Ethan Allen

Have you ever wonder who Ethan Allen was? He was a very important figure of what we now know as the United States of America. Ethan Allen is mostly known for being the founder of the State of Vermont and also because he fought during the American Revolution as the leader of the Green Mountain Boys. Allen was born January 21, 1738 in Litchfield, Conneticut. Ethan Allen was a boy who had the dream to study in Yale University. Unfortunately, his father died in 1755 and he had to take care of his family and the family farm. Apart form being the leader of one of the strongest militia organizations, Ethan Allen was also a writer of many book and even pamphlets. One of the things not many people know about him is that he formed part of a group of intelligent men who made possible the independent commonwealth. Today, you can see Ethan Allen as a notable person of the American Revolution.

Ethan Allen was named the commander of the militia popularly known as the Green Mountain Boys. At first, Allen had any official rank in the Continental Army. Later on, he turned out to be the Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army and also General of the militia. During the American Revolution, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys fought skirmishes in the frontier in order to fight the New Yorkers. Alongside Benedict Arnold, which was a general of the American Revolution, Allen and his soldiers captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 10, 1775. Fort Ticonderoga was first captured by the British, but the Patriots have the advantage of recapturing Fort Ticonderoga. The capture of the Fort was one of the first successful battles of the American Revolution War. After that, he managed to captured Crown Point, Fort St. John, and Fort Ann in the following weeks.

Ethan Allen wanted to invade Canada alongside Seth Warner, a chief lieutenant. Unfortunately, he was captured by the British in Montreal. Then, Ethan was exchanged for Colonel Archibald Campbell in 1778. When Ethan Allen returned to the colonies, he reported to George Washington, which was the military commander if the Continental Army, at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, he returned to Vermont to follow his routine of fighting territorial disputes. While in Vermont, he wrote "Reason, The Only Oracle of Man" with some ideas of his friend Thomas Young, which was a philosopher. Allen wrote books and pamphlets to support Vermont because he wanted Vermont to become a state. In his last years, he went back to his farm to leave a peaceful life alongside his family. Ethan Allen died quietly in his farm in February 1789. He was very wise man.

Thomas Jefferson

"I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."

This meaningful and marvelous quote was said by one of the most influential minds of the 18th century: Thomas Jefferson. We believe this quote can represent very clearly and accurately Thomas Jefferson's life. He was lucky to have been born in one of Virginia's most distinguished families, and in addition he inherited a considerable landed estate from his father. However, this luck wasn't for free since he was a hard-working man throughout his life. He was a public official, historian, philosopher, and plantation owner who served his country for over fifty years. He was always known for his optimism and he performed his occupations with great honesty and responsibility. He fought for the colonists's rights and he opposed Britain's unfair treatment towards them. He was the author of the declaration of independence and he voiced the hopes of the American people as no other individual in his era. Even in his death bed he was a honorable and respectable gentleman, the kind that this world needs more of.

Thomas Jefferson was born in April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia and he died in July 4, 1826 in Monticello. Thomas Jefferson is a very important person because he was the author of the Declaration of Independence and also the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom. In fact he was so valuable to his country, that he became the third president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was elected governor from the years 1779 to 1781. His father was named Peter Jefferson and he was a succesful planter, and his mother, Jane Randolph was a member of one of the most distinguished families in Virginia. When he was twenty six years old he began constructing Monticello. In the other hand, Jefferson had many debts, although he was always considered an optimistic man. He died when he was eighty three years old.

Thomas Jefferson had many accomplishment in his long life. First of all, he founded the University of Virginia, being him named the "Father of the University." Also, Thomas Jefferson was the first secretary state of America. In addition, he was the co-founder of the Democratic Republican Party, which was the opposition of the Federalist Party. The Democratic Republican Party controlled the Congress and the Presidency. Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory because he wanted to expand America and because it had a variety of natural resources.  Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson was the initiator of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Lewis Clark Expedition was the first expedition to cross the western part of what is now the United States of America. Apart from this accomplishments, he was also a father, gardener, and thinker, who had a strong believe in the rights of all men. Thomas Jefferson was an incredible man and a wonderful example for future generations.

The Declaration of Independence

One simply can't talk about the history of the United States without mentioning the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty. This formal document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776. In this formal and well-drafted document, Jefferson expressed the ideas in the minds and hearts of the American people. Jefferson got most of the ideas from a very influential book written by Thomas Paine. The book was called "Common Sense" and it expressed in a clear and simple language the advantages and immediate need for independence. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time, it had the largest sale of any book published in American history.

