed Parliament’s authority to tax the colonies and to legislate over them. 92 Moreover, other laws like the Quartering Act of 1765 remained in effect, and the following years would see the passage of many more acts imposing taxes and measures that the colonists deemed in violation of the English constitution. 93 Nevertheless, with each legislative blow that Parliament dealt to the colonies came a spike in public loyalty to the King. As Westminster’s legitimacy decreased, the colonists ascribed an increasing amount of power to George III, in hopes that he would deliver them from the acts. This confidence in the king would also be short-lived. By the end of the 1760s and during the early 1770s printed media critical of the king started to become commonplace. However, a considerable amount of esteem for the monarch would remain until the final moments before independence.

During the period of 1767-68 several more acts were passed by Parliament targeting the colonies. The Townshend Acts included taxes on many goods such as paint, lead, glass, paper, and tea. They also included measures to coerce colonies into complying with the Quartering Act, and provisions that gave customs officials broad powers to enforce the acts. 94 As soon as news of each of these laws reached the colonies, demonstrations of loyalty by the public and by officials intensified, serving as integral part of any form of protest as they did with the Stamp Act. Freeholders in town meetings passed several resolutions with fervent reiterations of their fealty to the king alongside arguments against taxation, which they based on legislation from William and Mary. 95 These conventions and the documents they produced were widespread throughout the colonies. Their arguments—as well as their praise of George III—were soon emulated in resolutions by the House of Representatives of Massachusetts and other colonial assemblies. 96

Many prominent colonial men also continued engaging in this language of praise toward the king. John Adams instructed Boston delegates “to maintain our loyalty and duty to our most gracious Sovereign.” 97 During his travels to France, Benjamin Franklin recounted to Mary Stevenson his meeting with the king. In this private letter, he reaffirmed his preference for his own monarch, remarking “No Frenchman shall go beyond me in thinking my own King and Queen the very best in the World and the most amiable.” 98 In newspapers, letters to the editor continued being published. “Legipotens” declared that those who imposed the new taxes would “feel the weight of the law,” but that the colonists maintained their “undivided affection” to George III. 99 The king also preserved his religious importance, featuring as the chief protector of Protestantism in anti-Catholic sermons. 100 These displays suggest that even under the pressure of several unpopular acts, the majority of the populace still believed in the just character of George III. This shouldn’t be surprising, as affection to the king had been a natural part of colonial life for decades. Furthermore, such increases in zeal toward the monarch coupled with protests had seemed to pay off during the time of the Stamp Act.

However, as the tenure of these acts grew long, the first cracks on the provincials’ confidence toward the king began to show. Novel newspapers started appearing that were profoundly polarized. It was through them that some of the first critiques against the king were published. 101 In the Essex Gazette , an article was published stating that George III would participate in a new “running-mede,” comparing him to the medieval King John’s capitulation in Magna Carta. 102 Another of these newly-born papers, the Massachusetts Spy, printed a series of maxims deriding the king. 103 Nevertheless, even with these articles circulating among the public, they were still relatively rare, outnumbered by letters, poems, and reports that professed fealty for the king. While this is still significant, as it signals the appearance of large numbers of royal skeptics, a large amount of the population still supported the king. This was seen during the imperial holidays of the year. George III’s birthday commemorations in 1768 were particularly extravagant, especially in Boston, and the anniversary of his Coronation was dutifully observed in 1770. 104 Moreover, even the new, more partisan newspapers still shied away from total partiality. The Essex Gazette published a letter advocating for reconciliation between Americans and Britons, in which George III was called “our common Father.” This sort of loyalty would remain widespread until moments before independence. Still, as violence became more frequent the number of royal dissenters would grow.

The Boston massacre of 1770 proved a turning point for the opposition to British rule in Massachusetts, as well as for the public’s perception of the King. 105 This attack on the people seriously damaged British esteem in the colony, causing royal prestige to suffer. The Boston papers started to publish more critiques of the king, posting satires about the monarch, a letter claiming he had “lost America,” and an article denouncing the number of petitions during the king’s reign. 106 However, outside of Boston, levels of loyalty to George III seem to have remained largely unchanged. In New York, a statue of the king was erected in Bowling Green. In Virginia, an ode to liberty ascribed to George III was reported and celebrated in the newspapers. In Pennsylvania, several towns declared their allegiance to the king. 107 Even in Massachusetts, some voices still desperately clung to the figure of the king. Charles Chauncy, the Congregational minister, preached a sermon affirming Massachusetts’ loyalty to the Crown. 108 Some even questioned the ability of any legitimate government to form in an independent America. The author of an opinion letter held that true sovereignty came only from the King. 109 Many of these acts, which necessitated large amounts of community involvement and public exposure, serve as a reliable barometer of the king’s enduring popularity. It is logical that Massachusetts became the epicenter of the king’s growing unpopularity, seeing its status as the most rebellious—and therefore most punished—colony.

