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THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1754–1781)
Overview
Before and during the French and Indian War, from about 1650 to 1 7 6 3 , Britain essentially left its
American colonies to run themselves in an age of salutary neglect
...
They established representative legislatures and
democratic town meetings
...
American shipping, although
theoretically regulated by the Navigation Act, functioned apart from the mighty British fleet for
more than a hundred years
...

After the French and Indian War, the age of salutary neglect was finished
...
Over the years, Americans were forbidden to circulate local printed currencies,
ordered to house British troops, made to comply with restrictive shipping policies, and forced to
pay unpopular taxes
...
Americans were shocked and offended by what
they regarded as violations of their liberties
...
In a mere twelve years—between the end of the French
and Indian War in 1763 and the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775—the colonists moved
from offering nightly toasts to King George III’s health to demonstrations of outright hostility
toward the British Crown
...
Never before had a body of colonists so boldly declared their
monarch and government incapable of governing a free people
...
Since then, his declaration has
been a model for many groups and peoples fighting their own uphill battles
...
It was fought between Britain and France from 1754 to 1763 for
colonial dominance in North America
...


Nevertheless, American colonists dutifully fought alongside British soldiers, while the French
allied themselves with several Native American tribes (hence the name “French and Indian
War”)
...


Pontiac’s Rebellion
The powerful Ottawa chief Pontiac, who had no intention of allowing land-hungry whites to steal
more tribal lands, united many of the tribes in the volatile Ohio Valley and led a series of raids on
British forts and American settlements
...

As a conciliatory gesture toward the Native Americans, Parliament issued the Proclamation
of 1 7 6 3 , forbidding American colonists to settle on Native American territory unless native rights
to the land had first been obtained by purchase or treaty
...
Prime
Minister George Grenville began enforcing the ancientNavigation Acts in 1 7 6 4, passed
the Sugar Act to tax sugar, and passed theCurrency Act to remove paper currencies (many
from the French and Indian War period) from circulation
...


Taxation Without Representation
The Sugar Act was the first fully enforced tax levied in America solely for the purpose of raising
revenue
...
Several colonial leaders convened the Stamp Act Congress in New York to petition
Parliament and King George III to repeal the tax
...
But it also quietly passed the Declaratory Act, which stipulated that
Parliament reserved the right to tax the colonies anytime it chose
...
In the same series of acts, Britain passed
the Suspension Act, which suspended the New York assembly for not enforcing the Quartering
Act
...
Nevertheless, on March 5 , 1 7 7 0 , an angry mob clashed with several British

troops
...


The Boston Tea Party
In 1 7 7 3 , Parliament passed the Tea Act, granting the financially troubled British East India
Company a trade monopoly on the tea exported to the American colonies
...
Governor Hutchinson of Massachusetts, determined to uphold the law,
ordered that three ships arriving in Boston harbor should be allowed to deposit their cargoes and
that appropriate payments should be made for the goods
...
That event is now famously
known as the Boston Tea Party
...
Americans throughout the colonies sent food and
supplies to Boston via land to prevent death from hunger and cold in the bitter New England
winter
...


The First Continental Congress and Boycott
To protest the Intolerable Acts, prominent colonials gathered in Philadelphia at the First
Continental Congress in autumn of 1 7 7 4
...
For additional
motivation, they also decided to institute aboycott, or ban, of all British goods in the colonies
...
Militiamen of Lexington and
Concord intercepted them and attacked
...
Thousands of militiamen from nearby colonies flocked to
Boston to assist
...
In
one final attempt for peaceful reconciliation, the Olive Branch Petition, they professed their love
and loyalty to King George III and begged him to address their grievances
...


The Declaration of Independence
The Second Continental Congress chose George Washington, a southerner, to command the
militiamen besieging Boston in the north
...
Encouraged by a
strong colonial campaign in which the British scored only narrow victories (such as at Bunker
Hill), many colonists began to advocate total independence as opposed to having full rights
within the British Empire
...
Thomas Jefferson, a young lawyer from Virginia, drafted the Declaration of
Independence
...


