1.
Thirteen Colonies
–
The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded in the 17th and 18th centuries that declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States. The Thirteen Colonies had very similar political, constitutional, and legal systems and they were part of Britains possessions in the New World, which also included colonies in present-day Canada and the Caribbean, as well as East and West Florida. However, the Thirteen Colonies had a degree of self-government and active local elections. In the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with each other instead of dealing directly with Britain, Colonial decisions were subject to approval by the governor and the home government. There were also substantial populations of African slaves in some of the colonies, especially Virginia, the Carolinas, the names of the colonies were chosen by the founders and proprietors, subject to royal approval, and given in the founding charters. Nine of the thirteen chose to include in their names the term Province of, later residents tended to drop the ambiguous terminology, as in the map shown in the article Province of New Jersey, which is labeled simply East Jersey and West Jersey. In July 1776, they formed a new nation called the United States of America, the new nation achieved that goal by winning the American Revolutionary War with the aid of France, the Netherlands, and Spain. The American flag features thirteen horizontal stripes which represent these original thirteen colonies, besides these thirteen colonies, Britain had another dozen in the New World. Those in the British West Indies, Newfoundland, the Province of Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Bermuda, and East and West Florida remained loyal to the crown throughout the war. The British crown had recently acquired those lands, and many of the issues facing the Thirteen Colonies did not apply to them, especially in the case of Quebec. Contemporary documents usually list the thirteen colonies of British North America in geographical order, the consolidation collapsed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, and the nine former colonies re-established their separate identities in 1689. Massachusetts Bay Colony Settled in 1630 by Puritans from England, the colonial charter was revoked in 1684, and a new charter was issued in 1691 establishing an enlarged Province of Massachusetts Bay. Province of Maine Settled in 1622, the Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed the Maine territory in the 1650s, then limited to present-day southernmost Maine. Parts of Maine east of the Kennebec River were also part of New York in the half of the 17th century. These areas were made part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691. Plymouth Colony Settled in 1620 by the Pilgrims, plymouth was merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691. Saybrook Colony Founded in 1635 and merged with Connecticut Colony in 1644, New Haven Colony Settled in late 1637. New Netherland Extensive region centered about New Amsterdam at the tip of Manhattan Island
2.
American Revolution
–
The British responded by imposing punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, following which Patriots in the other colonies rallied behind Massachusetts. Tensions escalated to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress determined King George IIIs rule to be tyrannical and infringing the rights as Englishmen. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, Congress rejected British proposals requiring allegiance to the monarchy and abandonment of independence. The British were forced out of Boston in 1776, but then captured and they blockaded the ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but failed to defeat Washingtons forces. After a failed Patriot invasion of Canada, a British army was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, a combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nations complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States. Historians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British victory in the French and Indian War in 1763, the lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement. For the prior history, see Thirteen Colonies, in 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money which British merchants saw as a means to evade debt payments. Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles, none did and Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets—even decks of playing cards—were required to have the stamps, the colonists did not object that the taxes were high, but because they had no representation in the Parliament. Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire, stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable. London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British officers who became redundant, in 1765, the Sons of Liberty formed. They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable, in Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765, moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise, the Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval
3.
First Continental Congress
–
It was called in response to The passage of the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament. The Intolerable Acts had punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, the Congress was attended by 56 delegates. The Pennsylvania delegation was appointed by the colonial assembly, Georgia declined to send delegates because they were hoping for British assistance with Native American problems on their frontier and did not want to upset the British. The Congress met briefly to consider options, including a boycott of British trade, rights and grievances. The Congress also called for another Continental Congress in the event that their petition was unsuccessful in halting enforcement of the Intolerable Acts. Their appeal to the Crown had no effect, and so the Second Continental Congress was convened the following year to organize the defense of the colonies at the onset of the American Revolutionary War, the delegates also urged each colony to set up and train its own militia. The Congress met from September 5 to October 26,1774, peyton Randolph presided over the proceedings, Henry Middleton took over as President of the Congress for the last few days, from October 22 to October 26. Charles Thomson, leader of Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence, was selected to be Secretary of the Continental Congress, the delegates who attended the Congress were not of one mind concerning why they were there. Their ultimate goal was to develop a solution to the difficulties. Radicals, such as Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman, Samuel Adams, to counter these ideas, Galloway put forward a Plan of Union, which suggested an American legislative body be formed, with some authority, and whose consent would be required for imperial measures. In the end, the voices of reconciliation and compromise carried the day and it requested that local Committees of Safety enforce the boycott and regulate local prices for goods. These resolutions adopted by the Congress did not acknowledge the power of Parliament even to regulate trade. Furthermore, they did not repudiate control by the royal prerogative, the Congress had two primary accomplishments. The first was a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods beginning on December 1,1774, the West Indies were threatened with a boycott unless the islands agreed to nonimportation of British goods. Imports from Britain dropped by 97 percent in 1775, compared with the previous year, Committees of observation and inspection were to be formed in each colony for enforcement of the Association. All of the colonial Houses of Assembly approved the proceedings of the congress with the exception of New York, if the Intolerable Acts were not repealed, the colonies would also cease exports to Britain after September 10,1775. The boycott was successfully implemented, but its potential for altering British colonial policy was cut off by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the colonists were forced to quarter British soldiers, and feed them. The second accomplishment of the Congress was to provide for a Second Continental Congress to meet on May 10,1775, however, letters appear to have been sent only to Quebec
4.
Philadelphia
–
In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
5.
Sons of Liberty
–
The Sons of Liberty was an organization that was created in the Thirteen American Colonies. The secret society was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and they played a major role in most colonies in battling the Stamp Act in 1765. The group officially disbanded after the Stamp Act was repealed, however, the name was applied to other local separatist groups during the years preceding the American Revolution. In the popular imagination, the Sons of Liberty was an underground organization with recognized members and leaders. More likely, the name was a term for any men resisting new Crown taxes. The well-known label allowed organizers to issue summons to a Liberty Tree, Liberty Pole. Furthermore, a unifying name helped to promote efforts against Parliament. Their motto became No taxation without representation, in 1765, the British government needed money to afford the 10,000 officers and soldiers living in the colonies, and intended that the colonists living there should contribute. This became commonly known as No Taxation without Representation, Parliament insisted on its right to rule the colonies despite the fact that the colonists had no representative in Parliament. The most incendiary tax was the Stamp Act of 1765, which caused a firestorm of opposition through legislative resolutions, public demonstrations, threats, the organization spread hour by hour, after independent starts in several different colonies. In August 1765, the group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, by November 6, a committee was set up in New York to correspond with other colonies. In December, an alliance was formed between groups in New York and Connecticut, january bore witness to a correspondence link between Boston and New York City, and by March, Providence had initiated connections with New York, New Hampshire, and Newport, Rhode Island. March also marked the emergence of Sons of Liberty organizations in New Jersey, Maryland, in Boston, another example of violence could be found in their treatment of local stamp distributor Andrew Oliver. They burned his effigy in the streets, when he did not resign, they escalated to burning down his office building. Even after he resigned, they almost destroyed the house of his close associate Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson. It is believed that the Sons of Liberty did this to excite the lower classes and their actions made many of the stamp distributors resign in fear. Early in the American Revolution, the former Sons of Liberty generally joined more formal groups, the Sons of Liberty popularized the use of tar and feathering to punish and humiliate offending government officials starting in 1767. This method was also, used against British Loyalists, during the American Revolution and this punishment had long been used by sailors to punish their mates
6.
Stamp Act Congress
–
All nine of the attending delegations were from the Thirteen Colonies that eventually formed the United States of America. The Congress met in the now known as Federal Hall. Members of six of the nine delegations signed petitions addressed to Parliament, in the aftermath of the French and Indian War, the British Parliament sought to increase revenues from its overseas colonies, where the cost of stationing troops had become significant. Parliament first passed the Sugar and Currency Acts in 1764, specifically aimed at raising money for the Crown and these acts had brought protests from colonial legislatures, but had skirted the idea of direct taxation by structuring their revenues as trade-related excise duties. Prime Minister George Grenville noted at the time of the Sugar Acts passage that a stamp tax might also be necessary, immediately raising concern, with the Stamp Act of 1765, Parliament attempted to raise money through direct taxation on the colonies for the first time. The act required that all sorts of printed material carry a stamp to show that the tax had been paid, use of the stamped paper was required for newspapers, books, court documents, commercial papers, land deeds, almanacs, dice, and playing cards. The revenue was to finance the operations of the empire, including the cost of stationing troops in the colonies. Nine colonies ultimately selected delegates to attend the congress, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, all of the delegates selected were members of their colonial legislative bodies. The methods by which delegates were selected were in some cases unorthodox, in Delaware, then known as the Three Lower Counties of the Penn proprietors, assembly members held informal meetings in each of the three counties, in each case selecting the same three delegates. In New York, the assembly had been prorogued and was judged unlikely to be summoned by Lieutenant Governor Colden to consider the Massachusetts letter. The assemblys committee of correspondence, consisting of its New York City delegates, discussed the letter, Governor William Franklin was upset at this action, but took no action beyond protesting the unusual meeting. The colonies that were not represented at the congress did not send delegates for a variety of reasons, the Virginia and Georgia assemblies were deliberately prevented from meeting by their governors. Nova Scotia declined to send delegates, despite significant economic connections to Massachusetts, dominated by financial interests connected to England, the assembly never even considered a protest resolution against the Stamp Act. Quebec, Newfoundland, and East and West Florida did not have colonial assemblies, and proper only for the consideration of Parliament. Communications being slow, by the time Parliament was informed about its existence, delegates began to arrive in New York in late September, and a preliminary meeting was held by four delegations on September 30, what was discussed then is not known. The first session of the Congress was held on October 7 and it elected Timothy Ruggles, a conservative Massachusetts delegate, as its chairman, narrowly rejecting James Otis, whom John Adams described as the soul of the body. John Cotton, the deputy secretary of the Massachusetts General Court, had been retained by the Massachusetts delegation to make a record, was chosen as the bodys secretary. The selection of Ruggles as a delegate had been engineered by Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard in the hopes of limiting the effectiveness of the congress
7.
Boston
–
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
8.