However, with the occurrence of the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and the passage of the Intolerable Acts designed to punish this rebellion, another wave of proclamations of loyalty surged, though this time coupled with criticism toward the king. Facing the closure of the port of Boston, the House of Representatives of Massachusetts yet again reaffirmed its fealty to George III. This was widely reported by newspapers in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, and others. 110 The image of the king’s face still seemed to retain some currency, as a new tavern opened in Salem with George III’s sign. 111 However, his actions were now being openly scorned. An article in the Maryland Journal called George III “ten thousand times more arbitrary than Lewis XV” for his assent to the Quebec Act. 112 This law had expanded Catholic religious freedom in Quebec and abolished the requirement for a loyalty oath to serve in colonial administration. This was seen by the colonists as facilitating the spread of Catholicism, the greatest evil in their eyes. 113 This deep polarization surrounding the king’s image, while creating a sector of royal dissenters, still preserved a large population that remained attached to the monarch. The king’s birthday and his other holidays were still celebrated, and popular objects such as almanacs were still printed with his face on them. 114

It is then left to address whether these increased displays of loyalty were true or merely a façade. While a desire to avoid trouble and return to the metropole’s good graces motivated these declarations, this does not necessarily deprive them of sincerity. It is apparent that at the same time, many provincials still paid to have their pro-royalist opinions published. Furthermore, pictures of the king were still integral to daily life, appearing in new tavern signs and almanacs, with no record showing their defacement. But perhaps more notably, if the colonial assemblies’ shows of loyalty had been disingenuous, it would have made little sense to still engage in them. Either the assemblies would have known they would have no effect—as the past few years had shown them—or they would have been resolved toward independence, an effort which necessitated the abandonment of imperial imagery to succeed. It is possible that there was some ambivalence between these two mindsets, but it would be unreasonable to attribute all displays of fealty to this. Truly, it was very difficult for a majority of the population to abandon their affections for the king, a feeling they had cultivated their entire lives. During the moments preceding independence, desperate attempts were made to preserve America’s ties to its British sovereign. However, even these would fail, and aversion toward the monarch would only come to dominate after a direct, egregious refusal to listen to the colonists’ plights.

V. The Body Politic Shattered: The Dawn of Royal America (1775-1776)

John adams and the king’s two bodies.

John Adams’ rise to politics had been a reluctant one, but by 1774 he had become a leading voice in Massachusetts’ struggle against punitive British acts. He had secured a seat as a representative in the Continental Congress and would soon become its foremost advocate for independence. 115 Nevertheless, before he pushed for the colonies’ definitive separation from Britain, Adams penned in 1775 one last pledge of allegiance to George III. Even so, this statement of loyalty was unlike the ones issued by other individuals, town meetings, and colonial assemblies. Writing under the pseudonym “Novanglus”—a latinized way of saying “New Englishman”—Adams expressed how he conceived royal authority over the colonies. He wrote that the colonies owed

no allegiance to any imperial crown, provided such a crown involves in it a house of lords and a house of commons, is certain. Indeed we owe no allegiance to any crown at all. We owe allegiance to the person of his majesty king George the third, whom God preserve. But allegiance is due universally, both from Britons and Americans to the person of the king, not to his crown: to his natural, not his politic capacity. 116

Adams then went further, characterizing the relationship between subjects and their king strictly as a personal “contract.” In this statement, Adams went against the political theory that had defined monarchies for centuries. The idea of the King’s Two Bodies—one natural and mortal, and one political and immortal—stipulated that the king’s sovereignty came not from his person, but from the perpetual body politic that was passed down from each monarch to their successor. It was this undying identity that was endowed with sovereignty by God, and which the monarch personified as the embodiment of the entire nation. 117 This doctrine, which was preserved in the Common Law by jurists such as Blackstone, would certainly have been fundamental for Adams’ education as a lawyer. Yet, by changing the object of allegiance from the body politic to the natural—and by transferring the origin of sovereignty from God to the people’s contract with the monarch—Adams turns this widely accepted legal doctrine on its head. While the provincials had already conceived of their relationship with the king as a “contract,” as McConville argues, this was still backed by a protestant notion of divine right. 118 This idea, which prevailed well into the unrest that preceded independence, was utterly abandoned by Adams. It is clear that the alternative model proposed by him reflected the enlightenment ideas of republicanism that had started to gain hold as Massachusetts suffered under the British Crown. However, Adams’ reluctance to part with the king was so great that he desperately tried to reconcile these ideals to his own attachment to George III—even if it involved overturning legal wisdom passed down through the ages.

An Olive Branch Denied

John Adams’ radical redefinition of monarchy would not do much to save the image of George III. By 1775, loss of confidence in the king had taken hold among the colonial elites. Benjamin Franklin, once a hopeful supporter of the young and intellectual king, now satirized him in the papers, with songs such as “The King’s Own Regulars” which mocked the monarch and his troops. 119 Franklin's hopes in the monarch had disappeared after his unsuccessful mission in London to lobby for the colonies’ benefit. 120 Even Adams himself came to lose all reverence for George III, but only after the last effort toward reconciliation, the Olive Branch petition, was rejected by the king. This message proclaimed the colonies’ continued allegiance to George III, despite the fact that war had already erupted by then. It was the last effort of a considerable loyalist faction of the Continental Congress to avoid further conflict with Great Britain. While Adams had previously tried to preserve America’s ties with the king, he saw this petition as pointless given that war was already underway. 121 Nevertheless, after news arrived of the king’s refusal to read the petition, and of his formal declaration of rebellion upon the colonies, Adams seemed to have lost all respect for the once-esteemed monarch. In a letter to John Thomas, he decried George III as a “Poor, deluded man!” 122 Such was the attachment built toward the figure of the king—cultivated for decades in the colonies by provincials and imperial officials—that it required the most direct, explicit, and scornful show of abandonment for Adams and other loyalists to finally break their allegiance to George III.

The general public had also abandoned much of their affection for the king by 1775. The year prior, crowds that had once eagerly celebrated imperial holidays began to refuse to participate in their commemoration. In 1775, the king’s birthday in New York was marked with festivities, but very few attended. When ships fired their memorial cannonades no civilians cheered, and that night no houses were illuminated. Throughout the colonies, royal holidays went by unnoticed, jurors refused to be sworn in the king’s name, and rumors of George III’s secret Catholicism—inspired by the passage of the Quebec Act—started to become mainstream. 123 These allegations signified the worst type of indictment that one could suffer in a deeply protestant society. While these demonstrations of disillusionment were not all caused by the Olive Branch petition, by the time it was rejected they had become widespread throughout the colonial population. However, the colonies’ ties to George III had not yet been completely severed. That moment came when independence was imminent.

Iconoclasm and Damnatio Memoriae

When independence was declared in July 1776, the image of the king very literally came crashing down. In New York, an angry crowd toppled the statue of George III “which tory pride and folly” had raised in the city more than five years prior. 124 A royal iconoclasm of unprecedented scale had started. Also in New York, a portrait of the king was torn and buried. 125 In New Hampshire, images of the royal family were pulled down or defaced. Throughout many colonies, coins bearing the face of the king were refused. At Savannah, Georgia, the king’s effigy was buried in front of the courthouse. 126 The arms of the king were removed everywhere they were displayed, and the newspapers denounced him for waging war against the colonies. 127 John Adams had anticipated this wave of royal rejection, recommending in April of 1776 that Massachusetts remove the king’s name from all official documents and proceedings. 128 However, while some such as Adams had started erasing George III’s name before independence, the fact that most instances of iconoclasm occurred after the passage of the declaration attests to the power and permanence of the king’s image. Colonists’ attachment to the king’s image, both literal and figurative, was so strong that the renouncement of his likenesses only came when independence was imminent. The delay in the destruction of these images attested to the power they held as links to King George III.

VI. Epilogue: A New King George?

On December 5, 1782, after years of war had raged through America, George III headed to the Palace of Westminster to address both Houses of Parliament. Sitting on his throne, dressed in robes of state, and topped by a royal crown, the king delivered the speech that acknowledged the independence of the United States. According to Elkanah Watson, an American merchant present at the occasion, when the king read the words “free and independent states” he did so with a hesitant and “constrained” voice. The year prior, British troops had surrendered definitively after their defeat at Yorktown. Although the king had seen this as a minor setback, the rest of his ministers gave him no option but to accept defeat. The king was, in effect, forced to acknowledge one of his greatest defeats while in his grandest appearance. This juxtaposition of high and low perfectly encapsulated the process that his image underwent in America. George III started his reign with great esteem in the colonies, embodying the ultimate protector of Protestantism on which the provincials had long relied, but also the uniquely virtuous and patriotic monarch that they had desired. The Colonists soon developed a fondness for the king as a monarch, but also as an individual. During the imperial crisis they increased their displays of loyalty with each blow, wishing to preserve their relationship with their king. While toward the end confidence in the monarch fractured, the colonists’ attachment was so strong that only definitive independence could make them banish George III from their towns and homes. Nevertheless, the break was not easy. Despite enthusiastically destroying their images of the monarch, the absence of a kingly figure left the colonists unsure of what type of leadership would rule their independent states. The anxiety of a kingless people would manifest itself in their treatment of one of the key figures in securing independence: General George Washington.

