New Nation (1783-1800)

The thirteen American colonies began a rebellion against British rule in 1775 and proclaimed their independence in 1776. They subsequently constituted the first thirteen states of the United States of America, which became a nation in 1781 with the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The 1783 Treaty of Paris represented Great Britain's formal acknowledgement of the United States as an independent nation.

The United States defeated Great Britain with help from France and Spain in the American Revolutionary War. The colonists' victory at Saratoga in 1777 led the French into an open alliance with the United States. In 1781, a combined American and French Army, acting with the support of a French fleet, captured a large British army led by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The surrender of General Cornwallis ended serious British efforts to find a military solution to their American problem.

Seymour Martin Lipset points out that "The United States was the first major colony successfully to revolt against colonial rule. In this sense, it was the first 'new nation.'" On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, still meeting in Philadelphia, declared the independence of "the United States of America" in the Declaration of Independence. Although the states were still independent entities and not yet formally bound in a legal union, July 4 is celebrated as the nation's birthday. The new nation was dedicated to principles of republicanism, which emphasized civic duty and a fear of corruption and hereditary aristocracy.

In its earliest forms, the United States government was far from cohesive. A series of attempts to outline and press reforms culminated in the Congress calling the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structure of the national government was profoundly changed on March 4, 1789, when the American people replaced the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution. The new government reflected a radical break from the normative governmental structures of the time, favoring representative, elective government with a weak executive, rather than the existing monarchical structures common within the western traditions of the time.

The system of republicanism borrowed heavily from Enlightenment Age ideas and classical western philosophy in that a primacy was placed upon individual liberty and upon constraining the power of government through division of powers and a system of checks and balances. Additionally, the Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 to guarantee individual liberties such as freedom of speech and religious practice and consisted of the first ten amendments of the Constitution. John Jay was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, whose membership was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789; the first Supreme Court session was held in New York City on February 1, 1790. In 1803, the Court case Marbury v. Madison made the Court the sole arbiter of constitutionality of federal law.

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1776
by David McCullough
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1776
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
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55 Men: The Story of the Constitution
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A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
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America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
by Gerald W. Johnson
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America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
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American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
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Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
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Are We to Be a Nation?
by Richard B. Bernstein, with Kym S. Rice
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B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
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Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
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Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
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Bill of Rights
by Lucia Raatma
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Black Man in America
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Blow Ye Winds Westerly
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Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
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Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
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Cobblestone Magazine: Thomas Jefferson
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Codfish Musket
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
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1937 Newbery Honor Book
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Constitution
American Symbols and their Meanings
by Hal Marcovitz
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Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
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Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
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Declaration of Independence
Documenting U.S. History
by Elizabeth Raum
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Early American History for Intermediate Grades (really old)
by Rea Berg
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Enough Wise Men
by Forrest McDonald
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Era of Revolution & Nation Forming 1760's-1800's
by Kathy Sammis
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Exploration, Revolution, and Constitution
American History Series
by Cindy Barden
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Fighting for Liberty and Virtue
by Marvin Olasky
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For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
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Founders of Freedom in America
by David C. Whitney
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Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
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From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Book Only
My American Journey
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From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Set
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From Sea to Shining Sea
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American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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From Sea to Shining Sea for Children
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American History Reference for 4th-6th grade
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George Washington
by Heather Lehr Wagner
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George Washington & the Founding of a Nation
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George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
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George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
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Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
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Great Little Madison
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History of Human Society: Pioneer America
The History of Human Society
by John R. Alden
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History of US Book 3
History of US Book 3
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 4
History of US Book 4
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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How Our Nation Began
Christian Social History Series
by Don Sharkey, Sister Margaret, and Rt. Rev. Msgr. Philip J. Furlong
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If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution
If You Were There
by Elizabeth Levy
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In Defense of Liberty
by Russell Freedman
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2004 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin
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John Hancock: A Signature Life
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John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
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Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
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Liberty Bell
Primary Sources of American Symbols
by Jennifer Silate
1st edition from PowerKids Press
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Life & Times of Washington
by Mario Rivoire, translated by C.J. Richards
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Biography for 8th-12th grade
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Life and Letters of Benjamin Franklin
by Benjamin Franklin
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Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
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Making of America
by Robert D. Johnston
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Making of George Washington
by William H. Wilbur
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Biography for 10th-Adult
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Making of the Constitution
Jackdaw No. A8
by Elizabeth Bidwell Bates
Unb from Jackdaw Publications
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Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
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Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet George Washington
by Joan Heilbroner
First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet Thomas Jefferson
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Marvin Barrett
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Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
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Miracle at Philadelphia
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
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On the Road to Independence
To Pledge Allegiance #3
by Gary DeMar & George Grant
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One Nation Under Debt
by Robert E. Wright
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Patrick Henry
by JoAnn A. Grote
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Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
by Stuart A. Kallen
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Picture Book of John Hancock
by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler
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Picture Book of Patrick Henry
by David A. Adler; illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
1st edition from Holiday House
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Plain & Fancy
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Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
History Speaks
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Presidency of George Washington
by Jack D. Warren, Jr.
from University of Virginia Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
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Prospects of a Golden Age
by John Dos Passos
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Real Book about George Washington
by Harold Coy, illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell
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Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
by Jean Fritz
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
by Jean Fritz
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Story of the Constitution
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Marilyn Prolman
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Story of Yorktown as told by Conrad Shultz
by W. Walter Van Baman
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History in Verse for 10th-Adult
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Thomas Jefferson
by James Cross Giblin
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Thomas Jefferson
by Cheryl Harness
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Thomas Jefferson and His World
by Henry Moscow
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Timeline of Congress
Timelines of American History
by Lisa Modifica
1st edition from Rosen Central
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True Book: The Bill of Rights
by Patricia Ryon Quiri
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True Book: The Constitution of the United States
by Patricia Ryon Quiri
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Understanding the U.S. Constitution
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
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Unfading Beauty
by Tracy M. Leininger
from His Seasons
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We the People
by Lynne Cheney
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
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What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
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What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
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What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
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Wilderness Wife
by Etta B. Degering, illustrated by Ursula Koering
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Yankee Trader
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