Stamp Act 1765
–
Printed materials included legal documents, magazines, playing cards, newspapers, and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies. Like previous taxes, the tax had to be paid in valid British currency. The purpose of the tax was to pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years War and its North American theater of the French. The Americans said that there was no military need for the soldiers there were no foreign enemies on the continent. They suggested that it was actually a matter of British patronage to surplus British officers, the Stamp Act was very unpopular among colonists. A consensus considered it a violation of their rights as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent—consent that only the colonial legislatures could grant and their slogan was No taxation without representation. Colonial assemblies sent petitions and protests, the Stamp Act Congress held in New York City was the first significant joint colonial response to any British measure, it petitioned Parliament and the King. Local protest groups led by merchants and landowners established connections through Committees of Correspondence. Protests and demonstrations initiated by a new organization called the Sons of Liberty often turned violent. Very soon, all stamp tax distributors were intimidated into resigning their commissions, opposition to the Stamp Act was not limited to the colonies. British merchants and manufacturers, whose exports to the colonies were threatened by colonial boycotts, the Act was repealed on March 18,1766 as a matter of expedience, but Parliament affirmed its power to legislate for the colonies in all cases whatsoever by also passing the Declaratory Act. There followed a series of new taxes and regulations, likewise opposed by the colonists, the British victory in the Seven Years War, known in America as the French and Indian War, had been won only at a great financial cost. During the war, the British national debt increased more than fourfold, the primary reason for retaining such a large force was that demobilizing the army would put 1,500 officers out of work, many of whom were well-connected in Parliament. Stationing 10,000 troops to separate American Indians and frontiersmen was one role, the outbreak of Pontiacs Rebellion in May 1763 apparently reinforced the logic of this decision, as it was an American Indian uprising against the British expansion. The main reason to send 10,000 troops deep into the wilderness was to provide billets for the officers who were part of the British patronage system. John Adams said, Revenue is still demanded from America, and appropriated to the maintenance of swarms of officers and pensioners in idleness and luxury. George Grenville became prime minister in April 1763 after the failure of the short-lived Bute Ministry, raising taxes in Britain was out of the question, since there had been virulent protests in England against the Bute ministrys 1763 cider tax, with Bute being hanged in effigy. The Grenville ministry therefore decided that Parliament would raise revenue by taxing the American colonists without their consent
9.
Province of New York
–
The majority of this land was soon reassigned by the Crown, leaving territory that included the valleys of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, and Vermont. The territory of western New York was Iroquois land, also disputed between the English colonies and New France, and that of Vermont was disputed with the Province of New Hampshire, the province resulted from the Dutch Republic surrender of Provincie Nieuw-Nederland to the Kingdom of England in 1664. Immediately after, the province was renamed for James, Duke of York, the colony was one of the Middle Colonies, and ruled at first directly from England. British claims on any part of New York ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1783, after the American Revolution, the former colony became the State of New York. This British crown colony was established upon the former Dutch colony of New Netherland, with its core being York Shire, in what today is typically known as Downstate New York. The Province of New York was divided into counties on November 1,1683, by New York Governor Thomas Dongan, Albany County. Also claimed the area, later disputed, that is now Vermont, in addition, as there was no fixed western border to the colony, Albany County technically extended to the Pacific Ocean. Most of this land, which was Indian land for most of the history, has now been ceded to other states. Cornwall County, that part of Maine between the Kennebec River and the St. Croix River from the Atlantic Ocean to the St. Lawrence River, ceded to the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1692. Dukes County, the Elizabeth Islands, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket Island east of Long Island, Dutchess County, now Dutchess and Putnam counties. Kings County, the current Kings County, Brooklyn, New York County, the current New York County, Manhattan. Orange County, now Orange and Rockland counties, Queens County, now Queens and Nassau counties. Richmond County, the current Richmond County, Staten Island, Suffolk County, the current Suffolk County. Ulster County, now Ulster and Sullivan counties and part of what is now Delaware, Westchester County, now Bronx and Westchester counties. On March 24,1772, Tryon County was formed out of Albany County and it was renamed Montgomery County in 1784, with a later division to Herkimer County around Little Falls. Charlotte County was formed out of Albany County and it was renamed Washington County in 1784. In 1617 officials of the Dutch West India Company in New Netherland created a settlement at present-day Albany, New Amsterdam surrendered to Colonel Richard Nicholls on August 27,1664, he renamed it New York. On September 24 Sir George Carteret accepted the capitulation of the garrison at Fort Orange, the capture was confirmed by the Treaty of Breda in July 1667
10.
Province of Massachusetts Bay
–
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in British North America and, from 1776, one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7,1691, by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The charter took effect on May 14,1692, and included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, the Province of Maine, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The modern Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the successor, Maine has been a separate U. S. state since 1820. The name Massachusetts comes from the Massachusett, an Algonquian tribe, the name has been translated as at the great hill, at the place of large hills, or at the range of hills, with reference to the Blue Hills, and in particular, Great Blue Hill. Colonial settlement of the shores of Massachusetts Bay began in 1620 with the founding of the Plymouth Colony, over the next ten years there was a major migration of Puritans to the area, leading to the founding of a number of new colonies in New England. By the 1680s the number of colonies had stabilized at five, in addition to Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay was the most populous and economically significant, housing a sizable merchant fleet. The colonies at times struggled against the Indian population, which had suffered a decline in population prior to the arrival of the first permanent settlers. In the 1630s the Pequot tribe was destroyed, and King Philips War in the 1670s resulted in the expulsion, pacification. The latter war was costly to the colonists of New England. Massachusetts and Plymouth were both somewhat politically independent from England in their days, but this situation changed after the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660. Charles sought closer oversight of the colonies, and to introduce and enforce economic control over their activities, the Navigation Acts passed in the 1660s were widely disliked in Massachusetts, where merchants often found themselves trapped and at odds with the rules. These issues and others led to the revocation of the first Massachusetts Charter in 1684, when James was deposed in the 1688 Glorious Revolution, Massachusetts political leaders conspired against Andros, arresting him and other English authorities in April 1689. This led to the collapse of the Dominion, as the other colonies then quickly reasserted their old forms of government, the Plymouth colony had never had a royal charter, so its governance had always been on a somewhat precarious footing. Massachusetts, however, was placed into constitutional anarchy by the uprising, provincial agents traveled to London where Increase Mather, representing the old colony leaders, petitioned new rulers William and Mary to restore the old colonial charter. When King William learned that this result in a return to the predominantly entrenched religious rule. Instead, the Lords of Trade decided to solve two problems at once by combining the two colonies, accordingly, on October 7,1691, they issued a charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and appointed Sir William Phips its governor. Although the effect of change has been subject to debate among historians
11.
Samuel Adams
–
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a cousin to fellow Founding Father, President John Adams. Adams was born in Boston, brought up in a religious, a graduate of Harvard College, he was an unsuccessful businessman and tax collector before concentrating on politics. His 1768 Massachusetts Circular Letter calling for colonial non-cooperation prompted the occupation of Boston by British soldiers, continued resistance to British policy resulted in the 1773 Boston Tea Party and the coming of the American Revolution. Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774, at which time Adams attended the Continental Congress in Philadelphia which was convened to coordinate a colonial response, Adams returned to Massachusetts after the American Revolution, where he served in the state senate and was eventually elected governor. Samuel Adams later became a figure in American history. Accounts written in the 19th century praised him as someone who had been steering his fellow colonists towards independence long before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. This view gave way to negative assessments of Adams in the first half of the 20th century, both of these interpretations have been challenged by some modern scholars, who argue that these traditional depictions of Adams are myths contradicted by the historical record. Samuel Adams was born in Boston in the British colony of Massachusetts on September 16,1722, an Old Style date that is sometimes converted to the New Style date of September 27. Adams was one of children born to Samuel Adams, Sr. and Mary Adams in an age of high infant mortality. Adamss parents were devout Puritans and members of the Old South Congregational Church, the family lived on Purchase Street in Boston. Adams was proud of his Puritan heritage, and emphasized Puritan values in his political career, Samuel Adams, Sr. was a prosperous merchant and church deacon. Deacon Adams became a figure in Boston politics through an organization that became known as the Boston Caucus. The Boston Caucus helped shape the agenda of the Boston Town Meeting, Deacon Adams rose through the political ranks, becoming a justice of the peace, a selectman, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In the coming years, members of the party became known as Whigs or Patriots. The younger Samuel Adams attended Boston Latin School and then entered Harvard College in 1736 and his parents hoped that his schooling would prepare him for the ministry, but Adams gradually shifted his interest to politics. After graduating in 1740, Adams continued his studies, earning a degree in 1743. Adamss life was affected by his fathers involvement in a banking controversy
12.
Joseph Warren
–
Dr. Warren participated in the next days Battles of Lexington and Concord, which are commonly considered to be the opening engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Warren had been commissioned a Major General in the colonys militia shortly before the June 17,1775 Battle of Bunker Hill. Rather than exercising his rank, Warren served in the battle as a private soldier and his death, immortalized in John Trumbulls painting, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunkers Hill, June 17,1775, galvanized the rebel forces. He has been memorialized in the naming of towns, counties and other locations in the United States, by statues. Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Joseph Warren, genealogists can trace his more distant ancestry back to a Norman baron who was an uncle of William the Conqueror. His father was a farmer who died in October 1755 when he fell off a ladder while gathering fruit in his orchard. After attending the Roxbury Latin School, Joseph enrolled in Harvard College, graduating in 1759 and he studied medicine and married 18-year-old heiress Elizabeth Hooten on September 6,1764. She died in 1772, leaving him four children, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary. While practicing medicine and surgery in Boston, he joined the Masonic Lodge of St. Andrew and he was Master of the Lodge in 1769 at the same time that Paul Revere was its Secretary. Warren was appointed Grand Master of the newly established Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in that same year and he also became involved in politics, associating with John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other leaders of the broad movement labeled Sons of Liberty. Warren conducted an autopsy on the body of young Christopher Seider in February 1770, in 1774, he authored a song, Free America, which was published in colonial newspapers. The poem was set to a traditional British tune, The British Grenadiers, as Bostons conflict with the royal government came to a head in 1773–75, Warren was appointed to the Boston Committee of Correspondence. He twice delivered orations in commemoration of the Massacre, the time in March 1775 while the town was occupied by army troops. Warren drafted the Suffolk Resolves, which were endorsed by the Continental Congress, to advocate resistance to Parliaments Coercive Acts and he was appointed President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the highest position in the revolutionary government. In mid-April 1775, Warren and Dr. Benjamin Church were the two top members of the Committee of Correspondence left in Boston. It had been known for weeks that General Gage in Boston had plans to destroy munitions stored in Concord by the colonials, Warren received the additional information from a highly placed informant that the troops also had orders to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Warren sent William Dawes and Paul Revere on their famous midnight rides to warn Hancock, when the enemy were returning from Concord, he was among the foremost in hanging upon their rear and assailing their flanks. During this fighting Warren was nearly killed, a ball striking part of his wig
13.
