Early National Period

1. Early National Period Fall 2007 Abeka Book

2. The Situation • In 1670, there were 111,000 people living in the colonies. • In 1760, that number had grown by 1400% to 1.6 million, and Britain was definitely looking to prosper from the work of these Americans. • However, many of these Americans had never set foot on British soil—they had either been born in America or immigrated from other European locations.

3. In the early 18th century, the colonies had begun to communicate between themselves and developed a culture of their own; they didn’t really think of themselves any more as thirteen completely separate entities. • This was the beginning of our national identity, and it separated us from England and the European mindset

4. The British government levied a series of taxes that greatly affected the ability of colonists to retain what they had earned and inhibited their basic freedoms and privacies. • The Stamp Act, the Quartering Act, the and the Townshend Act all infuriated the colonists. • The taxes grew from an old European mindset—the people exist to provide for the government

5. The Boston Massacre took place in 1770, when British soldiers fired upon protesting colonists for the first time. • The “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775, in Concord, Massachusetts—and the Revolutionary War was on.

6. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (January 1776) was the first public document to demand complete separation from England. • It sold 100, 000 copies in 2 months and went on to sell 500,000 copies. • How many Americans were there? • It was read by virtually every literate American. (1/3)

7. A major result of Paine’s ideas was a shift from hatred of the British to support of America. [school analogy] • Colonists became united in their desire to build a new country, rather than argue to fix the relationship with their old one. • In July of 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.

8. Thomas Paine • Born in Britain • Despised by the British government for publishing critical works • Met Benjamin Franklin in London—received letters of reference from him for his journey to America • Published Common Sense in January 1776 • Wrote The Crisis, a series of pamphlets, during the war—rewarded with a government post (Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee)

9. Accidentally (?) leaked information in one of these pamphlets, leading to his dismissal from his post (The US received secret aid from France before she was officially our ally) • He returned to England and published The Rights of Man, which argued against the monarchy and British government • Fled to Paris, where he joined the cause of the French Revolution • Disgusted with the beheadings, he became critical—and again had to flee (after escaping execution)

10. He fled back to America, and was buried penniless in NY • Years later, one of his supporters had his body exhumed, to be given an honorary burial in his homeland of England • The guy died 20 years later—without ever getting around to the burial • Today, no one knows where Paine’s body is….it could be on ebay