July 4th, 1776 was not a day of celebration, of barbecues and hot dogs, waving flags and fireworks. On that bright and sunny summer day in Philadelphia, debate raged on as it had for the past 3 days, as it had for the preceding weeks, months and years, finally ending with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was a shaky independence, with the Continental Congress barely agreeing to it and the rest of the country still needed to be persuaded. The new nation also had to prove that it was its own nation by defeating the British.

The French and Indian War

Independence took a long time to come. Since the founding of the Virginia Colony in 1608 at Jamestown, the North American colonies of Britain had been loyal to the Crown. They were happy to be a part of Britain, and were proud of their British status. This would all change with the end of the French and Indian War.

Since the beginning of the colonies, the colonists had enjoyed strong autonomy. While tied to Britain, they were in control of their own affairs. They had their own local governments, and for the most part were in control of all that went on in the North American colonies.

In 1756, war broke out between Britain and France. Both nations had been fighting to gain control of the territories of the New World, and France was seen to be increasingly encroaching on English territory. The American colonists rallied under the British flag, as eager to fight the French who were pressing closer into them every year as the British in England were.

Many of the American colonists who would become major leading figures of the Revolution, particularly George Washington, first rose to prominence during the French and Indian War fighting against the French. It was a violent war, lasting 7 years (it is known internationally not as the French and Indian War, but as the Seven Years War), ending with British victory over the French.