The Founding Fathers of the US (Re-run)

In 1607, 150 years before the events that lead to the founding of the United States, the first few hundred British immigrants found the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia.

By the middle of the 18th century, there are 13 British colonies stretching along the Atlantic coast.

Their combined population has swelled to around one and a half million.

To the north are the five New England colonies.

The middle section includes New York, and at the bottom are the five southern colonies, including Virginia and Georgia.

Though each has its own government and identity, they all feel a strong connection to Britain.

Dr. Lindsay M. Chivinsky is a presidential historian and author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution.

They believed that they were the most loyal British citizens.

In fact, the cult of monarchy, things like China sets with the royal crest or the family tree, those were so popular and sold out immediately in the colonies.

So a lot of the colonists really thought of themselves as very loyal citizens, and they wanted to be a part of the imperial project.

And critically, they did not think of themselves as second-class citizens.

They thought of themselves as on par with those that lived in London or in England.

Until now, the colonies have mostly been left to govern themselves, but that hands-off rule is about to change.

[music] It is 1763, and Great Britain has just emerged victorious from a long and bloody territorial war against France.

The American colonists have played an important role, providing soldiers and funds to help win the conflict.

But that war has landed Britain with more debt and more lands to defend.

So London looks to the American colonies to foot the security bill.

Starting in 1764, they pass a series of acts of Parliament creating new taxes, first on sugar and molasses, then on paper.

This was a huge insult because colonists needed paper.

They sent letters.

They loved to consume newspapers and news.

They needed legal documents to run a business or to get married.

So that really got at the ideological cause, which is how can Parliament raise funds on the colonists if the colonists don't have any participation in that discussion, if they are not represented? And that got at this idea of if they are indeed equal citizens within the British Empire, they need to have representation.

The phrase "No taxation without representation" becomes a rallying cry.

But politicians in London refuse to listen to the colonists' protests.

In 1607, 150 years before the events that lead to the founding of the United States, the first few hundred British immigrants found the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia.

By the middle of the 18th century, there are 13 British colonies stretching along the Atlantic coast.

Their combined population has swelled to around one and a half million.

To the north are the five New England colonies.

The middle section includes New York, and at the bottom are the five southern colonies, including Virginia and Georgia.

Though each has its own government and identity, they all feel a strong connection to Britain.

Dr. Lindsay M. Chivinsky is a presidential historian and author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution.

They believed that they were the most loyal British citizens.

In fact, the cult of monarchy, things like China sets with the royal crest or the family tree, those were so popular and sold out immediately in the colonies.

So a lot of the colonists really thought of themselves as very loyal citizens, and they wanted to be a part of the imperial project.

And critically, they did not think of themselves as second-class citizens.

They thought of themselves as on par with those that lived in London or in England.

Until now, the colonies have mostly been left to govern themselves, but that hands-off rule is about to change.

[music] It is 1763, and Great Britain has just emerged victorious from a long and bloody territorial war against France.

The American colonists have played an important role, providing soldiers and funds to help win the conflict.

But that war has landed Britain with more debt and more lands to defend.

So London looks to the American colonies to foot the security bill.

Starting in 1764, they pass a series of acts of Parliament creating new taxes, first on sugar and molasses, then on paper.

This was a huge insult because colonists needed paper.

They sent letters.

They loved to consume newspapers and news.

They needed legal documents to run a business or to get married.

So that really got at the ideological cause, which is how can Parliament raise funds on the colonists if the colonists don't have any participation in that discussion, if they are not represented? And that got at this idea of if they are indeed equal citizens within the British Empire, they need to have representation.

The phrase "No taxation without representation" becomes a rallying cry.

But politicians in London refuse to listen to the colonists' protests.