Curiously, Washington shared many similarities with the former king of America: Both had the same name and were of similar age. Both were of high birth and carried an air of solemn respectability. Both men possessed great domestic virtue, being affectionate to their families and loyal to their wives. Both were also keen agriculturalists and were highly knowledgeable in the military arts. Whether or not these commonalities had anything to do with it, it is not surprising that many suggested that Washington assume the mantle of king. Even when the famously modest man rejected such offers, multiple individuals still insisted on treating him like a monarch. Once Washington became president, a great number wished him to remain in power for life, but he limited himself to two reluctant terms. 129 John Adams even tried to attach regal dignity to Washington’s office, by suggesting that the president be addressed with titles such as “His Highness” and “His Elective Majesty.” Washington, however, was content with the simple honorific of “Mr. President.” 130 Rather than showcasing Washington’s virtue in rejecting them, these constant offerings of royal glory reflect the ideological void that George III had left behind. Having accepted a republican form of government, the United States still desired to go back to the old times: being led by a long-reigning ruler that embodied the nation and the values they treasured. Whether this arrangement would have survived Washington is doubtful. Monarchy depended not only on allegiance to a charismatic individual, but in fealty to the immortal institution of the Crown—the body politic. This institution had been shattered by the revolution. Nevertheless, the rejection of the king deeply affected the minds of many colonists as they struggled to devise their new government. This sentiment persisted beyond the formation of the republic, and motivated the colonists-now-citizens to search for a model of leadership that could fill the gap left behind by the image of George III.

Bibliography

Primary sources.

Adams, John. The Papers of John Adams . 20 vols. edited by Robert J. Taylor, Mary-Jo Kline, and Gregg L. Lint. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977-2020.

Boston Chronicle . Boston, Massachusetts. 1767-1770.

Boston Evening-Post . Boston, Massachusetts. 1760-1775.

Boston Gazette . Boston, Massachusetts. 1760-1776.

Boston News-Letter . Boston, Massachusetts. 1760-1776.

Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser . Boston, Massachusetts. 1760-1775.

Doddridge, Philip. A plain and serious address to the master of a family, on the important subject of family-religion . Massachusetts: Sold by Philip Freeman at Union-Street, 1767.

Drummond, Robert Hay. A sermon preached at the coronation of King George III. and Queen Charlotte, in the abbey church of Westminster, September 22, 1761. By Robert, Lord Bishop of Sarum . 3rd ed. London: printed by John Hart, for Charles Bathurst, in Fleet-Street, 1761.

Essex Gazette . Salem, Massachusetts. 1768-1775.

Fisher, George. The American instructor: or, Young man's best companion . Philadelphia: Printed and sold by John Dunlap in Market Street, 1770.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Papers of Benjamin Franklin . 43 vols. edited by Ellen R. Cohn et al. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959-2019.

Maryland Journal . Baltimore, Maryland. 1773-1776.

Massachusetts Spy . Boston, Massachusetts. 1770-1776.

New-Hampshire Gazette . Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 1760-1776.

New-York Gazette . New York, New York. 1760-1776.

New-York Journal . New York, New York. 1767-1776.

New-York Mercury . New York, New York. 1760-1768.

Newport Mercury . Newport, Rhode Island. 1760-1776.

O! Justitia. A complete trial. God gives, and takes away, well, justice shall take place . Philadelphia: Printed by Anthony Armbruster, 1765.

Pennsylvania Chronicle . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1767-1774.

Pennsylvania Gazette . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1760-1776.

Providence Gazette . Providence, Rhode Island. 1762-1776.

The Family prayer-book, containing morning and evening prayers for families and private persons . Pennsylvania: Printed by the Ephrata Community, for William Barton, 1767.

Virginia Gazette . Williamsburg, Virginia. 1760-1776.

Secondary Sources

Bezanson, Anne. Measuring the Economy: Prices and Inflation During the American Revolution, Pennsylvania, 1770-1790 . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1951.

Black, Jeremy. George III: America’s Last King . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

———. Pitt The Elder . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Breen, T. H. "An Empire of Goods: The Anglicization of Colonial America, 1690-1776." Journal of British Studies 25, no. 4 (1986): 467-99.

Brown, Weldon A. Empire or Independence: A Study in the Failure of Reconciliation, 1774-1783 . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1941.

Chaffin, Robert J. "The Townshend Acts of 1767." The William and Mary Quarterly 27, no. 1 (1970): 90-121.