The French and Indian War: 1754–1763
Events
1 7 5 4 George Washington’s forces initiate French and Indian War Albany Congress convenes
1 7 5 5 Braddock defeated
1 7 5 8 British take Louisbourg
1 7 5 9 British take Quebec
1 7 6 0 British take Montreal
1 7 6 3 Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War Pontiac attacks Detroit British issue

Proclamation of 1 7 6 3

Key People
George Washington - American general whose forces helped start the French and Indian War
in western Pennsylvania in 1 7 5 4
General Edward “Bulldog” Braddock - British general who proved ineffective in fighting Native
American forces during the French and Indian War
William Pitt - Major British statesman during second half of the French and Indian War;
successfully focused war efforts on defeating French forces in Canada

Pontiac - Ottawa chief disillusioned by the French defeat in the war; organized unsuccessful
uprising against settlers after the war’s end

The Beginning of the War
Unlike the previous wars between European powers in the 1 7 0 0 s, the French and Indian
War was begun in North America—in the heartland of the Ohio Valley, where both France and
Britain held claims to land and trading rights
...
The French, in order to prevent further
British encroachment on what they believed to be French lands, began to construct a series of
forts along the Ohio River
...
Washington eventually surrendered after the French
returned in greater numbers
...
It is estimated that some2 0 , 0 0 0 Americans fought with the British
against the French and Native American opposition
...

At the same time, though military service gave colonists a sense of pride, it also made many
realize how different they were from the British regulars with whom they fought
...


Colonial Disunity
Furthermore, the British never managed to gain colonial support for the conflict
...
Many colonial legislatures refused to support the war wholeheartedly until
leading British statesman William Pitt offered to pay them for their expenses
...
In short, there was little colonial support for the war, but
much colonial unity that was subversive to British war aims
...
To promote theAlbany Congress, Philadelphia
printer Benjamin Franklin created his now-famous political cartoon of a snake with the caption
“Join or Die
...
The
delegates at the Albany conference agreed to support the war and also reaffirmed their military
alliance with the Iroquois against the French and their Native American allies
...
British ministers in London—as well as the delegates’
own colonial legislatures—balked at the idea
...
The conflict quickly spread to Europe and soon
engulfed the Old World powers in another continental war (in Europe, the war was referred to as
the Seven Years’ War)
...
The fighting in North America became
secondary, and both powers focused their attention and resources in Europe
...


France’s Strong Start
During the initial years of the war, the French maintained the upper hand, as they repeatedly
dominated British forces
...
After hacking through endless wilderness,
their forces were slaughtered by the French and their Native American allies
...


Britain’s Resurgence
After Britain officially declared war on France in 1 7 5 6 , British troops—many of whom were
American colonists—invaded French Canada and also assaulted French posts in the West

Indies
...
Pitt focused the war effort on achieving
three goals: the capture of the French Canadian cities Louisbourg, Quebec, and Montreal
...


The Treaty of Paris
The war ended formally with the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1 7 6 3
...


Pontiac and the Proclamation of 1763
Despite the signing of the peace treaty, unofficial fighting between white settlers and Native
Americans in the West continued for another three years
...
Though the British army quickly squelched Pontiac’s Rebellion,
Parliament, in order to appease Native Americans and to prevent further clashes, issued
the Proclamation of 1 7 6 3 , which forbade British colonists from settling on Native American
territory
...
Many firmly believed that this land was theirs for the taking
...
Many colonists chose to ignore the proclamation and move westward anyway
...


The Sugar and Stamp Acts: 1763–1766
Events
1 7 6 4 Britain begins to enforce the Navigation Act Parliament passes the Sugar and Currency

Acts
1 7 6 5 Parliament passes the Stamp and Quartering Acts Stamp Act Congress convenes in New

York
1 7 6 6 Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, passes the Declaratory Act

Key People
George III - King of Great Britain throughout much of the colonial period; saw marked decline in
popularity in the colonies after the French and Indian War
George Grenville - Prime minister of Parliament; enforced the Navigation Act and passed the
Sugar, Stamp, Currency, and Quartering Acts
Sons of Liberty - Secretive groups of prominent citizens who led protests against British taxes
and regulations; influence grew in 1 7 6 5 after passage of the Stamp Act

Growing Discontentment with Britain
During the period from 1 7 6 3 to 1 7 7 5 , in the twelve years after the French and Indian War and
before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, colonial distrust of Britain grew markedly, and the
emerging united national identity in America became more prominent
...