Although the ideas for individual liberty were taken from John Locke and other Enlightment philosophers, the Declaration of Independence still had a huge impact in the colonists's lives. Jefferson did an amazing work in drafting this document because the final draft published by the congress had very few modifications. However, it is worth noting that the congress removed one fourth of the original text since they said it was unnecessary wording. Jefferson set forth a list of grievances against the King of England. He did this to justify and explain to the world the breaking of political ties between the colonies and England. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in a little house situated in the outskirts of town because he found his own house uncomfortable since it was located in the heart of town. The house belonged to a well-known bricklayer called Jacob Graff and the family continued to live there while Jefferson wrote the Declaration.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration in under three weeks. The house where he drafted the document is now known as The Declaration House. The Declaration of Independence had 56 signers. Among those, the first, largest, and most-known signature is the one of John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was Edward Rutledge who was 26 years old, and the oldest was Benjamin Franklin with 70 years. The Declaration was also signed by two future U.S. presidents: John Adams who would become the second president and Thomas Jefferson who would become the third president. The Declaration of Independence inspired many other people and countries because at that time most formal declarations were made by a monarch giving privileges to their people, however this wasn't the case, and it was in fact a pioneering example of people announcing their own sovereignty.

The Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775 after the battles of Lexington and Concord. The delegates of the Congress met at the State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (now a days call Independence Hall) for the first meeting. Some of the delegates of the Congress were: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Hancock. The Second Continental Congress was conformed by fifty-six delegates from different colonies. John Hancock became the new president of the Continental Congress. In the other hand, Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea of independence to the other delegates, but most of the delegates disagreed because they were not ready. After everything that had happened with Britain, America was still not ready for their own independence.

Particularly, the Second Continental Congress decided to take responsibility from the war. That was the reason for them to start organizing an army formed mostly of volunteers. In addition, the Congress named George Washington as the military commander. Furthermore, the Congress discussed the possibility of the print paper money. Later on, the Congress authorized the print paper money. As said before, the delegates didn't want independence from Britain, apart from some radicals. In July of 1775, Congress allowed the Olive Branch Petition, which was a letter for the King. The King rejected the petition and instead he sent troops to Boston.

In 1776, the Congress decided to become independent from Britain. As a result, the delegates wrote the famous document known as the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was formed and written by several delegates including: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. In addition, all of the delegates of the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock is known for writing his name first and biggest on the Declaration of Independence.This document stated that the states would be independent and no longer part of Britain. On July 4, 1776, the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. At last, the Declaration of Independence was a union to form a new nation known as the United States of America.

Lexington and Concord

The Shot Heard Around the World was fired!! It took place in Lexington, Massachusetts. It all started when Thomas Gage sent 700 soldiers to destroy weapons and ammunition that the colonists were hiding in Concord. Also, the British had planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock. However, there was a brave man called Paul Revere, who with the company of two other men, went on horseback to alert John Hancock and Samuel Adams. On the evening of April 18th, 1775, British troops started to march towards Lexington. Before this movement took place, all colonists were alerted that British troops were coming. As a result, Samuel Adams and John Hancock managed to escape. Colonists were expecting a fight with the British, therefore they created a militia group that was known as the minutemen. The fight began and Captain Jonas Parker attacked British soldiers with 75 armed minutemen. At the end, 10 minutemen soldiers were injured and 8 were killed.

When the battle had finished, Paul Revere was caught by the British soldiers when he was reaching Concord to alert people that the British were coming. However, Paul Revere had messenger friends and they were the ones that managed to go to Concord and warn the people. The messengers plan consisted in alerting the people of Concord, taking as much ammunition as they could carry, and going to their hiding places. When British soldiers arrived they were only capable of destroying a small part of the supplies. Suddenly, a miracle occured and the colonists were able to surround the British and forced them to retreat. This plan's success can be attributed to the minutemen's quick response time and their ability to respond to messenger warnings. It is worth noting that the smoke from the burning supplies was attracting curious farmers and townspeople. The British killed 49 Patriots and injured 39, however the colonists were able to kill 73 British soldiers and injured 174.