Chitwood, Oliver Perry. A History of Colonial America . New York and London: Harper & Row, publishers, 1961.

Colley Linda. Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837 . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.

Copeland, David A. Debating the Issues in Colonia Newspapers: Primary Documents on Events of the Period . Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000).

Davis, Derek H. Religion and the Continental Congress, 1774-1789: Contributions to Original Intent . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Dufour, Ronald P. Colonial America . Minneapolis, St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1994.

Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington . New York: Penguin Random House, 2004.

———. Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams . New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993.

Hatton, Ragnhild. George I: Elector and King . London: Thames and Hudson Publishing Company, 1978.

Hooper, Tom, dir. John Adams . Part IV, “Reunion.” Aired March 30, 2008, on HBO.

Hutson, James H. "John Adams' Title Campaign." The New England Quarterly 41, no. 1 (1968): 30-39.

Hutton, Ronald. Charles II: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.

Kantorowicz, Ernst H. The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.

Koda, Harold and Andrew Bolton. Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the Eighteenth Century . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University Press, 2004.

Lupia, John N. The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numismatic Biographies: From the 7th Century BC to 1940 .

McConville, Brendan. The King's Three Faces: The Rise and Fall of Royal America, 1688-1776 . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

Morgan, Edmund S. and Helen M. Morgan. The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995.

Nelson, Harold L. "Seditious Libel in Colonial America." The American Journal of Legal History 3, no. 2 (1959): 160-72.

Nettles, Curtis Putnam. The Money Supply of the American Colonies before 1720 . Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1934.

O’Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson. The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.

Parkinson, Robert G. The Common Cause: Creating Race and Nation in the American Revolution . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016.

Plunkett, John. “Light work: Feminine Leisure and the Making of Transparencies.” In Crafting the Woman Professional in the Long Nineteenth Century: Artistry and Industry in Britain , eds. Kyriaki Hadjiafxendi and Patricia Zakreski. New York: Routledge, 2016.

Reid, Stuart. Wolfe: The Career of General James Wolfe from Culloden to Quebec . Staplehurst, UK: Spellmount, 2000.

Reitan, Earl Aaron, “The Civil List in Eighteenth-Century British Politics: Parliamentary Supremacy versus the Independence of the Crown.” The Historical Journal Vol. 9, No. 3 (1966).

Slaughter, Thomas P. Independence: The Tangled Roots of the American Revolution . New York: Hill and Wang, 2014.

White, Richard. The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics In the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Wood, Gordon S. The American Revolution: A History . New York: Penguin Random House, 2002.

Appendix I: Accession Medal of George III (1760)

Upper image: Silver, from the British antique Dealers’ Association. Lower image: Bronze, from the British Museum. Designed by John Kirk.

Appendix II: Mezzotint of George III wearing the insignia of the Order of the Garter (1762)

Caption: “His most sacred majesty George III, King of Great Britain, etc. / / Frye ad vivium delineavit, William Pether, fecit.” (Drawn from life by Frye, printed by William Pether). 50 x 35.1 (plate), 60.1 x 45.4 cm (sheet). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

1 Jeremy Black, George III: America’s Last King , (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 174.

2 John Adams to John Jay, 2 June 1785, The Papers of John Adams , vol. 17, ed. Gregg L. Lint et al. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014), 134–145.

3 John Adams , part IV, “Reunion,” directed by Tom Hooper, aired March 30, 2008, on HBO.

4 Brendan McConville, The King’s Three Faces: The Rise and Fall of Royal America, 1688-1776 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 138.

5 Ibid., 286-287.

6 Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 17.

7 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 79.

8 O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America , 27.

9 Ronald Hutton, Charles II: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland , (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989); McConville, The King’s Three Faces, 16.

10 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 50.

11 Ibid., 39-40.

12 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 41.

13 Ibid., 21.

14 Ragnhild Hatton, George I: Elector and King, (London: Thames and Hudson Publishing Company, 1978), 26-28.

15 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 50-108.

16 Boston News-Letter , January 1, 1761.

17 Robert G. Parkinson, The Common Cause: Creating Race and Nation in the American Revolution , (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016), 41.

18 Boston News-Letter , January 1, 1761.

19 David A. Copeland, Debating the Issues in Colonial Newspapers: Primary Documents on Events of the Period , (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000), vii.

20 Ibid., xiii. Often, the revenues proceeding from subscriptions were not enough to cover the costs of running a press and a paper. Printers would, therefore, allow patrons to insert pieces of opinion or literature in exchange for a fee.

21 New-York Mercury , January 26, 1761; New-Hampshire Gazette , June 12, 1761; New-Hampshire Gazette , July 10, 1761.

22 Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 210.

