The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. Most of the delegates at the constitutional convention had already risked being hanged as traitors by the British. There was no surprise that they worried about their states' reactions to their decision to abandon the articles of confederation and create a whole new document. Persuading the states to accept the Constitution was just as difficult as the delegated had predicted. It took two years for all thirteen states to ratify it, but their creation was a blueprint for a new kind of government. A government based on foundations that include both philosophical …show more content…
The war was the product of an imperial struggle, a clash between the French and English over colonial territory and wealth. Within these global forces, the war can also be a consequence of the competition between British and French colonists. Tensions between the British and French in America had been rising for some time, as each side wanted to expand their territory. After a year and a half of undeclared war, the French and the English formally declared war in May 1756. For the first three years of the war, the outnumbered French dominated the battlefield, completely defeating the English in battles at Fort Oswego and Ticonderoga. After the French and Indian War, it began to become apparent that America and Britain were developing differently; culturally and socially, and the war exposed and worsened the major differences between British and American goals. Inspired in part by the American Revolution, and by the Enlightenment philosophers, the Declaration was a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a major impact on the development of freedom and democracy, in Europe and …show more content…
Fighting at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill had already broken out between the colonists and British troops. However, most in Congress wanted to work out some agreement with the mother country. Soon after Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia, Congress assigned him to plan a document explaining why the colonists had taken up arms against England. Jefferson's Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms stopped short of declaring independence but pointed out the foolishness of governing the American colonies from England. Neither Parliament nor King George, however, were interested in negotiations to prevent all-out war. Meanwhile, the royal governor of Virginia offered freedom to slaves who joined the British cause. These actions by the British king and government inflamed Americans who were undecided about independence and made war with England all but certain. In May 1776, the Continental Congress took a crucial step and passed a resolution that attacked King George himself. This led to the so-called “Glorious Revolution”, which drove James off the throne and even before the Continental Congress declared independence, most colonies along with some towns, counties, and even private organizations had issued their own declarations. In most cases, these statements detailed British abuses of power and demanded the right of