Books in We the People: Revolution and the New Nation series

Enslaved African-Americans fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War. More than 100,000 slaves fought with the loyalists, while others protested British presence on the patriot side. Initially, only free blacks were permitted to join the patriot cause, but eventually slaves took part, fighting both side-by-side with slaveholders and in all-black units. Many played prominent roles in famous battles such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and Brandywine; still, none ever rose above the rank of private.

Formed in 1775 after the start of the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress was the governing body that represented the thirteen American Colonies as they fought to win independence from Great Britain. It organized an army, printed money, and drafted many important documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. At the conclusion of the war, the Second Continental Congress was responsible for rejecting a monarchy in favor of a representative form of democracy for the new country. The decisions made by the Second Continental Congress helped form the America the world knows today.

The American colonists had been fighting for independence from Britain for two years. In September 1777, thousands of British troops began marching towards Saratoga, New York. Their purpose was to split the colonies in two, weakening the Americans power. The colonists would not be defeated so easily. Using their hard-fighting militia, new battle tactics, and expert riflemen, the colonists forced the British troops to surrender, winning an important battle in the war for Americas independence.

After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Massachusetts raised taxes to pay for the cost of the war. Many small farmers could not pay their taxes and so faced imprisonment. Farmers known as Regulators organized protests, and in 1787, a large group of Regulators led by farmer Daniel Shays marched on the U.S. arsenal at Springfield. The rebellion was quickly put down, but many government leaders believed that the country needed a stronger national government to deal with future rebellions, as well as the problems that had led to the rebellion in the first place. This led to the writing of the U.S. Constitution, the governing document that is still used today.

After winning its independence from Great Britain, the United States worked to build a new government. Three separate branches were developed to balance the power: legislative, judicial, and executive. After a few failed attempts to establish a process to elect an executive leader, or president, the Electoral College system was created. In this system, each state is given a number of votes according to its number of senators and representatives. While the debate continues on the effectiveness of the Electoral College, the system has been used for more than 200 years.