Origins
The United States traces its origins to colonies founded by the Kingdom of England in the early 17th century. Each colony was independently governed and was under the authority of the Crown; a colonist had no duty to colonies other than their own. By 1732, the Kingdom of Great Britain had 13 colonies established in British America. When the colonies faced a threat during the French and Indian War, the Albany Plan proposed a union between the colonies. Although unsuccessful, it served as a reference for future discussions of independence.
Soon after, the colonies faced several common grievances over acts passed by the British Parliament, including taxation without representation. As the dispute escalated, colonists started to view the British rule as oppressive and hostile, and sought cooperation with other colonies in response. This cooperation led to the Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, and ultimately independence. Ties between the states strengthened with the ratification of the United States Constitution.
Read more about this topic: American Nationalism
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“The origins of clothing are not practical. They are mystical and erotic. The primitive man in the wolf-pelt was not keeping dry; he was saying: “Look what I killed. Aren’t I the best?””
—Katharine Hamnett (b. 1948)
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“Grown onto every inch of plate, except
Where the hinges let it move, were living things,
Barnacles, mussels, water weeds—and one
Blue bit of polished glass, glued there by time:
The origins of art.”
—Howard Moss (b. 1922)