PART 3 Revolution and Republican Culture, 1763–1820
CHAPTER 5
The Problem of Empire, 1763–1776
CHAPTER 6
Making War and Republican Governments, 1776–1789
CHAPTER 7
Hammering Out a Federal Republic, 1787–1820
CHAPTER 8
Creating a Republican Culture, 1790–1820
“The American war is over,” Philadelphia Patriot Benjamin Rush declared in 1787, “but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed. It remains yet to establish and perfect our new forms of government.” The changes that had already unfolded since 1763 were revolutionary in themselves: Britain had triumphed in the Great War for Empire, only to see its American empire unravel and descend into war. Against all odds, the thirteen rebelling colonies had pulled together and won their independence; now they were forming a federal republic that would take its place among the nations of the world.
The republican revolution extended far beyond politics. It challenged many of the values and institutions that had prevailed for centuries in Europe and the Atlantic World. After 1776, Americans reconsidered basic assumptions that structured their societies, cultures, families, and communities. Here, in summary, are the three principal developments discussed in Part 3: