Most Americans consider July 4, 1776 as our nation’s founding. However, I would argue that 1775 is when America, as a nation, actually began. April through December 1775 were some of the most pivotal months in world history. The story of how the United States came to be is one of the greatest chapters in human history.

America’s story began when men and women, seeking economic freedom, religious freedom, and freedom from oppression, boldly set out to create better lives for themselves and family; and landed on the shores of a foreign, hostile continent. The first settlers arrived in Jamestown (1607) and in Plymouth (1620). Soon afterwards, the people called for a representative assembly. The Virginia colony established the House of Burgesses in 1619, and the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, while their ship was still at anchor -- these becoming the first forms of representative government in what would become the U.S. Voting rights were limited to male church members. These bodies fell far short of democracy as we know it today, but were giant steps when considered against the European rule of monarchs. These representative bodies developed and established a passion for liberty and self-government which flourished in each colony.

The different colonies were established for various reasons but as they were settled, the pattern was similar -- a charter established a colony that was ruled from England but controlled by representatives elected by the local, landed gentry. That worked well for the next 140 years or so.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, England had problems at home and largely left the colonies to themselves, provided they paid the agreed-upon taxes, around 1%-1.5%, much lower than back home. Then came the Seven Years War (The French and Indian War), won by England, in 1763, which gained them control over most of North America east of the Mississippi River, but at a large financial cost. Wanting to pass some of the costs onto those who benefited (the Colonies) from their victory, the British imposed new taxes onto the colonists. Additionally, the British decided to maintain a standing army of 7,500 Redcoats in the Colonies. Both (taxes and army) were big mistakes, especially when the secretary of war announced the troops will “be supported the first year by England, afterwards by the Colonies.” 

The new taxes included the Sugar Act (1764) that placed a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies; the Stamp Act (1765) that placed a tax on all printed materials (newspapers, magazines, legal documents, etc.) and the Townshend Acts (1767 and 1768) that placed indirect taxes on imported British goods such as tea, glass, paper, paint, etc. It wasn’t so much that the taxes overly burdened the colonists, it was they had no input or voice about the taxes forced upon them. “No taxation without representation” became the rallying cry.

The taxes and troop occupations were protested, sometimes violently. The most famous being the Boston Massacre (March 1770) that killed five Bostonians. Another protest was the Boston Tea Party (December 1773) where the Sons of Liberty dumped 300 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor rather than pay taxes on it. To punish the colonists, British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (1774), called the Intolerable Acts in the Colonies, that took away rights and self-governance in Massachusetts. The Intolerable Acts included a blockade of Boston Harbor and caused more protests which led to a call for the First Continental Congress to decide how the Colonies would respond to the increasingly oppressive and authoritarian actions by the British government.

The Congress met in Philadelphia, September 1774, with delegates present from 12 of the 13 colonies. Georgia was not represented. That Congress adopted the Suffolk Resolves (a declaration of grievances by Massachusetts, a boycott of British goods, and urged each colony to establish and train its own militia) and passed the Continental Association (also called Articles of Association) -- an agreement that demonstrated the Colonies' collective resolve to act together in their common interests. The Association became effective on December 1, 1774. Abraham Lincoln, in his first inaugural address, used the Articles of Association as the date of our nation’s founding. However, most of the representatives present wanted their grievances addressed by Parliament and the King and did not consider independence at that Congress. The delegates did agree to meet the next year for a Second Continental Congress.

That background takes us to 1775, the year the United States began to function as a separate, independent nation. Even before the second Congress convened, major events took place, mostly in New England. For weeks and months, tensions had risen in and around Boston. The British had blockaded the harbor, increasing hardships of the people. General Thomas Gage, the British Royal Governor, had dismissed the elected legislature and the courts. He became a one-man ruling body. The people resisted and prepared for possible war by stockpiling arms, ammunition, and provisions in surrounding towns, and training militia forces.

Gage decided to send about 700 soldiers on a clandestine mission to Concord, 18 miles from Boston, to find, seize, and destroy the arms and supplies the colonists had stockpiled. The date was April 19, 1775. Early that morning, the British Redcoats encountered a small militia force of Minutemen on Lexington Common and opened fire -- history calls it “the shot heard round the world.” The following battles at Lexington, Concord, and while the Brits were chased back to Boston, was the start of fighting of the Revolutionary War that continued until the British surrendered at Yorktown, October 1781. 

That backdrop of fighting is what the Second Continental Congress faced when representatives of 12 colonies met in Philadelphia, May 1775. Georgia sent delegates in July 1775. Imagine being an appointed delegate assembling at Independence Hall, and the tasks/problems that lay before you -- no legal authority to govern, no country, no funds, no army, no navy, no diplomats and no international recognition, yet fighting the most powerful army and navy in the world. On your side was grit, determination, and Divine Providence. Also, present were perhaps the greatest group of selfless servants ever assembled at one time in one location, to include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Patrick Henry, George Clinton, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Caesar Rodney.

In short order, those men undauntedly established the foundations of the greatest nation the world has ever known. They acted as a de facto federal government. They designated and adopted a flag (June 14, 1775), established an army (June 14, 1775), appointed George Washington to lead and command the army (June 15, 1775), established a navy (October 13, 1775) and Marines (Nov. 10, 1775). Also, they raised revenues, appointed ambassadors, equipped the military, and (somewhat) performed the duties and responsibilities of a national government. 

It wasn’t until the following year, July 4, 1776 that independence was declared. However, it was 250 years ago that the Colonies began to “dissolve the political bands which connected them with another,” to act as a separate nation, and “to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.” For those reasons, I would argue it was April to December 1775 that was the true founding of the United States of America.

Image: New York Public Library