Salutary Neglect
Likewise, London’s view of the colonies changed radically after the French and Indian War
...
As long as the colonies exported cheap raw materials to Britain and
imported finished goods from Britain (see Mercantilism, below), Britain was quite happy to leave
them alone
...
By the end of the Seven
Years’ War, the British national debt had climbed over 1 0 0 million pounds, hundreds of
thousands of which had been used to protect the British colonies in America
...
Britain and
other European powers, including France and Spain, actively sought new colonies in the
Americas, Africa, and Asia to stimulate their economies and increase their wealth
...

These materials could be shipped back home to the mother country and converted
intomanufactured goods, which were resold to the colonists at high prices
...
Parliament had

passed a major Navigation Act in 1 6 5 1 to prevent other European powers (especially the Dutch)
from encroaching on British colonial territories; the act required colonists to export certain key
goods, such as tobacco, only to Britain
...
Although the law had existed for over one hundred years, it had never
before been strictly enforced
...
Led by Grenville, Parliament levied heavier taxes on
British subjects, especially the colonists
...
The Sugar Act
represented a significant change in policy: whereas previous colonial taxes had been levied to
support local British officials, the tax on sugar was enacted solely to refill Parliament’s empty
Treasury
...
In 1 7 6 5 , Parliament
passed the Quartering Act, which required residents of some colonies to feed and house British
soldiers serving in America
...
Many also questioned why the British army needed to remain in North
America when the French and Pontiac had already been defeated
...
This tax required certain goods to bear an official stamp showing that the owner had paid
his or her tax
...
Furthermore, the act declared that those who
failed to pay the tax would be punished by the vice-admiralty courts without a trial by jury
...
Not only did the colonists feel that the troop
presence was no longer necessary, they also feared that the troops were there to control them
...


Taxation Without Representation
In protest, the American public began to cry out against “taxation without representation
...
Rather, the slogan was symbolic and voiced the colonists’ distaste
for paying taxes they hadn’t themselves legislated
...
” He and
his supporters argued that all members of Parliament—no matter where they were originally
elected—virtually represented all British citizens in England, North America, or anywhere else
...


The Stamp Act Congress
Unwilling to accept the notion of virtual representation, colonists protested the new taxes—the
Stamp Act in particular—using more direct methods
...


The Sons and Daughters of Liberty
Other colonists took their protests to the streets
...
People throughout the colonies also refused to import British goods
...


The Declaratory Act
Parliament eventually conceded and repealed the Stamp Act in 1 7 6 6 , which overjoyed the
colonists
...

The Declaratory Act proved far more damaging than the Stamp Act had ever been, because it
emboldened Britain to feel that it could pass strict legislation freely, with few repercussions
...


The Boston Massacre and Tea Party: 1767–1774
Events
1 7 6 7 Townshend Acts impose duties on goods, suspend the New York assembly
1 7 6 8 British troops occupy Boston
1 7 7 0 Parliament repeals all duties under the Townshend Acts except tax on tea Boston

Massacre occurs
1 7 7 3 Boston Tea Party occurs
1 7 7 4 Parliament passes Coercive, or Intolerable, Acts Parliament passes Quebec Act

Key People
Thomas Hutchinson - Governor of Massachusetts during early 1 7 7 0 s; instituted policies that
prompted the Boston Tea Party
Charles Townshend - British member of Parliament who crafted the 1 7 6 7 Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts
Parliament wasted little time invoking its right to “bind” the colonies under theDeclaratory Act
...
Named after
Parliamentarian Charles Townshend, these acts included small duties on all imported glass,
paper, lead, paint, and, most significant, tea
...


Impact of the Townshend Acts
Fueled by their success in protesting the Stamp Act, colonists took to the streets
again
...
Although initial opposition to the Townshend Acts was
less extreme than the initial reaction to the Stamp Act, it eventually became far greater
...
Within a few years’ time, colonial resistance became more violent and
destructive
...
Indeed, the
troop deployment quickly proved a mistake, as the soldiers’ presence in the city only made the

situation worse
...

