8 THE NEW NATION The process of creating a workable government for the new nation required both the collective wisdom of the Founding Fathers as well as some trial and error The lessons of what the Americans had considered unfair under British rule were still fresh in their minds and strongly influenced their thinking At the same time they had to craft a system powerful enough to unite such a diverse nation The United States would also have to settle prob lems with Britain France and other foreign nations as it sought to establish its place in the world commu nity Careful navigation in foreign affairs was crucial in securing the country’s security and economic well-being Money and financial troubles including problems with currency plagued the new nation and these too would have to be fixed The decisions that the Founding Fathers made in the early years of the United States along with the industriousness and boldness of its citizens would affect the direction and development of the nation for decades and centuries to come
CHAPTER ONE 9 A NEW NATION ARISES The United States had finally won its struggle to separate from Great Britain The British had surrendered to General George Washington’s forces at Yorktown Virginia on October 19 1781 in the last major battle of the American Revolution The U S and Britain signed a preliminary peace treaty on November 30 1782 The agreement was finalized on September 3 1783 officially ending hostilities Known as the Treaty of Paris it recog nized America’s independence It established the nation’s boundar ies as Canada on the north the Mississippi River on the west and Florida which had been ceded back to Spain by Britain on the south This illustration shows British and American delegates signing the Treaty of Paris
10 THE NEW NATION THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION THE FIRST CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES When the United States declared its independence in July 1776 the only institution acting as a central govern ment was the Continental Congress The states were operating under old colonial charters Thus at the same time the united colonies were fighting for indepen dence they were faced with the need to improvise a permanent national government and to formulate state constitutions The states drew up and adopted their own constitutions between 1777 and 1780 The Second Continental Congress had begun work ing on a plan for national government in June 1776 A committee composed of one delegate from each state presented the first draft of a national constitution on July 12 1776 just eight days after the Declaration of Independence was signed Strong differences of opin ion among the 13 states about a variety of issues kept debate going for more than a year before the new con stitution known as the Articles of Confederation was submitted to the states for approval The first aim of the Articles was to give Congress the powers required to win the war But the citizens realized that in peacetime they would have to continue working together They would have to defend their frontiers and protect their trading vessels They needed
A NEW NATION ARISES 11 This is the first page of a 1777 copy of the Articles of Confederation the first constitution of the United States The document described this initial union of the states as a firm league of friendship