Gaspee Affair
–
The Gaspee Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS Gaspee was a British customs schooner that had engaged in anti-smuggling operations. It ran aground in shallow water on June 9,1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode Island, a group of men led by Abraham Whipple and John Brown attacked, boarded, looted, and torched the ship. The event renewed hostilities between the American colonists and British officials, British officials in Rhode Island wanted to eliminate some of the illicit trade that had defined the small colony in order to increase revenue from the colony. British officials wanted to reduce hostilities between the Crown and the colonies, while the Rhode Island merchants did not, colonists protested the Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, and other British impositions that had clashed with the colony’s history of rum smuggling and slave trading. British officers clashed with Rhode Island officials concerning the events that had taken place in the burning of the Gaspee, Wanton also challenged the claims of Aaron Briggs, an indentured servant claiming to have participated in the burning. The Gaspee Affair and aftermath further deepened the divide between British and colonial officials in North America, the customs service had a violent history in Britain’s North American colonies in the eighteenth century. The Treasury in London did little to correct problems. The Admiralty purchased six Marblehead sloops and schooners and gave them Anglicized French names based on their recent acquisitions in Canada. The St. John, St. Lawrence, Chaleur, Hope, Magdalen, and Gaspee had their French accents removed, among these reforms was the deputizing of the Royal Navys Sea Officers to help enforce customs laws in colonial ports. In 1764, Rhode Islanders attacked HMS St. John, in early 1772, Lieutenant William Dudingston sailed HMS Gaspee into Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay to aid in the enforcement of customs collection and inspection of cargo. Rhode Island had a reputation for smuggling and trading with the enemy during wartime, Dudingston arrived on Rhode Island in February and met with Governor Joseph Wanton. Dudingston did not find the Governor to be overly helpful, soon after he began patrolling Narragansett Bay, the Gaspee stopped and inspected the sloop Fortune on February 17 and seized twelve hogsheads of undeclared rum. Dudingston sent the Fortune and seized rum to Boston, believing that any seized items left in a Rhode Island port would be reclaimed by colonists, Dudingston’s decision to move the Fortune to Boston brought outrage within the Rhode Island colony. The merchants were the most affected by Dudingston, and they sought to bring an end to the Gaspee’s control over Narragansett Bay. On March 21, Rhode Island Deputy Governor Darius Sessions wrote to Governor Wanton regarding Lieutenant Dudingston, Dudingston maintained the Gaspee’s operations without returning to shore, despite the problems that he faced in the Rhode Island colony. He continued making inspections without making formal seizures, infuriating Rhode Island’s merchants further, additionally, he reached out to Admiral Montagu, seeking clarification of the position taken by Governor Wanton. During the exchange between officials, Dudingston’s newly made enemies in the colony pursued methods of ending Dudingston’s inspections
14.
History of Virginia
–
The History of Virginia begins with documentation by the first Spanish explorers to reach the area in the 1500s, when it was occupied chiefly by Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan peoples. After a failed English attempt to settle Virginia in the 1580s by Sir Walter Raleigh, permanent English settlement began in Virginia with Jamestown, the Virginia Company colony was looking for gold but failed and the colonists could barely feed themselves. The famine during the winter of 1609 forced the colonists to eat leather from their clothes and boots. The colony nearly failed until tobacco emerged as a profitable export and it was grown on plantations, using primarily indentured servants for the intensive hand labor involved. After 1662, the colony turned black slavery into a racial caste. By 1750, the cultivators of the cash crop were West African slaves. While the plantations thrived because of the demand for tobacco. The westernmost counties including Wise and Washington only became safe with the death of Bob Benge in 1794, the Virginia Colony became the wealthiest and most populated British colony in North America, with an elected General Assembly. The colony was dominated by planters who were also in control of the established Anglican Church. Baptist and Methodist preachers brought the Great Awakening, welcoming members and leading to many evangelical. Virginia planters had a role in gaining independence and in the development of democratic-republican ideals of the United States. They were important in the Declaration of Independence, writing the Constitutional Convention, the state of Kentucky separated from Virginia in 1792. During the first half of the 19th century, tobacco prices declined, planters adopted mixed farming, with an emphasis on wheat and livestock, which required less labor. The Constitutions of 1830 and 1850 expanded suffrage but did not equalize white male apportionment statewide, the population grew slowly from 700,000 in 1790, to 1 million in 1830, to 1.2 million in 1860. Virginia was the largest state joining the Confederate States of America in 1861 and it became the major theater of war in the American Civil War. Unionists in western Virginia created the state of West Virginia. Virginias economy was devastated in the war and disrupted in Reconstruction, the first signs of recovery were seen in tobacco cultivation and the related cigarette industry, followed by coal mining and increasing industrialization. In 1883 conservative white Democrats regained power in the government, ending Reconstruction
15.
House of Burgesses
–
The Virginia House of Burgesses /ˈbɜːrdʒəsɪz/ was the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America. From 1619 to 1776, the branch of the legislature of Virginia was the House of Burgesses. Jamestown remained the capital of the Virginia colony until 1699, when the government was moved to Williamsburg, in 1776 the colony became the independent Commonwealth of Virginia and the House of Burgesses became the House of Delegates. Originally a synonym of burgher or bourgeois, the word came to mean a borough representative in local or parliamentary government. The Colony of Virginia was founded by an English stock company, early governors provided the stern leadership and harsh judgments required for the colony to survive its early difficulties. To encourage settlers to come to Virginia, in 1618–1619, the Virginia Companys leaders drew up a great charter, emigrants who paid their own way to Virginia would receive fifty acres of land. They would not be mere tenants, civil authority would control the military. A council of burgesses, representatives chosen by the inhabitants of the colony for their government, the House of Assembly was created at the same time in Bermuda and held its first session in 1620. A handful of Polish craftsmen, brought to the colony to supply skill in the manufacture of pitch, tar, potash and they downed tools in protest, but returned to work after being declared free and enfranchised, apparently by agreement with the Virginia Company. On July 30,1619, the first European-style legislative assembly in the Americas convened for a meeting at the church on Jamestown Island. Together, the House of Burgesses and the Council would be the Virginia General Assembly, the Houses first session of July 30,1619, accomplished little, being cut short by an outbreak of malaria. By 1624, the government in London had heard enough about the problems of the colony. Virginia became a colony and the governor and council would be chosen by the king. Nonetheless, the form of government of the colony was retained. In 1634, the General Assembly divided the colony into eight shires for purposes of government, administration, by 1643, the expanding colony had 15 counties. All of the county offices, including a board of commissioners, judges, sheriff, constable, only the members of the House of Burgesses were elected by a vote of the people. Women had no right to vote, while all free men originally were given the right to vote, by 1670 only property owners were allowed to vote. In 1652, the forces of Oliver Cromwell forced the colony to submit to their takeover of the English government
16.
Peyton Randolph
–
Peyton Randolph was a planter and public official from the Colony of Virginia. He served as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, president of Virginia Conventions, Randolph was born in Tazewell Hall Williamsburg, Virginia to a prominent family. His parents were Sir John Randolph, the son of William Randolph, and Susanna Beverley and his father died when he was 16. Randolph attended the College of William & Mary, and later studied law at Middle Temple at the Inns of Court in London and he lived his adulthood in Williamsburg, Va. Randolph returned to Williamsburg and was appointed Attorney General of the Colony of Virginia the next year and he served several terms in the Virginia House of Burgesses, beginning in 1748. It was Randolphs dual roles as attorney general and as burgess that would lead to a conflict of interest in 1751. The new governor, Robert Dinwiddie, had imposed a fee for the certification of land patents, the House selected Peyton Randolph to represent their cause to Crown authorities in London. In his role as general, though, he was responsible for defending actions taken by the governor. Randolph left for London, over the objections of Governor Dinwiddie, Randolph resumed his post on his return at the behest of Wythe as well as officials in London, who also recommended the Governor drop the new fee. In 1765 Randolph found himself at odds with a burgess, Patrick Henry. The House appointed Randolph to draft objections to the act, and this was accomplished at a meeting of the House in which most of the members were absent, and over which Randolph was presiding in the absence of the Speaker. Randolph resigned as attorney in 1766, as fellow Burgesses elected him as their Speaker upon the death of his relative. Sitting as the General Court, they also appointed Randolph one of the executors of the former speakers estate, as friction between Britain and the colonies progressed, Randolph grew to favor independence. In 1769 the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the Governor, Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt, in 1773, Randolph chaired the Virginia committee of correspondence. The next Governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, also dissolved the House of Burgesses in 1774 when it showed solidarity with Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21,1775 he was president of the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond that debated independence. The House of Burgesses was called back by Lord Dunmore one last time in June 1775 to address British Prime Minister Lord Norths Conciliatory Resolution, Randolph, who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, returned to Williamsburg to take his place as Speaker. Randolph indicated that the resolution had not been sent to the Congress, the House of Burgesses rejected the proposal, which was also later rejected by the Continental Congress. Randolph was thus the last Speaker of the House of Burgesses, Edmund Pendleton would succeed Randolph as president of the later conventions
17.
Robert Carter Nicholas Sr.
–
Robert Carter Nicholas was a Virginia lawyer and political figure. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, the General Assembly, Robert Carter Nicholas was the son of Dr. George Nicholas and Elizabeth Carter Burwell Nicholas of Williamsburg, Virginia. His father was a British convict, transported for forgery and his mother was the daughter of wealthy Virginia landowner, Robert King Carter of Corotoman. Born January 28, 1728/9, both of his parents were dead by 1734, Nicholas studied law at the College of William and Mary and practiced in the general court under the royal government. From 1761 to 1774, Nicholas was one of the trustees of the Bray school - a charity school for black children - in Williamsburg and he was the principal correspondent with Dr. Brays Associates in England, who financed the school. In October 1765 Nicholas, along with John Randolph and George Wythe, was part of committee that heard Thomas Jeffersons bar examinations, later when Nicholas became Treasurer of Virginia, he stopped taking new cases and turned over many of his existing cases to Jefferson. In fact, in 1774 Jefferson had to rewrite a motion written by Nicholas objecting to the next Royal Governor Lord Dunmores land proclamation. Two days later he submitted a motion to grant pardons to black slaves who he claimed had been deluded by the British to join Loyalist forces. Nicholas opposed the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, but he was a member of the appointed to draft a declaration of rights. He was a member of the Virginia General Assembly from 1776 to 1778, consequently, he became a member of the first Court of Appeals, predecessor of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Judge Nicholas died the year in 1780. Nicholas married Anne Cary, daughter of Wilson Cary of Warwick County in 1751 and his grandson, Robert C. Nicholas was a United States Senator from Louisiana, and his daughter Elizabeth married Edmund Randolph, the first United States Attorney General. His son-in-law, Edmund Randolph described him, By nature he was benevolent, history. org short biography Journal of the House of Burgesses Golladay, Victor Dennis. The Nicholas Family of Virginia, 1722-1820, PhD Diss, University of Virginia,1973, Thomas Jefferson, A Life Media related to Robert Carter Nicholas, Sr. at Wikimedia Commons
18.
