British imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reaction to these attempts produced a new American republic, along with struggles over the new nation’s social, political, and economic identity. Topics may include:
Image Source: A detail from A View of Part of the Town of Boston in New-England and Brittish Ships of War Landing Their Troops, 1768, a broadside by Paul Revere and Christian Remick, printed in Boston, 1770. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02873)
3.1: British attempts to assert tighter control over its North American colonies and the colonial resolve to pursue self-government led to a colonial independence movement and the Revolutionary War.
3.2: The American Revolution’s democratic and republican ideals inspired new experiments with different forms of government.
3.3: Migration within North America and competition over resources, boundaries, and trade intensified conflicts among peoples and nations.
Maryland Gazette, May 22, 1755. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08719.
George III. Proclamation, October 7, 1763. Broadside. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC05214.
Leonard, Ephraim. "To Joseph Hall, 'Captain of a military foot Company in the Town of Taunton,'" August 11, 1757. Manuscript. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC01450.199.01.
The American Revolution
The American Revolution
Revere, Paul. The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King-Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Reg. Boston, 1770. Broadside. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC01868.
Unidentified Artist. A Portrait of Phyllis Wheatley. 1773, Engraving on Paper. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC06154.
Dawe, Philip. The Bostonian's Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring & Feathering. London, 1774. Engraving. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC04961.01.
Trumball, John. Declaration of Independence. Washington D.C., 1826. Oil on Canvas, U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Stamp Act, 1765, 5 Geo. 3, c. 1. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00769. Hinshelwood, Archibald. Letter to Joshua Mauger, August 19, 1765. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC03902.061.
US Congress. Instructions to the Commanders of private Ships or Vessels of War, which shall have Commissions or Letters of Marque and Reprisal, authorising them to make Captures of British Vessels and Cargoes, April 3, 1776. s.l., ca. 1777-1778. Broadside. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00038.02.
Russell, Ezekiel. Bloody Butchery by the British Troops. Salem, MA, 1775. Broadside. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC04810.
Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, No. 1674 (January 4, 1774) - No. 1725 (December 27, 1775) [with gaps]. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC01706_00124.
Continental Congress. Declaration of Independence, 1776. Washington DC, 1823. Facsimile engraving by William J. Stone. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00154.02.
George III. Proclamation, October 7, 1763. Broadside. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC05214.
Baillie, James S. Surrender of Cornwallis. New York, 1845. Lithograph. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02918.02.
Pendleton, Edmund. Letter to James Madison, April 17, 1765. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00099.026.
Godefroy, François. Recueil d'estampes représentant les différents evenémens de la Guerre qui a procuré l'indépendance aux Etats Unis de l'Amérique. Paris, ca. 1784. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC06551.
Locke, John. Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. London: Eliz. Holt, 1690. The Gilder Institute of American History. GLC00320.
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation
Continental Congress. Articles of Confederation. Lancaster, PA, 1777. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC04759.
Continental Congress. Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Boston, MA, 1777. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00268.
The Creation and Ratification of the Constitution
The Creation and Ratification of the Constitution
Washington, George. Letter to Henry Knox, February 3, 1787. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02437.09410.
Constitutional Convention. Committee of Detail. US Constitution [printing of first draft], August 6, 1787. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00819.01.
Constitutional Convention. US Constitution. Albany, NY, 1788. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC07866.
Carrington, Edward. Letter to Henry Knox, March 13, 1788. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02437.03821.
Pendleton, Edmund. Letter to James Madison, August 12, 1787. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00099.123.
Régnier, Claude, engraver. Life of George Washington--The Farmer. Lemercier. Paris, ca. 1853. Lithograph based on a painting by Junius Brutus Stearns. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Unidentified artist, engraver. Mercy Warren. s.l., n.d. Engraving based on a painting by John Singleton Copley. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08878.0726.
Developing an American Identity
Developing an American Identity
Régnier, Claude, engraver. Life of George Washington--The Farmer. Lemercier. Paris, ca. 1853. Lithograph based on a painting by Junius Brutus Stearns. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Hamilton, Alexander. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, on the Subject of Manufactures. New York, 1791. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00891.
Washington, George. Farewell Address. In Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser, September 19, 1796. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC00185.
Washington, George. Letter to Henry Knox, April 1, 1789. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02437.09410.
Washington, George. First Inaugural Address. Gazette of the United States, May 2, 1789. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC03518.
Warren, Mercy Otis. Letter to Catharine Macaulay, December 29, 1774. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC01800.01.
Harris & Ewing. Supreme Court Justices. Washington DC, ca. 1940. Photograph. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02929.01.