Tensions mounted until March 5 , 1 7 7 0 , when a protesting mob clashed violently with British
regulars, resulting in the death of five Bostonians
...
This incident, along with domestic pressures from British
merchants suffering from colonial nonimportation agreements, convinced Parliament to repeal
the Townshend Acts
...
This
decision led to more violent incidents
...
This act agitated
colonists even further: although the new monopoly meant cheaper tea, many Americans believed
that Britain was trying to dupe them into accepting the hated tax
...
In Boston, however, Governor Thomas
Hutchinson resolved to uphold the law and ordered that three ships arriving in Boston Harbor be
allowed to despoit their cargoes and that appropriate payment be made for the goods
...
The event became known as the Boston Tea Party
...
The previous rioting and looting of British officials’ houses over the
Stamp Act had been minor compared to the thousands of pounds in damages to the ships and
tea
...
The “tea party” was a bold and daring step forward on the road to
outright revolution
...
Parliament, very displeased, passed the Coercive Acts in 1 7 7 4 in
a punitive effort to restore order
...


Numbered among these Intolerable Acts was the Boston Port Bill, which closed Boston Harbor
to all ships until Bostonians had repaid the British East India Company for damages
...
Strict new provisions were
also made for housing British troops in American homes, reviving the indignation created by the
earlierQuartering Act, which had been allowed to expire in 1 7 7 0
...


The Quebec Act
At the same time the Coercive Acts were put into effect, Parliament also passed the Quebec
Act
...


The Revolution Begins: 1772–1775
Events
1 7 7 2 Samuel Adams creates first Committee of Correspondence
1 7 7 4 First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia Boycott of British goods begins
1 7 7 5 American forces win Battle of Lexington and Concord Second Continental Congress

convenes in Philadelphia Second Continental Congress extends Olive Branch Petition King
George III declares colonies in state of rebellion

Key People
John Adams - Prominent Bostonian lawyer who opposed reconciliation with Britain during the
Continental Congresses
Samuel Adams - Second cousin to John Adams and ardent political activist
George III - King of Great Britain; declared colonies in state of rebellion in 1 7 7 5
Patrick Henry - Fiery radical famous for his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech
George Washington - Virginia planter and militia officer; took command of the Continental Army
in 1 7 7 5

Committees of Correspondence
In 1 7 7 2 , Samuel Adams of Boston created the first Committee of Correspondence, which was
primarily an exchange of ideas in letters and pamphlets among members
...


Eventually, these isolated groups came together to facilitate the exchange of ideas and solidify
opposition to the Crown
...


The First Continental Congress
In response to the Intolerable Acts, delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies (Georgia
chose not to attend) met at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the autumn
of 1 7 7 4 to discuss a course of action
...
Samuel Adams, John Adams, Patrick
Henry, and George Washington were among the more famous men who attended
...
The delegates met for nearly
two months and concluded with a written Declaration of Rights and requests to Parliament,
George III, and the British people to repeal the Coercive Acts so that harmony could be
restored
...
Although some delegates still hoped for reconciliation, the decisions they made laid the
foundations for revolt
...

This appeal to natural rights above the king or God was groundbreaking because it justified and
even legalized colonial opposition to the Crown
...
In other words, the Americans were not in the wrong for resisting
British policy
...
Thomas Jefferson later extrapolated these legal appeals in the
Declaration of Independence
...
Patriotic colonists argued that the
purchase of any British-produced goods—especially those goods made from American raw

materials—only perpetuated the servile relationship the colonies had to London under the system
of mercantilism
...
The Congress also attempted to define the exact relationship Britain
had with America and the degree to which Parliament could legislate
...

The Committees of Observation and Safety had a profound effect on American colonial life
...
Many established their own
court systems, raised militias, legislated against Loyalist demonstrations, and eventually
coordinated efforts with other observation committees in nearby communities
...
Their creation and
coordination helped spread revolutionary ideas and fervor to the countryside and later smoothed
the transition to democracy after independence
...
Many cities and
towns organized volunteer militias of “minutemen”—named for their alleged ability to prepare
for combat at the drop of a hat—who began to drill openly in public common areas
...
Militiamen from nearby Lexington intercepted
them and opened fire
...

The British arrived in Concord only to be ambushed by the Concord militia
...
The British retreated to Boston
after more than 2 7 0 in their unit were killed, compared to fewer than 1 0 0 Americans
...