Richard Bland
–
Richard Bland, sometimes referred to as Richard Bland II or Richard Bland of Jordans Point, was an American planter and statesman from Virginia and a cousin of Thomas Jefferson. He served for terms in the House of Burgesses, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. His father, Richard Bland I, was a member of one of the main patriarchal First Families of Virginia, Theodorick moved to Virginia to manage the family enterprises there as a result of the death of his elder brother, Edward Bland in 1653. Theodorick established Berkeley Plantation and Westover Plantation, and both survive still side by side as working plantations on the bank of the James River and he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, and was its speaker in 1660 when he married Governor Richard Bennetts daughter, Anna. Before he died in 1671 they had three sons, Theodorick, Richard, and John and his first wife was Mary Swann, but she died without living children. In 1702 he married Elizabeth Randolph and they would have five children, Mary, Elizabeth, Richard, Anna, and Theodorick whose son, Theodorick Bland, also became a congressman and first commanded General Washingtons Virginia Cavalry. The Richard of this also served in the House of Burgesses. His elder brother, Theodorick II, would become the original surveyor of the towns of Williamsburg, when Richard II was born on May 6,1710 at either Jordans Point or Bland House in Williamsburg, he was heir to the farm, and lived there his entire life. He inherited it early, as both his parents died just before his birthday in 1720. His mother Elizabeth died on January 22, and his father Richard on April 6 and his uncles, William and Richard Randolph, looked after his farm and early education and raised, as guardians, Richard and his siblings. Richard attended the College of William and Mary then, like many of his time and he was trained in the law and admitted to the bar in 1746, but never offered his legal services to the public. Richard II married Anne Poythress, the daughter of Colonel Peter and Ann Poythress, from Henrico County, the couple married at Jordans Point on March 21,1729, and made it their home. They had twelve children, Richard, Elizabeth, Ann Poythress, Peter Randolph, John, Mary, William, Theodorick, Edward, Sarah, Susan, see The Bland Papers of Col. Theodorick Bland published by Charles Campbell. Richard would marry twice after Anne died, but without any more children, Bland served as a Justice of the Peace in Prince George County, and was made a militia officer in 1739. In 1742 he was first elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, blands thoughtful work made him one of its leaders, although he was never a strong speaker. He frequently served on committees whose role was to negotiate or frame laws, sometimes described as a bookish scholar as well as farmer, Bland read law, and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1746. He did not practice before the courts, but collected legal documents and became known for his expertise in Virginia and British history, Bland often published pamphlets, as well as letters. His pamphlet A Letter to the Clergy on the Two-penny Act was printed in 1760, as he opposed increasing pay, when the Stamp Act created controversy throughout the colonies, Bland thought through the entire issue of parliamentary laws as opposed to those that originated in the colonial assemblies
19.
Richard Henry Lee
–
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation, and his resolution for independency of June 1776 led to the United States Declaration of Independence and he was a member of the Lee family, a historically influential family in Virginia politics. He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Col. Thomas Lee and he was raised and came from a line of military officers, diplomats, and legislators. His father, Thomas Lee, was the governor of Virginia before his death in 1750, Lee spent most of his early life in Stratford, Virginia with his family at Stratford Hall. In 1748, at 16, Lee left Virginia for Yorkshire, England, to complete his education at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. Both of his parents died in 1750 and, in 1753, after touring Europe, in 1757, Lee was appointed justice of the peace in Westmoreland County. In 1758 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, an early advocate of independence, Lee became one of the first to create Committees of Correspondence among the many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies. This resolution was signed by four brothers of George Washington as well as Gilbert Campbell, in August 1774, Lee was chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Lee had returned to Virginia by the time Congress voted on and adopted the Declaration of Independence, Lee was elected the sixth President of Congress under the Articles of Confederation on November 30,1784, in the French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey. On January 11,1785, Congress convened in the old New York City Hall, although, he was not paid a salary for his office as president, his household expenses were paid by Congress in the amount of $12,203.13. Lees Congress was most active in 1785, passing numerous legislation and his most pressing issue, however, was to settle the states territorial disputes over the Northwest Territory. Throughout his term, Lee remained steadfast that the release of states’ territorial claims on the Northwest Territory would enable the government to fund itself with land sales. He believed that the urgency of this measure was paramount because borrowing more foreign money was no longer prudent, the sale of these vast federal lands, he concluded, was the nations only hope to pay off the war debt and adequately fund federal government. On May 3,1785, William Grayson of Virginia made a motion seconded by James Monroe to change “seven miles square” to “six miles square”, and the current US Survey system was born. The states relinquished their right to this test tract of land, and this either required troops to eject the Native Americans or capital to purchase their land fairly, insuring the peaceful sale and settlement. With the states no longer in control of the lands and no federal magistrates or troops to enforce the laws, Lees plan to fill the federal treasury with the proceeds of land sales failed, but the survey system developed under the Land Ordinance of 1785 is still used today. Anne died December 12,1768 at Chantille, Westmoreland Co, the couple had six children, four of whom survived infancy, Elizabeth Virginia Lee, who died in infancy. Thomas Lee, resided at Park Gate from 1790 to 1805, Col. Ludwell Lee, Esq. who married Flora Lee, daughter of Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr. Esq. and Elizabeth Steptoe, who married secondly, Philip Richard Fendall I
20.
Benjamin Harrison V
–
Benjamin Harrison V, from Charles City County, Virginia, was an American politician, planter, and merchant, a revolutionary leader and a Founding Father of the United States. He received his education at the College of William and Mary. Harrison was a representative to the Virginia House of Burgesses for Surry County, Virginia and he was a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777 and, during the Second Continental Congress, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Harrison later served as Virginias fifth governor and his direct descendants include two U. S. Presidents, his son William Henry Harrison and great-grandson Benjamin Harrison. Harrison was the eldest child of Benjamin Harrison IV and Anne Carter, the first Benjamin Harrison is said to have arrived in the colonies around 1630. British historian F. A. Inderwick contends that Benjamin IV is also descended from Thomas Harrison, a participant in the regicide of Charles I, but this is disputed. Benjamin IV and Anne built the house at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia and he served as a Justice of the Peace. Benjamin V, one of ten children, was described in his youth as tall and powerfully built, with features that were defined. His next younger brother, Carter Henry, became a leader in Cumberland County, brother Nathaniel settled in Prince George County, became sheriff, and was later elected to the House of Burgesses. Another brother, Henry, fought in the French and Indian War, the youngest brother Charles joined the Continental Army and rose to the rank of brigadier general. It is known that in the division of slaves among his children, the Harrisons also assumed a sense of duty to indoctrinate their slaves in Christianity. In this light, Benjamin IVs decision to ignore primogeniture subjected his younger children, there are no known specific instances of abuse by the Harrisons of their slaves, beyond the opprobrious conduct inherent in their claim to ownership of them. Benjamin V followed his father in representing the counties of Charles City and Surry in the House of Burgesses, in 1770 Benjamin was among the first signers of an agreement among Virginia lawmakers and merchants boycotting British imports until the British Parliament repealed its taxes on tea. Harrison also joined in sponsoring a bill that declared certain laws passed by Parliament affecting Virginia to be illegal without the consent of His Majestys subjects in the colony. Late in 1773 the famous Boston Tea Party occurred and the British Parliament enacted punitive measures which were called by the colonies Intolerable Acts, on August 5,1774 Harrison was selected by convention as one of seven delegates to represent Virginia at the Congress. He set out that month, leaving his state for the first time. Harrison gravitated to the older and more conservative of his fellow delegates in Philadelphia, and was distant with the New Englanders. Their dislike for one another was primarily due to differences in lifestyle, Party factionalism also accounted for the divide, Harrison aligned with John Hancock, and Adams with Richard Henry Lee, whom Harrison had adamantly opposed in the House of Burgesses
21.
Edmund Pendleton
–
Edmund Pendleton was a Virginia planter, politician, lawyer and judge. He served in the Virginia legislature before and during the American Revolutionary War, unlike his sometime political rival Henry, Pendleton was a moderate who initially hoped for reconciliation, rather than revolt. With Thomas Jefferson and George Wythe, Pendleton revised Virginias legal code after the break with Britain, Pendleton was born in Caroline County to Mary Bishop Taylor, whose young husband, Henry Pendleton, had died four months earlier. Pendletons maternal grandfather, James Taylor, was a landowner in nearby Rappahannock County. Edmund Pendleton received a license to practice law in April 1741 and his success before nearby county courts, including as the prosecuting attorney for Essex County allowed Pendleton to become a member of the General Court bar in October 1745. Pendleton also trained many lawyers, including his nephews John Penn. From 1752–1776 Pendleton represented Caroline County in the House of Burgesses, Pendleton was on the Virginia Committee of Correspondence in 1773 and was a delegate to Continental Congress from Virginia in 1774. The Convention debated the Virginia Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason, Pendleton proposed the modification in the statement of universal rights in Virginias declaration to exclude slaves, thus winning support of slave owners. Fellow delegates elected Pendleton the first Speaker of Virginias new House of Delegates although a fall from a horse in March 1777 dislocated his hip and he used crutches the rest of his life. Pendleton, along with Thomas Jefferson and George Wythe, revised Virginias law code and he became Judge of the High Court of Chancery in 1777. When Virginia created a Supreme Court of Appeals in 1778, Pendleton was appointed its first president, in 1788 delegates unanimously selected Pendleton president of the Virginia Ratifying Convention. He married Betty Roy on January 21,1741, but she died in childbirth on November 17,1742, on January 20,1745, Pendleton married Sarah Pollard, daughter of Joseph Pollard and Priscilla Hoomes. Edmund and Sarah had no children, but in his correspondence with contemporaries. Since Pendleton had no descendants, his nieces, nephews, grandnieces. Pendleton did not grant freedom to any slaves in his will, unlike George Washington who similarly died without direct descendants and his brother John Pendletons son, also named Edmund Pendleton, added Jr. to distinguish himself from the judge whose principal heir he became. His oldest brother, James Pendleton,19 years his senior, died in 1762 and left an estate in Culpeper that Edmund administered for the widow. Many relatives were named after the judge, including grandnephews Edmund Pendleton, Edmund Pendleton, Edmund Pendleton and his nephew Nathaniel Pendleton, Jr. distinguished himself in the American Revolution as an aide to General Nathaniel Greene and later became a lawyer and United States District Judge for Georgia. In turn his son Edmund Henry Pendleton also became a judge, another descendant, Edmund Monroe Pendleton distinguished himself in developing fertilizer products and became a professor of Agriculture and Horticulture at the University of Georgia
22.