24 Earl Aaron Reitan, “The Civil List in Eighteenth-Century British Politics: Parliamentary Supremacy versus the Independence of the Crown,” The Historical Journal Vol. 9, No. 3 (1966): 323.

25 O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America , 20-21.

26 Black, George III , 44.

27 New-York Gazette , September 21, 1761.

28 Boston Evening-Post , February 8, 1762; February 15, 1762; February 22, 1762; March 1, 1762.

29 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , January 25, 1762.

30 Boston Evening-Post , February 15, 1762.

31 Robert Hay Drummond, A sermon preached at the coronation of King George III. and Queen Charlotte, in the abbey church of Westminster, September 22, 1761. By Robert, Lord Bishop of Sarum. 3rd ed, (London: printed by John Hart, for Charles Bathurst, in Fleet-Street, 1761).

32 “Benjamin Franklin to Deborah Franklin, 14 September 1761,” The Papers of Benjamin Franklin , vol. 9, ed. Leonard W. Labaree, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), 356.

33 William Franklin to Sarah Franklin, 10 October 1761, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 9: 368.

34 Benjamin Franklin to John Whitehurst, 27 June 1763, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 10: 302-3.

35 William Strahan to Benjamin Franklin, 18 August 1763, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 10: 325-28.

36 Benjamin Franklin to William Strahan, 19 December 1763, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 10: 407-8.

37 Supplement to the Boston Gazette, &c. , May 18, 1761.

38 Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the Eighteenth Century , (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University Press, 2004), 35-45. The Levée (French for “rising up”) was a ritual conceived at the court of Versailles and performed every morning in the King’s state bedchamber. An assembly of nobles would gather around the king, handing him garments and toiletries as he got ready for the day. The ceremony incorporated several Catholic elements as well, such as the king kissing a Roman missal during the beginning of the ritual.

39 Supplement to the Boston Gazette, &c. , May 18, 1761.

40 Boston Evening-Post , June 6, 1763; October 27, 1763; September 23, 1762.

41 The Family prayer-book, containing morning and evening prayers for families and private persons , (Pennsylvania: Printed by the Ephrata Community, for William Barton, 1767); Philip Doddridge, A plain and serious address to the master of a family, on the important subject of family-religion , (Massachusetts: Sold by Philip Freeman at Union-Street, 1767).

42 George Fisher, The American instructor: or, Young man's best companion , (Philadelphia: Printed and sold by John Dunlap in Market Street, 1770).

43 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 128-9.

44 Boston Gazette , June 22, 1761. For images of surviving examples of this particular medal, see appendix I .

45 John N. Lupia, “Peter McTaggart,” in The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numismatic Biographies: From the 7th Century BC to 1940 .

46 Curtis Putnam Nettles, The Money Supply of the American Colonies before 1720 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1934), 163-166; Anne Bezanson, Measuring the Economy: Prices and Inflation During the American Revolution, Pennsylvania, 1770-1790 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1951), 316-317. While British coins contained the likeness of the monarch, these restrictions meant that most of the coinage used in the colonies did not come from Britain. In fact, colonists used an array of coins, the most common being Spanish.

47 Pennsylvania Gazette , November 12, 1761.

48 New-York Gazette , March 1, 1762.

49 Providence Gazette , November 6, 1762.

50 For a typical example of a British print of George III imported to America, held in the Library of Congress’ collection, see appendix II .

51 T. H. Breen, “An Empire of Goods: The Anglicization of Colonial America, 1690-1776,” Journal of British Studies , 25, no. 4 (1986).

52 Boston Evening-Post , November 15, 1762.

53 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 132.

54 Boston Evening-Post , November 15, 1762.

55 Jeremy Black, Pitt The Elder (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Stuart Reid, Wolfe: The Career of General James Wolfe from Culloden to Quebec (Staplehurst, UK: Spellmount, 2000).

56 Newport Mercury , September 30, 1771; Boston News-Letter , October 3, 1771; Essex Gazette , October 8, 1771.

57 Pennsylvania Journal , May 3, 1764.

58 New-York Gazette , July 20, 1772.

59 New-York Journal , April 13, 1775.

60 Edmund S. Morgan and Helen M. Morgan, The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995), 21-40.

61 Ibid., 125-149.

62 Gordon S. Wood, The American Revolution: A History (New York: Penguin Random House, 2002), 24.

63 Harold L. Nelson, "Seditious Libel in Colonial America," The American Journal of Legal History 3, no. 2 (1959): 161.

64 Parkinson, The Common Cause , 37-38.

65 Boston News-Letter , June 6, 1765.

66 Georgia Gazette , June 6, 1765; Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , June 10, 1765; New-York Mercury , June 17, 1765.

