Author: Bear Paw
Image/Typography/Proofreading: Follow the Trail
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"How was America established?" I think that the answer of most Of the Chinese people should be as follows: "In two steps, the first step is to make a "Declaration of Independence" in the broken house next to the stables, and the second step is to beat the British away, and the United States is born." ”
That being said, there were at least a dozen colonial countries in the Americas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that succeeded in gaining independence from the suzerainty, but most of the colonial countries fell into a vicious circle of political turmoil, warlord division, and dictatorship soon after their establishment.
In this newly conceived forest, there seems to be no "long crooked" only the United States, a single seedling. What is the reason for this?
Part of the reason goes back to when Europeans first arrived on the land.
Columbus landed in South America
According to information left by the Spanish court, the members of Christopher Columbus's fleet of ships on the last three voyages to the Americas included many noble attendants and royal officials, but there were few peasants who wanted to go to the New World to farm and live.
Columbus complained: "These people are always eager to find gold, ideas to make a fortune, and rarely have the patience to grow crops." In the centuries that followed, the people who came to the New World from the Old World, not only the Spaniards, but also the Portuguese, the French, the Dutch and the British, mostly embraced such a "get rich and go" mentality.
The plantation system and the bureaucracy of big government established on the basis of this mentality were inseparable from the economic and political ties of the government of the Old World, and the local society in the Americas was strongly regulated, and rarely gave freedmen and slaves the opportunity to develop on their own.
On December 22, 1620, the Puritans landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts
The reclamation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
The North American colonies were different, and because they could not see better economic prospects, the British aristocracy and traditional bureaucrats were interested in colonies such as New England, and the people who were willing to go there to open up new homes were mostly ordinary poor people who wanted to settle in the New World, except for the Puritans.
Here we would like to reassess the significance of the Settlement of Protestant groups in North America.
The Protestant community was a group of religious people of various identities who avoided the severe homogenization of the immigrant status that occurred in the colonial process in Spain, France, and Portugal, and could not affect the ills of local society.
After the Protestant community established itself in North America, it copied the good customs, free traditions and advanced technologies of the European community intact, and built one independent European-style settlement after another.
The settlement established by the Mayflower settlers in Portsmouth, Massachusetts
The North American colonies that grew up on the basis of this community were like a thin teenager slowly growing into a strong youth, but both teenagers and young people maintained a certain degree of independence from the suzerainty. On the contrary, the other colonies of the Americas, with plantation exports as the mainstay of their economy and the Cotillo system as their basic social system, although for a period of time far more economically developed than north America, were like a baby perpetually connected to the mother, influenced by the suzerainty, from people to forms of social organization.
Once such a society decides to become independent from the suzerainty, it is inevitable that various symptoms will appear.
The tradition of citizen arming in North American colonization used to serve as the basis for armed power in waging wars of independence. The London newspaper at the time exclaimed: "The colony has a population of 2.5 million, and 300,000 young men with shotguns can be mobilized at any time to fight us. ”
From left to right: 1. Soldiers, Virginia National Army; 2. The Minute Man was a militia rapid reaction unit established in 1774 and was characterized by being able to assemble within a minute of receiving a battle report and rushing to the mission site. It was these militias that fired the first shots of the war between the North American colonies and the home countries in Lexington. 3. Virginia's "regular army", with Patrick Henrik's motto written on the chest of the jacket " Not free, rather than die" He succeeded in provoking a revolt in the North American colonies.
In fact, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, Washington, never had more than 25,000 men under his command, that is, the vast majority of reserve troops in the North American colonies were not mobilized. The North American colonies were wary of the tyranny that the construction of large armed forces would lead to tyranny, and at the same time the mobilization system itself was very backward relative to the Old World. Even the enlisted Continental Army soldiers did not go from hunters and peasants to qualified soldiers overnight.
The militias were basically ragged, bearded farmers and hunters, with no formal training and a jumble of weapons. Although they are soldiers when they go out and civilians when they enter, they come and go without a trace, and they can be put into battle in "one minute".
Modern military fans re-enact the "one-minute man" at the event
In the early days of the Revolutionary War, although the soldiers of the Continental Army were accurate in marksmanship and strong in physique, they could not resist the experienced British Hesse mercenaries in the war, and they repeatedly fell behind on the battlefield. It was not until 1778, during the Cantonese Army in the Valley of Forge, that a thorough reorganization of the Continental Army was carried out by an officer from Prussia, von Stuben. Stuben was trained specifically to improve the firing speed and stabbing of the flintlock rifle in response to the weaknesses of the Continental Army, which was the most important technology for European armies in the 18th century, and happened to be the most neglected technology for Continental Army soldiers.
After the reorganization, the tactical level of the Continental Army has greatly improved, and it has been able to compete with the British army.
Stuben's example shows that even with an Atlantic ocean space, old Europe was able to exert some influence on the North American War of Independence. A more convincing example than Stuben, a solitary adventurer, is the Dutch smuggler.
The World Trade Route of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, when two areas of active trade were held: the Atlantic Ocean and Southeast Asia
After the colonial War of Independence began, Dutch merchants sailed their ships off the coast of North America, smuggling and trading on neutral islands and American ships that slipped out from under the eyes of British warships.
The Dutch exchanged gunpowder, flint, hardware, and various military supplies for tobacco brought by the Americans, thus making a lot of profits. Because of the neutrality of the Netherlands in the early days of the Revolutionary War, the British warships could do nothing about these shameless smugglers who risked smuggling. To put it mildly, these mercenary "smugglers" were also an indispensable part of the American independence process, and they provided timely and vigorous assistance in the most difficult aspects of the Continental Army (the colonies were not allowed to establish their own arms industries due to British mercantilist policies).
Louis XVI
Needless to say, the greatest help to colonial independence was France's entry into the war. If we take a little understanding of the international situation at that time, we understand that this major move to reverse the balance of forces is not a pie that suddenly falls out of mid-air.
After the first shots were fired initially at Lexington, Europe reacted lukewarmly. Europe's major powers, including France, Spain, and Prussia, watched the battles between the colonies and Britain. The colonies, on the other hand, were proactive in seeking foreign aid.
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was an American polymath, statesman, and founding father
The day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, a diplomatic envoy specially appointed by the Continental Congress, boarded a ship and secretly traveled to France to seek assistance. Franklin came into contact with many French court figures, and the activities could not be said to be without achievements, but King Louis XVI of France was still undecided about allying with the United States.
A Map of the City of Newport, the Harbor and The Bay, and Part of Rhode Island, Occupied by the French Army under the Command of the Count of Rochambeau and the French Fleet led by Admiral Destitchies, is a hand-painted map of ink and watercolor circa 1780. The map is to the north in the upper right. The map shows a plan of fortifications in and around Newport, Rhode Island, during the American Revolutionary War. The ground icon shows General Rochambeau's main barracks around Newport and the position of the fleet led by Admiral Charles Louis de Ternay at the entrance to Newport Harbor. The map also shows the range of the French fleet and the overland batteries that protected the city and harbor at Cape Brunton, Goat Island, and Rose Island. The map's numerical legend indicates the various forts and forts around Newport and throughout the southern Narragansett Bay. The French remained in Newport for more than a year (1780\u20121781), and then in June-July 1781 Rochambeau marched westward through Connecticut to join George Washington's American forces in New York. This actually kicked off the Battle of Yorktown (Virginia), which eventually ended the American Revolutionary War. The map was owned by Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau ,1725\u20121807), count of Rochambeau, who served as commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force (1780\u20121782) during the American Revolutionary War.
In 1777, Washington led the Continental Army and North American militias to victory in Saratoga, forcing the British general Bergoying to surrender. When an American ship risked being intercepted by the British navy to bring the news to France, Louis XVI finally made up his mind to bring Spain, who also belonged to the Bourbon family, to fight against Britain.
During the Battle of Saratoga, the militia followed behind the Continental Army in attacking a multi-faceted fort guarded by Hesse mercenaries
France's entry into the war brought about a fundamental change in the war situation, and the French fleet pinned down the British fleet in North America through a series of harassment operations, leaving it no time to divide its forces to carry out important maritime blockade and transport tasks. The French Army, led by the Marquis de Lafiyette, brought with it a large number of heavy artillery pieces, which became a decisive factor in the victory of the Sino-American and French forces at the Battle of Yorktown. In addition to direct military aid, France provided 1.3 billion livres (old French currency, 1 franc for 1 livres and 3 dinars) in financial aid, helping the Continental Congress stabilize its faltering finances.
But this in no way means that the war would not have been won without the French colonies. As we have already mentioned, the North American colonies are far from mobilizing all their human and material resources. The British army also pushed the Continental Army into a desperate situation several times in the early stages of the war, but at every critical moment, the colonies were always able to abandon stereotypes and give timely and effective support to the Continental Army.
After the Battle of Saratoga, the Continental Army had actually passed through its most difficult period. What was embarrassing for the British was that no matter how many times they defeated the Continental Army, the Continental Army always received a steady stream of supplies and support from the colonies. And every bullet and every cookie that the British soldiers needed had to be transported across the Atlantic from the mainland.
Such a standoff would be very detrimental to Britain. The goal of the colonies was only to fight for independence, and Britain, in addition to dealing with the rebellion in the colonies, had to look at the situation in Europe.
The situation on the European continent was tense, Austria and Prussia were opposed to each other for the succession of the Bavarian Kingdom, and if war broke out, it would inevitably be a seven-year war-style all-European chaos. At that time, if Britain still did not escape from North America and could not concentrate all its army and navy to participate in the European war, it was inevitable that france, which was determined to retaliate, would take advantage of the opportunity to bite it hard.
So from the British point of view, the sooner the North American War ended, the better. And, as we know, many members of the British public and aristocratic classes expressed varying degrees of sympathy for the rebellion in the North American colonies.
John Wilkes was an 18th-century British journalist and politician
Wilkes, a populist politician known for discriminating against Scots, made blatant sympathetic remarks about the rebels, claiming that catholic Scots had depraved the British government and eventually provoked a revolt by freedom-loving Protestant North American colonists. Wilkes is very popular among the british underclass, and his speech represents the thinking of a large part of the lower and lower British people.
In the eyes of Britain's top brass, fighting to maintain the North American colonies was an uneconomical deal.
During the Seven Years' War, in order to protect the long North American coast, Britain had to maintain a powerful fleet on the other side of the Atlantic, even weakening the defense of the British island. But the immediate benefits of the entire North American colony to the British could not catch up with the tiny island of Jamaica.
If the United States was able to maintain trade with Britain after independence and buy British industrial products while selling British agricultural products and raw materials, then it would be in Britain's favor for The independence of the United States.
The independence tradition and strength of North American society, aid from Europe, and opposition in Britain all contributed to the victory of the American Revolutionary War. However, the victory in the Revolutionary War will take nearly four years for the United States to truly establish a state.
In the past four years, the thirteen north American colonies have mainly tried to solve the problem of whether this new North American country should be a confederation of a bunch of autonomous former colonies. Or will a government strong enough to make the former colonies a unified U.S. state?
Until this problem is resolved, the United States is not enough to call it the United States; it can only be said to be an alliance of economically interconnected and politically interconnected colonial self-governments. Such large and loose political organizations are not unique in the history of the Americas, such as the Republic of Gran Colombia established by Simon Bolívar in the early 19th century, which was quickly divided into venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia because of the conflict of interests between the colonies.
Bolívar founded the State of Gran Colombia
However, the real and long-term needs did not allow the North American colonies to be divided like Gran Colombia.
From the reality of the late 18th century, the hatred between Britain and the United States has not yet been completely resolved, and a large number of pro-British residents have emigrated to Canada, which invisibly turned Canada into a base for pro-British factions to "recover their homeland". It was not enough to rely on the northern colonies alone to prevent a pro-British counteroffensive; for the United States to maintain its unsettled position of independence, it must have a strong government to coordinate and arrange the defense of the north.
In the long run, the newly born nation will gradually expand west of the Appalachian Mountains, creating new merchant houses and settlements in the hinterland of the North American continent. The implementation of these tasks requires the mobilization of human and resource resources, and the likelihood of exploration and colonization failures is greatly increased without the coordination of the colonies for unified action.
This diagram depicts the immigrants of Jamestown fighting the Indians in 1607
In addition, the westward exploration inevitably clashed with the Confederation of Indian Tribes and the French colonies. A single colony does not have the strength to fight against these two strong hands. It was in the common interest of the inhabitants of the North American colonies to join hands and address these challenges under the unified command of one government.
On the basis of this understanding, the Continental Parliament, which had been the provisional government of the colonies since 1783, was introduced.
Based on this constitution, the United States has a central government, two houses of parliament and the supreme court with the President of the United States as the core, and has completed the construction of national institutions with the separation of powers. It was only at this time that the United States entered the world stage as a country.
Both the Declaration of Independence and the war against Britain were of absolute significance to the formation of the American state.
But nation-building does not happen overnight. Without aid from overseas, the process of North American independence could have become much longer, and without the appeal of british domestic rationalists, the United States would not have had a good environment for development after the war. If it were not for the tradition of autonomy that had been consistent in North American colonial societies, the post-independence United States could have been plunged into protracted turmoil and chaos like the post-independent South American countries. Without the establishment of a federal state, even if the thirteen colonies succeeded in independence, it would be difficult to expand smoothly as the United States later.
It is conceivable that without any of these factors, the new nation based on the thirteen colonies of North America would not be the United States we see today.
《Declaration of Independence》