Patrick Henry
–
Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, Henry led the opposition to the Stamp Act 1765 and is remembered for his Give me liberty, or give me death. After the Revolution, Henry was a leader of the anti-federalists in Virginia and he opposed the United States Constitution, fearing that it endangered the rights of the States as well as the freedoms of individuals, he helped gain adoption of the Bill of Rights. However, by 1798 he supported President John Adams and the Federalists and he denounced passage of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions as he feared the social unrest and widespread executions that had followed the increasing radicalism of the French Revolution. After he married, Henry began acquiring extensive land holdings, by 1779, along with his cousin and her husband, Henry owned a 10, 000-acre plantation known as Leatherwood. He is also recorded having purchased up to 78 slaves, in 1794, he and his wife retired to Red Hill Plantation, comprising 520 acres in Charlotte County, which was also a functioning tobacco plantation. Henry was born at Studley, the farm, in Hanover County in the Colony of Virginia. His father was John Henry, an immigrant from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, settling in Hanover County, in about 1732 John Henry married Sarah Winston Syme, a wealthy widow from a prominent Hanover County family of English ancestry. Patrick Henry was once thought to have been of humble origins, Henry attended local schools for a few years, and then was tutored by his father. He tried to start in business but was not successful, in 1754 Henry married Sarah Shelton, reportedly in the parlor of her family house, Rural Plains. As a wedding gift, her father gave the couple six slaves, with his marriage, he became a slaveholder and landowner. Henry worked with his slaves on the land because it was a property, it was exhausted from tobacco cultivation. After the main house burned, the moved for a short time with their two children into the 20 by 60 foot Honeymoon Cottage, a one-story building with attic. They later moved to the Hanover Tavern, owned by Sarahs father and they sold Pine Slash Plantation in 1764, after Henry started working as a lawyer. The Henrys had six children together, one of whom married a brother of poet Thomas Campbell, in 1771 the family moved to Scotchtown Plantation, also in Hanover County. Sarah became mentally ill and died there in 1775, on October 25,1777, 41-year-old Henry married his second wife, 22-year-old Dorothea Dandridge. The next year moved to Williamsburg after his election as governor. In 1779 they moved to the 10, 000-acre Leatherwood Plantation, Henry began a career as a planter, but the soil was poor and their main house was destroyed by fire in 1757
23.
Edward Digges
–
Edward Digges was an English barrister and colonist who served as Colonial Governor of Virginia from March 1655 to December 1656. He invested heavily in planting trees and promoting the silk industry in the colony. Born at Chilham Castle, Kent, England, and christened in Chilham parish on 29 March 1620, Edward Digges was the son of Sir Dudley Digges. Sir Dudley was the Master of the Rolls for King Charles I, Edward Digges entered Grays Inn in 1637 to become a barrister. He emigrated to the Virginia Colony about 1650 and purchased from Captain John West a plantation of 1250 acres in present-day York County, Virginia, about 1653, he laid out Fort Mattapony near Walkerton, King and Queen County, Virginia. Digges developed a strong interest in reviving the production of silk in Virginia, the cultivation of the silkworm had been attempted previously in the colony, in response to King Jamess interest in the subject. However, these efforts had been unsuccessful, perhaps due to lack of enthusiasm among the colonists. Digges, in contrast, became absorbed in his project. Digges sent a parcel of his silk to the Royal Society, by way of his cousin Dudley Palmer, diggess efforts to create a silk industry in Virginia proved futile. To this day there are numerous mulberry trees, which were used to raise the silk worms, still standing on the land of the old plantation. In recognition of his efforts, Edward Digges was given a seat in the council in November 1654, having given a signal testimony of his fidelity to this colony, Edward Digges was more successful with tobacco than with silk. He became known for growing E. D. tobacco, a variety which brought an unusually high price in London. In December 1656, The House of Burgesses selected Samuel Mathews as governor to replace Edward Digges, in this position, Digges was to go to England and meet with English merchants about the price of tobacco and to secure the rights of the colony. Edward Digges married Elizabeth Page, daughter of Francis Page of Bedfont, Middlesex, a large tombstone was placed over his grave near his home at Bellfield, with the following inscription, To the memory of Edward Digges Esq. Sonne of Dudley Digges of Chilham in Kent Kn t & Bar t Master of the Rolls in the rain of K. Charles the First. He departed this life 15th of March 1674 in the LIII d year of his age, a gentlemen of most commendable parts and ingenuity, the only introducer and promoter of the silk manufacture in this colony. And in everything else a pattern worthy of all Pious Imitation and he had issue 6 sons and 7 daughters by the body of Elizabeth his wife who of her conjugal affection hath dedicated to him this Memorial. Accordingly on the 10th December,1691, Joseph Ring, Thomas Barber and Martin Gardiner reported the division, and it amounted to L1102,18,10
24.
Archibald Cary
–
Col. Archibald Cary was a Virginia planter, soldier, politician, and major landowner. He was a figure from the colony of Virginia. Col. Archibald Cary was born on January 24,1721, He was the son of Henry Cary, Jr. and he was educated in Williamsburg and Ampthill, Virginia and is believed to have attended the College of William and Mary. Upon his fathers death in 1742 Cary inherited over 4,000 acres and his plantation, called Buckingham, was identified on the Joshua Fry-Peter Jefferson map. Cary was a member of the House of Burgesses from 1756 to 1776, as tensions with the mother country escalated, in 1773 Cary served as a member of Virginias committee of correspondence. When the House of Burgesses was dissolved at the outset of the American Revolution, after Virginia became an independent state in 1776, Cary became the first speaker of the Senate of Virginia, and remained in that position until his death. During the American Revolutionary War, Cary was placed in charge of recruitment and he did fund the Virginia militia for the following reason, though he had always been loyal to the Crown, he had grown tired of British attempts to continue promoting the sale of slaves in America. Although he owned some 200 slaves, he had come to the conclusion that everything about the slave trade, Cary was known among Baptists for arresting many Baptists for preaching without a license. There was one incident where a Baptist preacher continued to preach from his cell window, to solve the problem, Cary put a wall around the prison. He operated Chesterfield Forge, which fabricated iron, starting in 1750, and ending in 1781 and he owned British thoroughbred horses and traded with England. On May 31,1744 Cary married Mary Randolph, the daughter of Richard Randolph of Curles, and sister of William Randolph of Tuckahoe, the two had nine children together and, through his marriage, Carys children were lineal descendants of Pocahontas. Their children included, Anne Cary, who married Thomas Mann Randolph, jane Cary, married Thomas Isham Randolph, the son of Isham Randolph and an uncle of United States President Thomas Jefferson, in 1768. Richmond, Virginia, Garrett and Massie,1937, imprisoned Preachers and Religious Liberty in Virginia. Lynchburg, Virginia, J. P. Bell Co.1938, tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, volume 2. New York, Lewis Historical Publishing,1915, at a Place Called Buckingham, Kettering, Ohio, Slate River Press,2011
25.
Thomas Jefferson
–
Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Previously, he was elected the second Vice President of the United States, Jefferson was primarily of English ancestry, born and educated in colonial Virginia. He graduated from the College of William & Mary and briefly practiced law and he became the United States Minister to France in May 1785, and subsequently the nations first Secretary of State in 1790–1793 under President George Washington. Jefferson and James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the First Party System, as President, Jefferson pursued the nations shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies. He also organized the Louisiana Purchase, almost doubling the countrys territory, as a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces. Jeffersons second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr, American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act of 1807, responding to British threats to U. S. shipping. In 1803, Jefferson began a process of Indian tribe removal to the newly organized Louisiana Territory. Jefferson mastered many disciplines, which ranged from surveying and mathematics to horticulture and he was a proven architect in the classical tradition. Jeffersons keen interest in religion and philosophy earned him the presidency of the American Philosophical Society and he shunned organized religion, but was influenced by both Christianity and deism. He was well versed in linguistics and spoke several languages and he founded the University of Virginia after retiring from public office. He was a letter writer and corresponded with many prominent and important people throughout his adult life. His only full-length book is Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson owned several plantations which were worked by hundreds of slaves. Most historians now believe that, after the death of his wife in 1782, he had a relationship with his slave Sally Hemings and fathered at least one of her children. Various modern scholars are more critical of Jeffersons private life, pointing out the discrepancy between his ownership of slaves and his political principles, for example. Presidential scholars, however, consistently rank Jefferson among the greatest presidents, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13,1743, at the family home in Shadwell in the Colony of Virginia, the third of ten children. He was of English and possibly Welsh descent and was born a British subject and his father Peter Jefferson was a planter and surveyor who died when Jefferson was fourteen, his mother was Jane Randolph. Peter Jefferson moved his family to Tuckahoe Plantation in 1745 upon the death of a friend who had named him guardian of his children, the Jeffersons returned to Shadwell in 1752, where Peter died in 1757, his estate was divided between his sons Thomas and Randolph. Thomas inherited approximately 5,000 acres of land, including Monticello and he assumed full authority over his property at age 21
26.
John Dickinson
–
When these failed, he reworked Thomas Jeffersons language and wrote the final draft of the 1775 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. Dickinson later served as President of the 1786 Annapolis Convention, which called for the Constitutional Convention of 1787, John Dickinson High School was opened/dedicated in 1963 as part of the public schools in northern Delaware. Dickinson was born at Croisadore, his familys plantation near the village of Trappe in Talbot County. There, with 400 acres on the banks of the Choptank River, Walter began a plantation, Croisadore, Walter also bought 800 acres on St. Jones Neck in what became Kent County, Delaware. Croisadore passed through Walters son, William, to his grandson, Samuel, each generation increased the landholdings, so that Samuel inherited 2,500 acres on five farms in three Maryland counties and over his lifetime increased that to 9,000 acres. He also bought the Kent County property from his cousin and expanded it to about 3,000 acres, there he began another plantation and called it Poplar Hall. These plantations were large, profitable agricultural enterprises worked by slave labor, Samuel Dickinson first married Judith Troth on April 11,1710. They had nine children, William, Walter, Samuel, Elizabeth, Henry, Elizabeth Betsy, Rebecca, the three eldest sons died of smallpox while in London seeking their education. Widowed, with two children, Henry and Betsy, Samuel married Mary Cadwalader in 1731. She was the daughter of Martha Jones and the prominent Quaker John Cadwalader who was grandfather of General John Cadwalader of Philadelphia. Their sons, John, Thomas, and Philemon were born in the few years. For three generations the Dickinson family had been members of the Third Haven Friends Meeting in Talbot County, but in 1739, John Dickinsons half-sister, Betsy, was married in an Anglican church to Charles Goldsborough in what was called a disorderly marriage by the Meeting. The couple would be the grandparents of Maryland governor Charles Goldsborough, leaving Croisadore to elder son Henry Dickinson, Samuel moved to Poplar Hall, where he had already taken a leading role in the community as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Kent County. The move also placed Mary nearer her Philadelphia relations, Poplar Hall was situated on a now-straightened bend of the St. Jones River. There was plenty of activity delivering the necessities, and shipping the products produced. Much of this product was wheat that along with wheat from the region, was milled into a superfine flour. Most people at this plantation were servants and slaves of the Dickinsons, Dickinson was educated at home, by his parents and by recent immigrants employed for that purpose. Among them was the Presbyterian minister Francis Alison, who later established New London Academy in Chester County, most important was his tutor, William Killen, who became a lifelong friend and who later became Delaware’s first Chief Justice and Chancellor
27.