67 John Plunkett, “Light work: Feminine Leisure and the Making of Transparencies,” in Crafting the Woman Professional in the Long Nineteenth Century: Artistry and Industry in Britain , eds. Kyriaki Hadjiafxendi and Patricia Zakreski (New York: Routledge, 2016), 43-44.

68 Parkinson, The Common Cause , 38.

69 Pennsylvania Gazette , October 31, 1765.

70 Boston News-Letter , November 21, 1765.

71 Boston Evening-Post , July 1, 1765.

72 Copeland, Debating the Issue s, xiv-xv.

73 Parkinson, The Common Cause , 38.

74 New-York Mercury , December 2, 1765.

75 Boston Evening-Post , December 23, 1765; New-York Mercury , December 2, 1765; New-York Gazette , December 23, 1765; Pennsylvania Journal , December 26, 1765; Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , January 6, 1766.

76 Morgan and Morgan, The Stamp Act Crisis , 187-213.

77 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , April 21, 1766.

78 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , April 14, 1766; Boston Evening-Post , April 28, 1766; Boston Gazette , April 28, 1766; New-York Mercury , January 13, 1766; March 10, 1766; April 14, 1766; Virginia Gazette , March 21, 1766; April 4, 1766.

79 New-York Gazette , April 7, 1766.

80 Thomas Crafts to John Adams, 15 February 1766, Papers of John Adams , 1: 172.

81 New-York Gazette , December 9, 1765.

82 O! Justitia. A complete trial. God gives, and takes away, well, justice shall take place (Philadelphia: Printed by Anthony Armbruster, 1765).

84 Morgan and Morgan, The Stamp Act Crisis , 171-292.

85 O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America , 21.

86 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , May 26, 1766.

87 Boston Gazette , June 2, 1766.

88 New-York Gazette , June 2, 1766.

89 Thomas Wharton to Benjamin Franklin, 12 June 1766, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 13: 313-4.

90 Black, George III , 71-93.

91 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , March 23, 1767.

92 Morgan and Morgan, The Stamp Act Crisis , 278-280.

93 Thomas P. Slaughter, Independence: The Tangled Roots of the American Revolution (New York: Hill and Wang, 2014), 250-369.

94 Robert J. Chaffin, "The Townshend Acts of 1767," The William and Mary Quarterly 27, no. 1 (1970): 90-121. The name of these acts derived from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that engineered them, Charles Townshend.

95 Boston Evening-Post , September 19, 1768; Supplement to The Boston Gazette , September 19, 1768; Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , October 10, 1768; Essex Gazette , October 11, 1768.

96 Boston Chronicle , July 10, 1769; New-York Gazette , July 10, 1769; Virginia Gazette , July 27, 1769.

97 Instructions of Boston to its Representatives in the General Court, 17 June 1768, Papers of John Adams , 1: 216-7.

98 Benjamin Franklin to Mary Stevenson, 14 September 1767, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 14: 253.

99 Boston Gazette , October 24, 1768.

100 Boston Gazette , April 25, 1768.

101 Parkinson, The Common Cause , 38-41.

102 Essex Gazette , October 17, 1769.

103 Massachusetts Spy , October 4, 1770.

104 Providence Gazette , June 11, 1768; Virginia Gazette , October 25, 1770.

105 Slaughter, Independence , 280-307.

106 Boston Chronicle , May 17, 1770; Massachusetts Spy , July 17, 1770; Essex Gazette , September 24, 1771.

107 New-York Gazette , August 20, 1770; Virginia Gazette , March 1, 1770; Pennsylvania Gazette , June 28, 1770.

108 New-Hampshire Gazette , July 6, 1770.

109 Boston News-Letter , March 5, 1772.

110 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , June 14, 1773; Connecticut Gazette , June 25, 1773; New-Hampshire Gazette , June 25, 1773; Providence Gazette , June 26, 1773; Pennsylvania Chronicle , June 28, 1773; New-York Journal , July 1, 1773.

111 Essex Gazette , March 9, 1773.

112 Maryland Journal , August 24, 1774.

113 Derek H. Davis, Religion and the Continental Congress, 1774-1789: Contributions to Original Intent (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 153.

114 Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser , June 7, 1773; October 18, 1773; May 30, 1774.

115 Joseph J. Ellis, Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams , (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993).

116 To the inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay, 6 March 1775, Papers of John Adams , 2: 320-1.

117 Ernst H. Kantorowicz, The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985).

118 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 40.

119 Printed in The Boston Gazette , 27 November 1775, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , 22: 274.

120 Slaughter, Independence , 403-406.

121 Weldon A. Brown, Empire or Independence: A Study in the Failure of Reconciliation , 1774-1783 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1941).

