Tag: War of Independence

Podcast - United States History Timeline, Timeline of United States History, United States History Series

John Dickinson Submits the Articles of Confederation

Sitting as a committee of the whole Congress considered the printed draft of John Dickinson’s “Articles of Confederation,” which he had submitted on July 12, 1776.
John Dickinson (November 8, 1732– February 14, 1808)
The son of Samuel and Mary Cadwalader Dickinson, John was native to Trappe, Maryland. Mary was Samuel’s second wife. His first, Judith Troth, had passed away in 1729 after bearing nine children. He would marry Mary Cadwalader in 1731, with whom he would have three sons, of which John was the eldest. Primarily educated at home by his parents and tutors, John read law under John Moland in Philadelphia, beginning in 1750. He would travel to London, England in 1753 to study law at The Honorable Society of the Middle Temple. The Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court to which all English barristers must belong to one. He returned to Pennsylvania and gained admittance to the colony’s bar in 1757. He would marry Mary (Polly) Norris, in 1770. The couple would have five children, only two of whom would survive until adulthood. Continue reading John Dickinson Submits the Articles of Confederation

Podcast - Stories of American History, Podcast - United States History Timeline, Timeline of United States History, United States History Series

The Road to Independence – Forming Local Governments

By mid-May 1776 the movement for independence from Great Britain had coalesced across the colonies. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” which had been published in January and advocated independence sold thousands of copies. Colonial assemblies in eight of the colonies had passed resolutions advocating independence. The discovery that Britain had contracted to use German mercenaries to fight against them, a practice generally employed against foreign enemies, had encouraged the movement. On May 11, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the “Resolution for the Formation of Local Governments.” The resolution stated, “Congress recommends to the colonial assemblies and conventions, where no government sufficient to the exigencies of their affairs have been hitherto established, to adopt such government as shall . . . best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular, and America in general.”
Many members of Congress hoped that the resolution would help persuade those supporters of independence in Pennsylvania to gain the upper hand. Many considered Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia key to independence.
The process of becoming a nation independent of Britain had passed another step. Continue reading The Road to Independence – Forming Local Governments

Podcast - Stories of American History, Timeline of United States History

General Charles Cornwallis Arrives America

General Charles Cornwallis, along with squadron of about ten warships accompanied by a fleet of thirty transports, arrived off the coast of Cape Fear on May 3, 1776.
Fleet Disbursed
The fleet had departed Cork, Ireland on February 12, but had run into storms five days after departure. The storms scattered the fleet, which included Ethan Allen, held prisoner below deck of HMS Soledad. The Fleet, commanded by Commodore Peter Parker, was still incomplete, as many ships were still at sea.
Charles Cornwallis – (December 31, 1738 – October 5, 1805)
The son of Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis and Elizabeth Townsend, Charles was native to Governor Square in London, England. Cornwallis received his secondary education at Eton College and Clare College, Cambridge. Continue reading General Charles Cornwallis Arrives America