Joseph Reed (politician)
–
Joseph Reed was a lawyer, military officer and statesman of the Revolutionary Era who lived the majority of his life in Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and, while in Congress and he served as President of Pennsylvanias Supreme Executive Council, a position analogous to the modern office of Governor. Reed was born in Trenton in the Province of New Jersey and he was the son of Andrew Reed, a shopkeeper and merchant, and Theodosia Bowes. The family moved to Philadelphia shortly after Reeds birth and, as a boy and he received his bachelors degree from the College of New Jersey in 1757 and, soon after, began his professional education under Richard Stockton. In the summer of 1763, Reed sailed for England, where, during the course of his studies, Reed became romantically attached to Esther de Berdt, the daughter of the agent for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Dennis de Berdt. De Berdt, though fond of Reed, was aware of the law students intention to return to Philadelphia. Reed returned to the Colonies with only an engagement to Esther. After the death of his father, Reed finally returned to London to find that Esthers father had died during Reeds return trip to Britain, Reed and Esther married in May 1770 at Saint Lukes, Cripplegate, near the City of London. Finding the de Berdt family in financial difficulties, Reed remained in London long enough to settle his wifes familys affairs. Together with the widowed Mrs. de Berdt, Esther and Reed sailed for North America in October 1770, the Reeds would have five children. Joseph, who would become a prominent lawyer, denis de Berdt George Washington, who would become a Navy commander. Esther Martha At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Reed ran a successful Philadelphia law practice, in 1775, Reed held the rank of colonel and he subsequently served in the capacity of secretary and aide-de-camp to Washington. Colonel Glover was the owner of the Hannah vessel and was the officer, along with Stephen Moylan, for commissioning the other First Navy ships. Reed wrote, What do you think of a Flag with a white Ground, a tree in the middle, in 1775, Reed commenced service as Adjutant-General of the Continental Army. This was extremely disconcerting to Washington, as Reed was one of his most trusted officers, though he took part in many military engagements in the northern and eastern theaters of the war, Reed was never wounded. In 1777, Reed was offered the positions of general and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was elected to Congress in 1778, whilst also serving as President in Pennsylvania, as a delegate to the Continental Congress, Reed accused Benedict Arnold of military malpractice whilst the latter was in command at Philadelphia. The subsequent trial largely exonerated Arnold and received opposition from other members of Congress
28.
Thomas McKean
–
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence, McKean served as a President of Congress. He was at times a member of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties. McKean served as President of Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, McKean was born in New London Township in the Province of Pennsylvania. He was the son of William McKean and Letitia Finney and his father was a tavern-keeper in New London and both his parents were Irish-born Ulster-Scots who came to Pennsylvania as children from Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland. Mary Borden was his first wife and they married in 1763, lived at 22 The Strand in New Castle, Delaware. They had six children, Joseph, Robert, Elizabeth, Letitia, Mary, Mary Borden McKean died in 1773 and is buried at Immanuel Episcopal Church in New Castle. Sarah Armitage was McKeans second wife and they married in 1774, lived at the northeast corner of 3rd and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had four children, Sarah, Thomas, Sophia, and Maria. They were members of the New Castle Presbyterian Church in New Castle, McKeans daughter Sarah married Spanish diplomat Carlos Martínez de Irujo, 1st Marquis of Casa Irujo, their son Carlos Martínez de Irujo y McKean, would later become Prime Minister of Spain. McKeans education began at the Reverend Francis Allisons New London Academy, at the age of sixteen he went to New Castle, Delaware to begin the study of law under his cousin, David Finney. In 1755 he was admitted to the Bar of the Lower Counties, as Delaware was then known, in 1756 he was appointed deputy Attorney General for Sussex County. From the 1762/63 session through the 1775/76 session he was a member of the General Assembly of the Lower Counties, from July 1765, he also served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and began service as the customs collector at New Castle in 1771. In November 1765 his Court of Common Pleas became the first such court in the colonies to establish a rule all the proceedings of the court be recorded on un-stamped paper. Eighteenth century Delaware was politically divided into political factions known as the Court Party. The minority Country Party was largely Ulster-Scot, centered in New Castle County, McKean was the epitome of the Country party politician and was, as much as anyone, its leader. As such, he worked in partnership with Caesar Rodney from Kent County. At the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, McKean and Caesar Rodney represented Delaware, McKean proposed the voting procedure that the Continental Congress later adopted, that each colony, regardless of size or population, have one vote. This decision set the precedent, the Congress of the Articles of Confederation adopted the practice, McKean quickly became one of the most influential members of the Stamp Act Congress
29.
Caesar Rodney
–
Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover. Caesar Rodney was born in October 7,1728 on his familys farm, Byfield, on St. Jones Neck in East Dover Hundred, Kent County, Caesar was the eldest of son of eight children of Caesar and Elizabeth Crawford Rodney and grandson of William Rodney. William Rodney emigrated to the American colonies in 1681–82, along with William Penn, speaker of the Colonial Assembly of the Delaware Counties in 1704. Rodneys mother was the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Crawford, among the Rodney family ancestors were the prominent Adelmare family in Treviso, Italy, as attested by genealogy studies. Byfield was an 800-acre prosperous farm, worked by slaves, with the addition of other adjacent properties, the Rodneys were, by the standards of the day, wealthy members of the local gentry. At the age of 17 and upon the death of his father in 1746, Caesar was educated when he was 13 or 14 years old. He attended the Latin School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until his fathers death, Caesar was the only one of the Rodney children to receive anything approaching a formal education. Caesar was tormented throughout his life by asthma, and his years were plagued by a facial cancer. He experienced expensive, painful, and futile medical treatments on the cancer, Caesar would wear a green scarf to hide his disfigured face. The disease would kill him in eight years, Thomas Rodney described his brother at this time as having a great fund of wit and humor of the pleasing kind, so that his conversation was always bright and strong and conducted by wisdom. He always lived a bachelor, was esteemed, and was indeed very popular. We know he professed his love and affection for several Delaware ladies at various times, accordingly, he easily moved into the political world formerly occupied by his father and guardian. At age twenty-seven in 1755, he was elected Sheriff of Kent County and this was a powerful and financially rewarding position, in that it supervised elections and chose the grand jurors who set the county tax rate. During the French and Indian War, he was commissioned captain of the Dover Hundred company in Col. John Vinings regiment of the Delaware militia, from 1769 through 1777, he was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Lower Counties. Eighteenth-century Delaware was politically divided into factions known as the Court Party. The minority Country Party was largely Ulster-Scot, centered in New Castle County, in spite of being members of the Anglican, Kent County gentry, Rodney and his brother, Thomas Rodney, increasingly aligned themselves with the Country Party, a distinct minority in Kent County. As such, he worked in partnership with Thomas McKean from New Castle County. Rodney joined Thomas McKean as a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 and was a leader of the Delaware Committee of Correspondence and he began his service in the Assembly of Delaware in the 1761/62 session and continued in office through the 1775/76 session
30.
Patriot (American Revolution)
–
Patriots were those colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation. Their rebellion was based on the philosophy of republicanism, as expressed by spokesmen such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams. They were opposed by the Loyalists who instead supported continued British rule, as a group, Patriots represented a wide array of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. The critics of British rule called themselves Whigs after 1768, identifying members of the British Whig party. The Oxford English Dictionary third definition of Patriot is A person actively opposing enemy forces occupying his or her country, a member of a resistance movement, originally used of those who opposed and fought the British in the American War of Independence. The earliest citation is a 1773 letter by Benjamin Franklin, in Britain at the time, patriot had a negative connotation, and was used, says Samuel Johnson as a negative epithet for a factious disturber of the government. During the Revolution these persons became known primarily as Loyalists, afterward, many emigrated north to the remaining British territories in what is now modern Canada. There they called themselves the United Empire Loyalists, many Patriots were active before 1775 in groups such as the Sons of Liberty. The most prominent leaders of the Patriots are referred to today by Americans as the Founding Fathers, the Patriots came from many different backgrounds. Among the most active of the Patriots group were highly educated, however, without the support of the ordinary men and women, such as farmers, lawyers, merchants, seamstresses, homemakers, shopkeepers, and ministers, the struggle for independence would have failed. With a white population of about 2.5 million, that makes about 380,000 to 500,000 Loyalists, the great majority of them remained in America, since only about 80,000 Loyalists left the United States 1775–1783. They went to Canada, Britain, Florida or the West Indies, to understand how people made the choice between being a Patriot or a Loyalist, historians have compared the motivations and personalities of leading men on each side. Labaree has identified eight characteristics that differentiated the two groups, psychologically, Loyalists were older, better established, and more likely to resist innovation than the Patriots. Men who were alienated by physical attacks on Royal officials took the Loyalist position, most men who wanted to find a compromise solution wound up on the Loyalist side, while the proponents of immediate action became Patriots. Some Loyalists were procrastinators who believed that independence was bound to some day, but wanted to postpone the moment. Loyalists were cautious and afraid of anarchy or tyranny that might come from mob rule, Patriots made an effort to use. Finally, Labaree argues that Loyalists were pessimists who lacked the Patriots confidence that independence lay ahead, the Patriot faction came to reject taxes imposed by legislatures in which the tax-payer was not represented. No taxation without representation, was their slogan, referring to the lack of representation in the British Parliament, the British countered there was virtual representation, that is, all members of Parliament represented the interests of all the citizens of the British Empire
31.
Josiah Quincy II
–
Josiah Quincy, Jr. was an American lawyer and patriot. Quincy was the son of Col. Josiah Quincy I and the father of the Harvard president and he was a descendant of Edmund Quincy, who emigrated to Massachusetts in 1633. His first cousin once removed was Dorothy Quincy, wife of Governor John Hancock and he was also a distant relative of John Quincy Adams through the sixth Presidents mother, Abigail Smith Adams. Quincy was born in Boston in 1744, to Col. Josiah Quincy, in 1756, shortly after the death of his mother, he moved with his father and other siblings to their ancestral homestead in Braintree. In 1763, he graduated Harvard, and began studying law in the office of Oxenbridge Thacher, the speech caught the attention of Bostons patriot leadership, and by 1767, he was contributing regularly to Samuel Adams Boston Gazette. Published initially under the name “Hyperion”, his essays were notable for their colorful rhetoric, in later letters to the Boston Gazette. After the Boston Massacre he and John Adams defended Captain Preston, prosecuting the case were Robert Treat Paine and Josiahs older brother Samuel Quincy, who shortly after was named solicitor general. In September 1774 he secretly left for England, where he argued the American cause to British politicians who were sympathetic to the colonies. On March 16,1775, he started back, but he died of tuberculosis on April 26,1775, Quincy political family Attribution Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Quincy, Josiah
32.
Boston Port Act
–
The Act was a response to the Boston Tea Party. King George IIIs speech of 7 March 1774 charged the colonists with attempting to injure British commerce and subvert the Constitution, in other words, it closed Boston Port to all ships, no matter what business the ship had. It also provided that Massachusetts Colonys seat of government should be moved to Salem, the Act was to take effect on June 1. But the Whig opposition soon collected itself, and the bill was fought in its various stages by Edmund Burke, Isaac Barré, Thomas Pownall and others. In spite of them, the Act became a law 31 March, without a division in the Commons, royal Navy warships subsequently began patrols at the mouth of Boston Harbor to enforce the acts. The British Army also joined in enforcing the blockade, and Boston was filled with troops, Thomas Gage, all the citizens of Boston were angered including the Loyalists and Patriots who all sought for aid from the other colonies. As the Port of Boston was a source of supplies for the citizens of Massachusetts. So great was the response, that the Boston leaders boasted that the town would become the chief port of America if the act were not repealed. June 1 was widely observed as a day of fasting and prayer, bells being tolled, flags placed at half-mast and this was the first step in the unification of the thirteen colonies. These colonies finally had a cause for them to work together, the First Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia on September 5,1774, to coordinate a colonial response to the Port Act and the other Coercive Acts. E. London, Re-printed for Edward and Charles Dilly
33.