Rogers, J., engraver. Moll Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth. New York, 1856. Engraving based on a painting by D. M. Carter. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC08878.0067.
Trumbull, John, painter, Washington Lays Down His Sword. Washington D.C., 1826. Oil on Canvas. Capital Rotunda, Architect of the Capital.
Cusick, David (Tuscarora). Three Iroquois: Atotárho Protected by Black Snakes, Flanked by Deganawida(?) Offering Wampum and Hiawatha(?). ca. 1827. Watercolor and ink over graphite on paper. Collections of the New-York Historical Society.
Immigration to and Migration within America
Immigration to and Migration within America
Sadd, Henry S., engraver. The First Prayer in Congress. New York, John Neale, 1848. Engraving based on a painting by T. H. Matteson. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Iroquois Nation. Six Nations. Receipt for land sale signed with the totems of fourteen Indigenous leaders. [Lancaster, PA], 1769. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC02548.
Sahagún, Bernardino de. Historia general de las coasas de nueva España [General History of the Things of New Spain]: The Florentine Codex. s.l., 1577. Library of Congress.
Martinez, Julian. Buffalo Hunter, ca. 1920-1925, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard, sheet: 11 1/8 x 14 1/4 in. (28.4 x 36.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, Gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.84
Lazarus, Emma. "The New Colossus." 1883. Manuscript bound in journal. Courtesy of the American Jewish Historical Society, New York and Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
Proclamation of 1763, 1763
Proclamation of 1763, 1763
A Spotlight on a Primary Source by
George III
King George III, Proclamation of 1763, 1763. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)At the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, France surrendered Canada and much of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys—two-thirds of eastern North America—to England. The Proclamation of 1763 “preserved to the said Indians” the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains and ordered White settlers “there forthwith to remove themselves from such Settlements,” forbade White settlement, and restricted commerce with the American Indians to traders licensed by the British government, requiring settlers to “take out a License for carrying on such Trade from the Governor or Commander in Chief of any of Our Colonies respectively.” Power over westward expansion was in the hands of British officials, outside the colonists’ control. By preventing the colonial population from moving inland the British ministry hoped to avoid costly wars, protect the western fur trade, and keep western land speculation under the control of the crown. To enforce the proclamation, Britain authorized positioning 10,000 troops along the frontier, with the costs of 250,000 pounds sterling per year to be paid by the colonists. The Americans, who looked at the new land as an opportunity for settlement without the interference of the British government, resented the terms of the proclamation.
And We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons whatever, who have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any Lands within the Countries above described, or upon any other Lands, which, not having been ceded to, or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such Settlements. And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed in the purchasing Lands of the Indians, to the great Prejudice of Our Interests, and to the great Dissatisfaction of the said Indians; in order therefore to prevent such Irregularities for the future, and to the End that the Indians may be convinced of Our Justice, and determined Resolution to remove all reasonable Cause of Discontent, We do, with the Advice of Our Privy Council, strictly enjoin and require, that no private Person do presume to make any Purchase from the said Indians of any Lands reserved to the said Indians, within those Parts of Our Colonies where We have thought proper to allow Settlement; but that if, at any Time, any of the said Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said Lands, the same shall be purchased only for Us, in Our Name, at some Publick Meeting or Assembly of the said Indians to be held for that Purpose by the Governor or Commander in Chief of Our Colonies respectively, within which they shall lie; and in case they shall lie within the Limits of any Proprietary Government, they shall be purchased only for the Use and in the Name of such Proprietaries, conformable to such Directions and Instructions as We or they shall think proper to give for that Purpose: And We do, by the Advice of Our Privy Council, declare and enjoin, that the Trade with the said Indians shall be free and open to all Our Subjects whatever; provided that every Person who may incline to trade with the said Indians, do take out a License for carrying on such Trade from the Governor or Commander in Chief of any of Our Colonies respectively, where such Person shall reside; and also give Security to observe such Regulations as We shall at any Time think fit, by Ourselves or by Our Commissaries to be appointed for this Purpose, to direct and appoint for the Benefit of the said Trade; and We do hereby authorize, enjoin, and require the Governors and Commanders in Chief of all Our Colonies respectively, as well Those under Our immediate Government as Those under the Government and Direction of Proprietaries, to grant such Licenses without Fee or Reward, taking especial Care to insert therein a Condition, that such License shall be void, and the Security forfeited, in case the Person, to whom the same is granted, shall refuse or neglect to observe such Regulations as We shall think proper to prescribe as aforesaid.