122 John Adams to John Thomas, 13 November 1775, Papers of John Adams , 3: 294.

123 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 289-304.

124 Pennsylvania Journal , July 17, 1776.

125 New York Journal , June 6, 1776.

126 McConville, The King’s Three Faces , 311.

127 New York Journal , June 6, 1776.

128 John Adams to William Tudor, 12 April 1776, Papers of John Adams , 4: 119.

129 Joseph J. Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington (New York: Penguin Random House, 2004).

130 James H. Hutson, "John Adams' Title Campaign," The New England Quarterly 41, no. 1 (1968): 30-39.

• Search Menu

Sign in through your institution

• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Biblical Archaeology
• Browse content in Art
• History of Art
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical History
• Classical Literature
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Literature
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Music Cultures
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Browse content in Religion
• Christianity
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cultural Studies
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Browse content in Law
• Company and Commercial Law
• History of Law
• Law and Society
• Legal System and Practice
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• History of Medicine
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Environmental Science
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Browse content in Economics
• Economic History
• Browse content in Education
• Higher and Further Education
• Browse content in Environment
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Browse content in Politics
• Political Economy
• Public Policy
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• Asian Studies
• Native American Studies
• Browse content in Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Migration Studies
• Race and Ethnicity
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Journals on Oxford Academic
• Books on Oxford Academic

Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence

• Cite Icon Cite

Thirteen Clocks is about how the founding fathers mobilized political authority and military resistance to defeat their cultural cousins. This study examines how a discourse evolved delineating friends and enemies in the hopes of garnering support in the first year of the Revolutionary War. It focuses on how, through print, patriot leaders propagated certain representations they thought would resonate with a wide colonial audience. Because they had to make the familiar alien, those depictions centered on projecting representations of the British as the equals of dangerous populations within colonial society. To accomplish this vital, difficult task, they embraced the most powerful weapons in the colonial cultural arsenal: stereotypes, prejudices, expectations, and fears about violent Indians and Africans. This book is about the “dark side” of the common cause appeal, that America’s fight for independence was also a fight against the King’s assistants, namely Indians and the enslaved. Printed stories about Indians and slaves fighting with the British were the basis for much of the explanations patriot leaders gave for why Americans must resist, most importantly in the final grievance of the Declaration of Independence. They were the initial cement of the American union. Those stories then became codified in the first inchoate conceptions of what it meant to belong to the new American republic. The cultural and political exclusion of African Americans and Indians from the rights of American citizens started at the founding itself. The American creation of race and nation were inextricably intertwined from the very start of the American Revolution.

Personal account

• Sign in with email/username & password
• Get email alerts
• Save searches
• Purchase content
• Activate your purchase/trial code
• Add your ORCID iD

Institutional access

Sign in with a library card.

• Sign in with username/password
• Recommend to your librarian
• Institutional account management
• Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

• Click Sign in through your institution.
• Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
• When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
• Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

• Click Sign in through society site.
• When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

• View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
• View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Rights and permissions
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

You have exceeded your limit for simultaneous device logins.

Your current subscription allows you to be actively logged in on up to three (3) devices simultaneously. click on continue below to log out of other sessions and log in on this device..

Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence

Get Print. Get Digital. Get Both!

Comment Policy:

• Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
• Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
• Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
• Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
• If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

First Name should not be empty !!!

Last Name should not be empty !!!

email should not be empty !!!

Comment should not be empty !!!

You should check the checkbox.

Please check the reCaptcha

Betty Hartman

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

Posted 3 hours ago REPLY

Ethan Smith

Posted 6 hours ago REPLY

Jane Fitgzgerald

Posted 6 hours ago

Michael Woodward

Continue reading, get digital and print.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's.

Added To Cart

Related , a history of the world in twelve shipwrecks, the black utopians: searching for paradise and the promised land in america, bad jew: a family’s quest from the minsk ghetto to netanyahu’s israel, the green ages: medieval innovations in sustainability, born to rule: the making and remaking of the british elite, an improbable life: my father’s escape from soviet russia, advertisement, subscribe today, get print, digital editions, and online all in one..

LJ, where and when you need it.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

Thank you for visiting.

We’ve noticed you are using a private browser. To continue, please log in or create an account.

CREATE AN ACCOUNT

SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS

Already a subscriber log in.

Most LJ reviews are exclusive to subscribers.

As a subscriber, you'll receive unlimited access to all reviews dating back to 2010.

To access other site content, visit our homepage .

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, August 15). How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples, how to write topic sentences | 4 steps, examples & purpose, academic paragraph structure | step-by-step guide & examples, what is your plagiarism score.