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After the start of the American Revolutionary War, the British attempted a two-pronged military strategy: divide New England from the rest of the states by seizing the Hudson River, and occupy the south by driving the rebels out the Carolinas and Virginia.

Intent on the first, British General John Burgoyne led a force of eight thousand troops southward through the Hudson valley towards the town of Saratoga, New York during the summer and fall of 1777. On September 19 and again on October 7, American forces led by General Horatio Gates clashed with the British Army. By October 8, the British forces totaled less than five thousand. The American Continentals pursued, and on October 17, twenty thousand surrounded the British, leaving Burgoyne with no choice other than to formally surrender. This decisive victory at Saratoga helped persuade the French to enter the war in February 1778, providing the money, supplies, and troops needed to turn the tide to American victory.

Farther south, British General William Howe sought to capture the American capital of Philadelphia. The British invaded from the south, via Chesapeake Bay, and defeated George Washington's troops in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. American troops under Washington then lost control of Philadelphia. Washington and his ten thousand soldiers finally retreated twenty-four miles to the west, where they set up headquarters at the village of Valley Forge. There Washington's troops survived a difficult winter of disease, freezing temperatures, and a continual lack of supplies.

Due to the American victory at Saratoga and the escape of George Washington and his army to Valley Forge, the Continental Army survived to fight another year.

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Revolutionary War Turning Points: Saratoga and Valley Forge

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After the start of the American Revolutionary War, the British attempted a two-pronged military strategy: divide New England from the rest of the states by seizing the Hudson River, and occupy the south by driving the rebels out the Carolinas and Virginia.

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On December 16, 1773, over one hundred American colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded three merchant ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea (valued at approximately $1.7 million in today's currency) into the water. The tea belonged to the British East India Company, which had been granted a monopoly over tea imports into the colonies by the Tea Act of May 1773. This monopoly let the company undercut colonial merchants' prices on untaxed tea, forcing colonists who bought the cheaper product to recognize a British tax. Three ships loaded with tea, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver, had arrived in Boston between November 28 and December 15. Colonists initially insisted that the tea be returned to England, but the colonial governor of Massachusetts and the East India Company's consignees-officials empowered to sell and collect taxes on the tea-refused.

In response, the Sons of Liberty organized a mass meeting of thousands at Boston's Old South Meeting House. When final word came that the tea ships would not be allowed to return to England, the Sons of Liberty set in motion a secret plan to destroy the tea. A group of colonists disguised in Native American attire headed from the meeting to Griffin's Wharf, where the tea ships were moored. Many hundreds more followed to watch the destruction of the tea.

When word got back to England about what the Bostonians had done, British officials punished the rebellious Massachusetts colonists by passing a series of laws that became known as the "Intolerable Acts," further increasing tensions between Britain and the American colonists. The destruction of the tea, which came to be known as the Boston Tea Party, was a crucial turning point in the escalation of the American Revolution and became a powerful symbol of American protest and independence.

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On December 16, 1773, over one hundred American colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded three merchant ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea (valued at approximately $1.7 million in today's currency) into the water.

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The creation of the US Constitution begins with the Articles of Confederation, drafted during the Revolutionary War. Their ratification in 1781 formed a weak federal authority that operated as a collective of individual, highly autonomous states. However, within a few short years the limitations of the Articles of Confederation became evident. Insufficient central control over currency led to astronomical inflation. Insufficient taxes to pay for a standing military made the newly independent nation vulnerable to foreign attack. Domestic turmoil, most notably Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts, highlighted the need both for economic management that would allow the government to fulfill its debt obligations and governmental authority capable of quelling insurrections. Additionally, even founders who feared strong central government were frustrated by trade barriers that some states had erected against other states. Prior to the Constitutional Convention, the Mount Vernon Conference paved the way for interstate commerce agreements related to use of rivers and waterways, and the Annapolis Convention objected to state-issued tariffs and called for a national convention to strengthen federal regulation of trade. Together, these two events provided an economic impetus for the creation of the Constitution and a stronger federal government capable of regulating currency and interstate trade.

In 1787, a convention of representatives from each state was formed in Philadelphia. Although it was convened for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, the attendees at the Constitutional Convention instead chose to draft a plan for a new government of the United States, one that would feature strong federal power, divided into branches, but preserve some authority to be held by the thirteen states. The convention featured a series of compromises about the method of counting slaves for purpose of determining state population and the balance of interests of large and small states when determining representation in Congress. Lastly, the ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights were added to address the concerns of delegates who sought protections of individual liberties.

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The creation of the US Constitution begins with the Articles of Confederation, drafted during the Revolutionary War. Their ratification in 1781 formed a weak federal authority that operated as a collective of individual, highly autonomous states. However, within a few short years the limitations of the Articles of Confederation became evident.

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Post-Revolutionary-War America faced obstacles as its people worked to establish the new republic. In New England, merchants and farmers struggled to maintain their businesses in a new economy without established European trade or credit lines. In August 1786, tensions culminated in what is now known as Shays' Rebellion, an uprising in Massachusetts that lasted until the summer of 1787. Led by Daniel Shays, the rebel "Shaysites" of Western Massachusetts tried to rise up against what they considered to be an oppressive tax system and political corruption. "Shaysites" felt that eastern Massachusetts elites were ignoring issues that affected the lower classes. The rebellion ultimately helped shape the content of the United States Constitution, which was created shortly after the end of the uprising and ratified on June 21, 1788. This collection of illustrations, documents, and texts help give a new perspective on the rebellion and its impact.

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Post-Revolutionary-War America faced obstacles as its people worked to establish the new republic. In New England, merchants and farmers struggled to maintain their businesses in a new economy without established European trade or credit lines. In August 1786, tensions culminated in what is now known as Shays' Rebellion, an uprising in Massachusetts that lasted until the summer of 1787.