The minutemen’s victory encouraged patriots to redouble their efforts and at the same time
convinced King George III to commit military forces to crushing the rebellion
...

The battle initiated a chain of events, starting with the militia siege of Boston and the Second
Continental Congress, that kicked the Revolutionary War into high gear
...
Delegates from all thirteen colonies
gathered once again in Philadelphia and discussed options
...
All the delegates signed the petition, which professed loyalty
to King George III and beseeched him to call off the troops in Boston so that peace between the
colonies and Britain could be restored
...


Washington and the Continental Army
Despite their issuance of the Olive Branch Petition, the delegates nevertheless believed that the
colonies should be put in a state of defense against any future possible British actions
...
After much debate, they
also selected George Washington to command the militia surrounding Boston, renaming it
the Continental Army
...


The Battle of Bunker Hill
The delegates’ hopes for acknowledgment and reconciliation failed in June 1 7 7 5 , when
the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought outside Boston
...
The engagement led King George III to
declare officially that the colonies were in a state of rebellion
...


American Society in Revolt: 1776–1777
Events
1 7 7 6 Thomas Paine writes Common Sense
1 7 7 7 Vermont adopts a state constitution prohibiting slavery Iroquois begin to raid colonial

settlements in western New York and Pennsylvania

Key People
George Washington - Commander of the Continental Army
Nathanael Greene - Aide to Washington; one of the highest-ranking and most respected
American generals in the war
Baron von Steuben - German commander who helped George Washington and Nathanael
Greene train the Continental army
Thomas Paine - Radical philosopher who strongly supported republicanism;
wrote 1 7 7 6 pamphlet Common Sense, which was a best-seller in the American colonies
Joseph Brant - Mohawk chief who advocated alliance with Britain against American forces in
the Revolutionary War

Training the Continental Army
As the colonies prepared themselves for war, new militias were formed throughout America,
primarily to defend local communities from British aggression
...
Under the strict command
of George Washington, Nathanael Greene, and the German Baron von Steuben, this ragtag
collection of undisciplined militiamen eventually became the well-trainedContinental Army
...
The British believed, incorrectly, that if they
arrested these men, the revolt would collapse and the minutemen would return to their homes
...
Historians estimate that the majority of eligible American men served at some
point in the Continental Army, the militias, or both
...
Some particularly daring women chose
to serve as nurses, attendants, cooks, and even spies on the battlefields
...
Most
women, however, fought the war at home
...
A majority

of women helped by making yarn and homespun necessities such as socks and underwear, both
to send to militiamen and to support the boycott of British goods
...
” Paine, reasoning that it was
unnatural for the smaller England to dominate the larger collection of American states, called on
Americans to unite and overthrow British rule so that they could usher in an era of freedom for
humanity
...

The pamphlet caused a huge sensation throughout the colonies and sold over 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 copies
within a few months of its first printing
...
These Loyalistswere heavily
concentrated in the lower southern colonies but could also be found in concentrated pockets
throughout other regions, including the North
...
Some, including many wealthy
merchants, Anglican clergymen, and officials, disagreed with Parliament’s policies but felt that it
was not right to challenge British rule
...
Many ethnic minorities, including blacks and Native Americans, also backed Britain,
fearful that victorious white Americans would trample their rights
...
Those who stayed faced persecution, especially in the northern colonies
...
Tens of
thousands of Loyalists also joined the British army to fight for king and country
...
In particular, the influential Mohawk chief Joseph
Brant worked tirelessly to convince the Iroquois tribes to support the British
...


The Native American decision to ally themselves with the British and raid American outposts and
towns proved in the end to be a fatal one
...
The ultimate British surrender was a
huge loss for Native Americans: white settlers were already pushing westward, and after the war,
they felt justified in their taking of native lands
...
Although roughly 5 , 0 0 0 blacks did serve in militias for the United States, most who
had the opportunity chose to flee to British and Loyalist areas that promised freedom from
slavery
...