Fraunces Tavern
–
Fraunces Tavern is a landmark museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street. It has been owned by Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York Inc. since 1904, which carried out a major conjectural reconstruction, the museum interprets the building and its history, along with varied exhibitions of art and artifacts. The tavern is a tourist site and a part of the American Whiskey Trail, the DeLancey family contended with the Livingston family for leadership of the Province of New York. DeLancey built the current building as a house in 1719, the small yellow bricks used in its construction were imported from the Dutch Republic and the sizable mansion ranked highly in the province for its quality. His heirs sold the building in 1762 to Samuel Fraunces who converted the home into the popular tavern, before the American Revolution, the building was one of the meeting places of the secret society, the Sons of Liberty. The patriots, disguised as American Indians, then dumped the tea cargo into New York Harbor. In 1768, the New York Chamber of Commerce was founded by a meeting in the building, in August 1775, Americans took possession of cannons from the artillery battery at the southern point of Manhattan and fired on HMS Asia. The British Royal Navy ship retaliated by firing a 32-gun broadside on the city, I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable. As he later asked to each one of his officers by the hand for a personal word. In January 1785, New York City became the seat of the Confederation Congress, the departments of Foreign Affairs, Finance and War had their offices at Fraunces Tavern. The inauguration of George Washington as first President of the United States took place in April 1789. C, the federal departments vacated their offices in the building and moved to Philadelphia in 1790. The building operated throughout much of the 19th century, but suffered serious fires beginning in 1832. Having been rebuilt several times, the appearance was changed to the extent that the original building design is not known. The building was owned by Malvina Keteltas in the early 1800s, ernst Buermeyer and his family leased part of the property in 1845 and ran a hotel called the Broad Street House at this location until 1860. After a disastrous fire in 1852, two stories were added, making the Tavern a total of five stories high, in 1890, the taproom was lowered to street level and the first floor exterior was remodeled, and its original timbers sold as souvenirs. In 1900, the tavern was slated for demolition by its owners, an extensive reconstruction was completed in 1907 under the supervision of early historic preservation architect, William Mersereau. Guide book of the era called the tavern the most famous building in New York, historian Randall Gabrielan wrote in 2000 that Mersereau claimed his remodeling of Fraunces Tavern was faithful to the original, but the design was controversial in his time. There was no argument over removing the upper stories, which were known to have been added during the buildings 19th Century commercial use, but adding the hipped roof was questioned
34.
Francis Lewis
–
Francis Lewis was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New York. Born in Llandaff, Wales, he was the child of Morgan Lewis and he was educated in Scotland and attended Westminster School in England. He entered a house in London, then moved to Whitestone. He was taken prisoner while serving as a British mercantile agent in 1756, on his return to America, he became active in politics. He was a member of the Committee of Sixty, a member of the New York Provincial Congress, in 1778, he signed the United States Articles of Confederation. From 1779 to 1780, Lewis served as the Chairman of the Continental Board of Admiralty and her hardships in captivity ruined her health and led to her death in 1779. His son Morgan Lewis served in the army during the Revolutionary War and later held many offices in New York State, Lewis died on December 31,1802, although his memorial in Trinity Church Cemetery gives his year of death as 1803. In Queens, New York, Francis Lewis High School and P. S,79 The Francis Lewis School are named after Lewis. The Francis Lewis Boulevard, which tend to refer to as Franny Lew. Francis Lewis Park is located under the Queens approach of the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, a Masonic Lodge, Francis Lewis #273, is located in Whitestone. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Francis Lewis at Find a Grave Google Maps – Francis Lewis Boulevard Google Maps – Francis Lewis Park
35.
Lower Manhattan
–
Lower Manhattan is defined most commonly as the area delineated on the north by 14th Street, on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, and on the south by New York Harbor. The Lower Manhattan business district forms the core of the area below Chambers Street and it includes the Financial District and the World Trade Center site. At the islands southern tip is Battery Park, City Hall is just to the north of the Financial District, also south of Chambers Street are the planned community of Battery Park City and the South Street Seaport historic area. The neighborhood of TriBeCa straddles Chambers on the west side, at the streets east end is the giant Manhattan Municipal Building, North of Chambers Street and the Brooklyn Bridge and south of Canal Street lies most of New Yorks oldest Chinatown neighborhood. Many court buildings and other government offices are located in this area. The Lower East Side neighborhood straddles Canal, North of Canal Street and south of 14th Street are the neighborhoods of SoHo, the Meatpacking District, the West Village, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Nolita, and the East Village. Between 14th and 23rd streets are lower Chelsea, Union Square, the Flatiron District, Gramercy, the area that would eventually encompass modern day New York City was inhabited by the Lenape people. These groups of culturally and linguistically identical Native Americans traditionally spoke an Algonquian language now referred to as Unami, European settlement began with the founding of a Dutch fur trading post in Lower Manhattan, later called New Amsterdam in 1626. The first fort was built at the Battery to protect New Netherland, soon thereafter, most likely in 1626, construction of Fort Amsterdam began. Later, the Dutch West Indies Company imported African slaves to serve as laborers, they helped to build the wall that defended the town against English, early directors included Willem Verhulst and Peter Minuit. Willem Kieft became director in 1638 but five years later was embroiled in Kiefts War against the Native Americans, the Pavonia Massacre, across the Hudson River in present-day Jersey City resulted in the death of 80 natives in February 1643. Following the massacre, Algonquian tribes joined forces and nearly defeated the Dutch, the Dutch Republic sent additional forces to the aid of Kieft, leading to the overwhelming defeat of the Native Americans and a peace treaty on August 29,1645. On May 27,1647, Peter Stuyvesant was inaugurated as director general upon his arrival, the colony was granted self-government in 1652, and New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2,1653. The first mayors of New Amsterdam, Arent van Hattem and Martin Cregier, were appointed in that year, in 1664, the English conquered the area and renamed it New York after the Duke of York. At that time, people of African descent made up 20% of the population of the city, with European settlers numbering approximately 1,500, during the mid 1600s, farms of free blacks covered 130 acres where Washington Square Park later developed. The Dutch briefly regained the city in 1673, renaming the city New Orange, the new English rulers of the formerly Dutch New Amsterdam and New Netherland renamed the settlement New York. As the colony grew and prospered, sentiment also grew for greater autonomy, by 1700, the Lenape population of New York had diminished to 200. By 1703, 42% of households in New York had slaves, the 1735 libel trial of John Peter Zenger in the city was a seminal influence on freedom of the press in North America
36.
John Alsop
–
John Alsop was an American merchant and politician from New York City during the American Revolution. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, John Alsop, born in 1724 in New Windsor, Orange County, New York. He was the son of John Alsop, Sr. a lawyer first of New Windsor, New York, a few years later he removed to New York City and there practiced his profession for many years. Richard Alsop and Hannah Underhill the daughter of Captain John Underhill and Elizabeth Feake, Captain Richard Alsop first settled in New York during the 1650s. He had served as a major in Oliver Cromwells army, but after a disagreement with the Lord Protector, Alsops mother was Abigail Sackett, 1695–1752, the daughter of Captain Joseph Sackett and Elizabeth Betts, the daughter of Capt. Richard Betts and Joanna Chamberlayne She married John Alsop, Sr. in 1718, as a young man he moved to New York City and entered the mercantile world with his brother Richard. The brothers became importers and merchants in cloth and dry goods and their enterprise prospered, and the Alsops, for several generations, became one of the great merchant houses of the city. With the business secure, John became interested in civic and political activities and he was elected by New York County to serve in the Province of New York Assembly. He was one of the leaders that incorporated the New York Hospital Association. He married on June 6,1766 at New York City and they were the parents of one daughter, Mary who was born in New York on October 17,1769 and died in Jamaica, New York on June 5,1819. She was also a niece of Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their nephew was Richard Alsop, one of The Hartford Wits who were a group of American writers centered around Yale University and their grand nephews were the brothers, Joseph Alsop and Stewart Alsop, both American newspaper journalists and political analysts. During the first phases of the American Revolution, the Province of New York Assembly could not reach a conclusion about the Continental Congress, as a result, delegates were selected by the revolutionary committees in each county. In 1774, John Alsop, along with James Duane, John Jay, Philip Livingston, when the Congress convened on September 5, it accepted these credential when John Jay presented them. Alsop wasnt able to attend until he arrived in Philadelphia on September 14, as the revolution escalated in 1775, Alsop was one of the leaders of the Committee of Sixty which became the provisional government in New York City. He actively supported the agreements that he had signed the previous October in the Congress. He was active in recruiting militia and in efforts to equip,1776 was a critical year in the struggle for New York. Alsop began the year at Philadelphia, in a session of Congress and he made several trips between there and New York, acting as an agent of congress through his business to acquire supplies, and particularly powder for the Continental Army
37.
James Duane
–
James Duane was an American lawyer, jurist, and Revolutionary leader from New York. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, a New York state senator, the 44th mayor of New York City, the first post-colonial American mayor, Duane was a signer of both the Continental Association and the Articles of Confederation. James Duane was born on February 6,1733, in New York City in the then Province of New York. His parents were Eva Benson and Anthony Duane, a Protestant Irishman from County Galway in Ireland who first came to New York as an officer of the Royal Navy in 1698, by the time of his James birth, Anthony had become a wealthy Anglo-Irish colonial settler. Like others of colonial background, Anthony considered himself merely settling from one part of the British Empire to another as a free subject, consequently, he maintained strong allegiance to the crown throughout his life, values which he later passed on to his son. He met and courted Eva Benson, whose father, Dirck, was a local American merchant, in 1702 Anthony left the navy, settled in New York, and married Eva. They had two sons before her death, when Eva died, Anthony remarried, this time to Althea Ketaltas, the daughter of a wealthy Dutch merchant family. Anthony entered commerce and prospered, and the couple had a son, duanes mother, Althea, died in 1736, and his father married a third time in 1741 to Margaret Riken, the widow of Thomas Lynch of Flushing, New York. When Anthony died in 1747, James became the ward of American aristocrat Robert Livingston and he completed his early education at Livingston Manor, then read law as a clerk in the offices of James Alexander. He was admitted to the bar in 1754, by the early 1770s, his practice earned him 1,400 pounds annually. At the height of his success, Duane had a house in Manhattan, one in the country, Duane was Clerk of the Chancery Court of New York in 1762, acting provincial Attorney General in 1767 and Indian Commissioner for the Province of New York in 1774. Duane was a member of the Committee of Sixty that began the revolution in New York and he was made a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and was continuously re-appointed through 1784, although he missed some sessions due to other duties. Like many other Americans, he had inherited his forefathers patriotism to the British crown as well as their instinctive jealousy for their own rights as Englishmen, until his marriage to Mary Livingston, he had been a member of James De Lanceys political faction. Like many men of the time, he distrusted the intelligence of common people, thus, in the early Congress, he was one of the many who were most disposed to reconciliation with Britain. He supported the Galloway Plan of Union and opposed the Declaration of Independence, thus, in 1775 he represented Congress as an Indian Commissioner at Albany, New York. However, his local constituency later returned him to the new constitutional convention from 1776-1777. Due to his excellent legal and political background, he served on the committee that drafted New Yorks constitution. Subsequently he was elected as a delegate by the State of New York to the Continental Congress, when the British occupied New York in 1776, he was forced from his home
38.