British troops spent 4 hours in Concord searching and destroying the ammunition they were able to rescue. The colonists took advantage of this time and used the soldiers as a distraction to prepare for the battle. When the British arrived in Boston, 2,000 minutemen were prepared and ready for the battle. However, the minutemen were hiding in places such as: trees, stone walls, houses and sheds. They were not really prepared for the battle and this was evident when they weren't able to contain the British forces. Something interesting about this battle was that the British were called regulars because they wore red uniforms. The leader of the militia in Lexington was called Captain John Parker, and 25% of his army was composed by his relatives. The day after these battles took place, around 15,000 minutemen surrounded Boston.

The Stamp Act Congress

The Stamp Act Congress (First Congress of the American Colonies), was a reunion held in New York City in October of 1765. Nine of the British colonies in North America sent representatives/delegates to represent their colonies in the Stamp Act Congress. The goal of the representatives/delegates and politicians was to formulate a unified protest opposing the British taxation, mainly for the Stamp Act of 1765. At first, the Congress seemed to be a failure because only nine of the colonies sent men to represent them. The Stamp Act Congress was ordered by the colonists to discuss their injustices. Also, it was ordered to protest against the measures proposed in the Stamp Act by the British Parliament. It was the first time ever that the politicians from Southern, Middle, and New England Colonies had come together for a common reason.

The Stamp Act congress focused on the implications and the consequences of the Stamp Act of 1765. The men of the Congress were concerned in some elements of the Stamp Act. They said that the Stamp Act was not to regulate trade and commerce, but to get all the money from the colonists. The members of the Congress saw the British command of trade as something legal; however, they saw the imposing of internal taxes as illegal. In the other hand, the Congress noticed that the Stamp Act was introduced by the British without the approval of the colonial legislature. If people didn't follow the Stamp Act, a penalty would have been given to the people who disobeyed the law. Therefore, the members of the Congress and the colonists believed in their rights to trial by jury. The Stamp Act Congress wanted fairness for the colonists.

The members of the Stamp Act Congress believed that the Stamp Act was an intentional attempt to sabotage the commercial strength and the independence of America. The Congress wanted to resist the British Parliament and the authority of England. The Stamp Act Congress was arranged in response to a circular letter distributed by the colonial legislature of Massachusetts Bay. The delegates/representatives of the Stamp Act Congress released a document: "Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonists". In this important document they declared many things in consideration of the colonists. First of all, they declared that the colonists as members of the British King, had the same rights that the British members had living in England. They also declared that only the colonial assemblies had the right to tax the colonies. As a matter of fact, they declared that colonist were free from taxes except for the ones they had given their acceptance and that they had the right of trial by jury. The Stamp Act Congress did all they can to protect the colonists.

Sugar, Stamp, and Quartering Act of 1765

The Sugar Act

The Sugar was created in 1764. Parliament placed this act on sugar, wine, etc. This tax was also forcing the colonists to pay three cents of tax on the examples before. The British Government or Parliament did not asked permission to the colonists to do this; these taxes can also be called indirect taxes. This tax was made with the purpose to pay the British Empire's responsibilities like the wars such as the French and Indian War, and to improve the security. This would have some consequences because colonists were feeling upset and they were worried that Britain would start making them spend money for their goods through taxes. Later colonists decided to organize a boycott which means refusing to buy British goods. Colonists believed that if they do this, the British would withdraw the taxes.

The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act was created by the British Parliament in March 22, 1765. With this new Act, the colonists had to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they bought. They had to pay a tax on things such as legal documents, newspapers, and even playing cards. The money that the British collected from this tax was used for defending and protecting the American frontier which is why they send 10,000 troops to protect the frontier. Also, an important point to recognize from this tax was that this was the first tax that was levied directly on colonists by the British Government. The colonist’s didn´t like this because they had been buying paper for many years and never had to pay a tax for it. FInally, they decided to create the Stamp Act Congress to deliver a message to the Crown which contained hostile reactions of the colonists of this act. They didn't like having to pay taxes because they had no participation in.

The Quartering Act

The British did a big mistake doing this Act because the colonists had to give accommodations and supplies to British Soldiers, therefore colonists got very mad. The Quartering Act was created in June 2, of 1765. In the other hand, the Quartering Act was one of the indirect taxes for the colonists. Some characteristics of this act were: to give food, home, and transportation to the British soldiers. The British forced colonists to accept this tax using the excuse of protection from French troops. The colonist didn't consider the French dangerous and didn´t like the idea to pay British protection. The British Parliament said that this Act was going to improve the colonists living conditions.