To some degree, blacks fared better after the war than before
...
Other states legislated more gradual
forms of emancipation
...
Slavery was by no means a dead institution
(as the early 1 8 0 0 s proved), but these liberal decisions made during the war were significant
steps forward on the road to equality
...
Civilian casualties remained low throughout the war, so such fence-sitting was an
attractive alternative for some colonists
...
Able-bodied men
who failed to join militias were prosecuted in some colonies for failing to show support for the
patriotic cause
...
Delegates debated this proposal heavily for a few weeks, and many returned to their
home states to discuss the idea in state conventions
...
By July 2 , 1 7 7 6 , the Continental Congress, with the support of twelve states (New
York did not vote), decided todeclare independence
...
Jefferson was
chosen to be the committee’s scribe and principal author, so the resulting Declaration of
Independence was a product primarily of his efforts
...
In the brief document, he managed to express clearly the ideals of the
American cause, level weighty accusations against George III, offer arguments to give the
colonies’ actions international legitimacy, and encapsulate the American spirit of freedom and
unity
...
Nevertheless, Jefferson’s words gave hope to blacks as well as landless whites,
laborers, and women, then and for generations to come
...
” With these protections, any American, regardless of class, religion, gender, and
eventually race, could always strive—and even sometimes succeed—at improving himself via
wealth, education, or labor
...


The Social Contract
Jefferson argued that governments derived their power from the people—a line of reasoning that
sprang from the writings of contemporary philosophers includingJean-Jacques
Rousseau and Thomas Paine
...
These notions of a contract and accountability
were radical for their time, because most Europeans believed that their monarchs’ power was
granted by God
...


Abuses by George III
In the Declaration, Jefferson also detailed the tyrannical “abuses and usurpations” that George III
committed against the American colonies
...
He also accused the king of illegally assuming
judicial powers and manipulating judges and the court system
...
Jefferson noted that the colonists had repeatedly
petitioned the king to try to restore friendly relations but that he had consistently ignored them
...

Jefferson concluded that, in light of these facts, the colonists had no choice but to declare
independence from Britain and establish a new government to protect their rights
...


Signing of the Declaration
Jefferson’s bold document was revised in the drafting committee and then presented to the
Congress on July 4 , 1 7 7 6
...
The
thirteen states unanimously approved of the Declaration of Independence, and the United States
was born
...
It had a large, well-organized
land army, and the Royal Navy was unmatched on the sea
...
On the other
hand, the Americans had only a collection of undisciplined militiamen who had never fought
before
...
The
state of the army did improve after George Washington whipped the Continental Army into a
professional fighting force, but the odds still seemed heavily stacked in Britain’s favor
...
They had a
lot at stake: unlike the British, they were fighting on their home turf to protect their own homes

and families
...
Finally, though most
Americans had no previous military experience, their militia units were usually close-knit bands of
men, often neighbors, who served together in defense of their own homes
...
This native officer corps was a great source of strength, and as a result, American morale
was generally higher than morale in the Royal Army
...
To the British forces, the North American terrain was unusually rugged: New England
was rocky and cold in winter, the South was boggy and humid in the summer, and the western
frontier was almost impenetrable because of muddy roads and thick forests
...
American troops, on the other
hand, were used to the terrain and had little trouble
...


The Battle of Saratoga
After numerous battles, the turning point in the war came in 1 7 7 7 at the Battle of Saratoga in
upstate New York
...
A year
later, Spain followed suit and also entered the war against Britain
...
Their entry as combatants took pressure
off the Americans, as Britain was forced to divert troops to fight the Spanish elsewhere
...


Continuing Popular Support
Though the war went on for several years, American popular support for it, especially after
France and Spain entered the fray, remained high
...
Many historians
believe that it was this lasting popular support that ultimately enabled the United States to fight
as long as it did
...
French and Spanish assistance certainly helped the Americans, but without the
grassroots support of average Americans, the rebellion would have quickly collapsed
...
In Parliament, many Whigs (a group of
British politicians representing the interests of religious dissenters, industrialists, and others who
sought reform) denounced the war as unjust
...


The Surrender at Yorktown
Fortified by the Franco-American Alliance, the Americans maintained an impasse with the British
until 1 7 8 1 , when the Americans laid siege to a large encampment of British forces under Lord
Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia
...


The Peace of Paris
The war came to an official close in September 1 7 8 3 , when Britain, the United States, France,
and Spain negotiated the Peace of Paris
...
The last British
forces departed New York in November 1 7 8 3 , leaving the American government in full control of
the new nation

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