Philip Livingston
–
Philip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, Philip graduated from Yale College in 1737 and returned to Albany to serve a mercantile apprenticeship with his father. Through his fathers influence, he also obtained clerkships in Albanys local government and he then settled in New York City and pursued a career in the import business, trading with the British sugar islands in the West Indies. During King Georges War, Livingston made his fortune provisioning and privateering and he also speculated heavily in real estate. He had a townhouse on Duke Street in Manhattan and also a forty-acre estate in Brooklyn Heights. He became a merchant, and served as an Alderman of the East Ward from 1754 through 1762, also in 1754, he went as a delegate to the Albany Congress. There, he joined delegates from other colonies to negotiate with Indians and discuss common plans for dealing with the French. Livingston became a promoter of efforts to raise and fund troops for the war. According to Cynthia A. Kiemer, he owned shares in six privateers and he served as a member of the provincial house of representatives from 1763 to 1769 and in 1768 served as Speaker. In October 1765, he attended the Stamp Act Congress, which produced the first formal protest to the crown as a prelude to the American Revolution. He joined New York Citys Committee of Correspondence to continue communication with leaders in the other colonies, when New York established the New York Provincial Congress in 1775, he was the President. He was selected as one of the delegates to the Continental Congress and his brother William, a prominent lawyer in New Jersey, was also a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to June 1776. In July 1775, Philip signed the Olive Branch Petition, an attempt to achieve an understanding with the Crown. When the British occupied New York City, Philip and his family fled to Kingston, after the Battle of Long Island, Washington and his officers met at Philip’s residence in Brooklyn Heights and decided to evacuate the island. The British subsequently used Philip’s Duke Street home as a barracks, after the adoption of the new New York State Constitution, he was appointed to the New York State Senate in 1777, while continuing to sit in the Continental Congress. Livingston suffered from dropsy and his health deteriorated in 1778 and he died suddenly while attending the sixth session of Congress in York, Pennsylvania, and is buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery there. Livingston was a Presbyterian, and a Mason, on April 14,1740 he married Christina Ten Broeck, daughter of Dirck Ten Broeck and Margarita Cuyler. Christina was the sister of Abraham Ten Broeck and the great-granddaughter of Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck, through her maternal grandfather, after his death, she married Eilardus Westerlo
39.
John Jay
–
John Jay was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States. Jay was born into a family of merchants and government officials in New York City. He became a lawyer and joined the New York Committee of Correspondence and he joined a conservative political faction that, fearing mob rule, sought to protect property rights and maintain the rule of law while resisting British rule. Jay served as the President of the Continental Congress, a position with little power. His major diplomatic achievement was to negotiate trade terms with Great Britain in the Jay Treaty in 1794. Jay, a proponent of strong, centralized government, worked to ratify the U. S, constitution in New York in 1788 by pseudonymously writing five of The Federalist Papers, along with the main authors Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. After the establishment of the U. S. government, Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States, as a leader of the new Federalist Party, Jay was the Governor of the State of New York, where he became the states leading opponent of slavery. His first two attempts to end slavery in New York in 1777 and 1785 failed, but a third in 1799 succeeded, the 1799 Act, a gradual emancipation he signed into law, eventually granted all slaves in New York their freedom before his death in 1829. The Jays were a prominent merchant family in New York City, in 1685 the Edict of Nantes had been revoked, thereby abolishing the rights of Protestants and confiscating their property. Among those affected was Jays paternal grandfather, Augustus Jay and he moved from France to New York, where he built a successful merchant empire. Jays father, Peter Jay, born in New York City in 1704, became a trader in furs, wheat, timber. Johns mother was Mary Van Cortlandt, who had married Peter Jay in 1728 and they had ten children together, seven of whom survived into adulthood. Marys father, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, had born in New Amsterdam in 1658. Cortlandt served on the New York Assembly, was mayor of New York City. Two of his children married into the Jay family, Jay spent his childhood in Rye. He was educated there by his mother until he was eight years old, in 1756, after three years, he would return to homeschooling in Rye under the tutelage of his mother and George Murray. In 1760, Jay attended Kings College, during this time, Jay made many influential friends, including his closest, Robert Livingston—the son of a prominent New York aristocrat and Supreme Court justice. Jay took the political stand as his father, a staunch Whig
40.
Rhode Island
–
Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and its official name is also the longest of any state in the Union. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, the state also shares a short maritime border with New York. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, on May 29,1790, Rhode Island became the 13th and last state to ratify the Constitution. Rhode Islands official nickname is The Ocean State, a reference to the fact that the state has several large bays, Rhode Island covers 1,214 square miles, of which 1,045 square miles are land. Despite its name, most of Rhode Island is located on the mainland of the United States, the official name of the state is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which is derived from the merger of four settlements. Rhode Island is now commonly called Aquidneck Island, the largest of several islands in Narragansett Bay, Providence Plantation was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. This was adjoined by the settlement of Warwick, hence the plural Providence Plantations and it is unclear how Aquidneck Island came to be known as Rhode Island, although there are two popular theories. Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano noted the presence of an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay in 1524, subsequent European explorers were unable to precisely identify the island that Verrazzano had named, but the Pilgrims who later colonized the area assumed that it was Aquidneck. A second theory concerns the fact that Adriaen Block passed by Aquidneck during his expeditions in the 1610s, historians have theorized that this reddish appearance resulted from either red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore. The earliest documented use of the name Rhode Island for Aquidneck was in 1637 by Roger Williams, the name was officially applied to the island in 1644 with these words, Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Isle of Rodes or Rhode-Island. The name Isle of Rodes is used in a document as late as 1646. Dutch maps as early as 1659 call the island Red Island, Williams was a theologian forced out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Seeking religious and political tolerance, he and others founded Providence Plantation as a proprietary colony. Providence referred to the concept of providence, and plantation was an English term for a colony. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is the longest official name of any state in the Union, advocates for excising plantation asserted that the word specifically referred to the British colonial practice of establishing settlements which disenfranchised native people. Advocates for retaining the name argued that plantation was simply an archaic English synonym for colony, the referendum election was held on November 2,2010, and the people voted overwhelmingly to retain the entire original name. It shares a maritime border with New York State between Block Island and Long Island
41.
Connecticut
–
Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area and it is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport, the state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U. S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for long tidal river, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Connecticuts center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticuts first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park, initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, the Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along the Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today. The state also has a history of hosting the financial services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford. As of the 2010 Census, Connecticut features the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the United States. Landmarks and Cities of Connecticut Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital and third largest city is Hartford, and other cities and towns include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich. Connecticut is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, there are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state, the highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet, on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts. At the opposite extreme, many of the towns have areas that are less than 20 feet above sea level. Connecticut has a maritime history and a reputation based on that history—yet the state has no direct oceanfront
42.
New Hampshire
–
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, New Hampshire is the 5th smallest by land area and the 9th least populous of the 50 United States. Concord is the capital, while Manchester is the largest city in the state and in northern New England, including Vermont. It has no sales tax, nor is personal income taxed at either the state or local level. The New Hampshire primary is the first primary in the U. S. presidential election cycle and its license plates carry the state motto, Live Free or Die. The states nickname, The Granite State, refers to its extensive granite formations, the state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire by Captain John Mason. New Hampshire is part of the New England region and it is bounded by Quebec, Canada, to the north and northwest, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Massachusetts to the south, and Vermont to the west. New Hampshires major regions are the Great North Woods, the White Mountains, the Lakes Region, the Seacoast, the Merrimack Valley, the Monadnock Region, and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee area. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any U. S. coastal state, New Hampshire was home to the rock formation called the Old Man of the Mountain, a face-like profile in Franconia Notch, until the formation disintegrated in May 2003. Major rivers include the 110-mile Merrimack River, which bisects the lower half of the state north–south and ends up in Newburyport and its tributaries include the Contoocook River, Pemigewasset River, and Winnipesaukee River. The 410-mile Connecticut River, which starts at New Hampshires Connecticut Lakes and flows south to Connecticut, only one town – Pittsburg – shares a land border with the state of Vermont. The northwesternmost headwaters of the Connecticut also define the Canada–U. S, the Piscataqua River and its several tributaries form the states only significant ocean port where they flow into the Atlantic at Portsmouth. The Salmon Falls River and the Piscataqua define the southern portion of the border with Maine, the U. S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2002, leaving ownership of the island with Maine. New Hampshire still claims sovereignty of the base, however, the largest of New Hampshires lakes is Lake Winnipesaukee, which covers 71 square miles in the east-central part of New Hampshire. Umbagog Lake along the Maine border, approximately 12.3 square miles, is a distant second, Squam Lake is the second largest lake entirely in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any state in the United States, Hampton Beach is a popular local summer destination. It is the state with the highest percentage of area in the country. New Hampshire is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, much of the state, in particular the White Mountains, is covered by the conifers and northern hardwoods of the New England-Acadian forests
43.
South Carolina
–
South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution, doing so on May 23,1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote to secede from the Union on December 20,1860, after the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25,1868. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 23rd most populous U. S. state and its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3. 13%. The capital and largest city is Columbia with a 2013 population of 133,358, South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, under whose reign the English colony was first formed, with Carolus being Latin for Charles. There is evidence of activity in the area about 12000 years ago. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee, Yuchi, and the Yamasee, further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River, the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their food source. The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, about a dozen separate small tribes summered on the coast harvesting oysters and fish, and cultivating corn, peas and beans. Travelling inland as much as 50 miles mostly by canoe, they wintered on the plain, hunting deer and gathering nuts. The names of these survive in place names like Edisto Island, Kiawah Island. The Spanish were the first Europeans in the area, in 1521, founding San Miguel de Gualdape, established with 500 settlers, it was abandoned within a year by 150 survivors. In 1562 French settlers established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island, three years later the Spanish built a fort on the same site, but withdrew following hostilities with the English navy. In 1629, King Charles I of England established the Province of Carolina an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia, in the 1670s, English planters from the Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston. Settlers built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, settlers came from all over Europe. Plantation labor was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720, another cash crop was the Indigo plant, a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas. Meanwhile, in Upstate South Carolina, west of the Fall Line, was settled by farmers and traders. Colonists overthrew the rule, seeing more direct representation
