Biography of George Washington | Military and political led the independence of the United States

The great military and political led the independence of the United States, which became the first constitutional State in history.

George Washington was born February 22, 1732, on the banks of the Potomac River, on the farm of s Creek Bridge, in the former county of Westmoreland, on the current state of Virginia. He belonged to a distinguished family of English, a native of Northamptonshire, who had come to America in the mid-17TH century and had managed to amass a considerable fortune. His father, Augustine, owner of vast properties, was an ambitious man who had studied in England and which to the widowed from his first wife, Jane Butler, who had given him four children, married second Mary Ball, a respectable family of Virginia, which gave her other six stems, among them George.

Little is known of the childhood of the future President, except that his parents destined him to an existence of settler and therefore was not beyond rural schools of that time: between seven and fifteen studied erratically, first with the sacristan of the local church and then with a master named Williams. Away from any literary or philosophical concern, the boy received an education rudimentary in the bookish, but solid in the practical order, to which its active temperament inclined it.

George Washington

Already in early adolescence he was sufficiently familiar with the tasks of the colonists to cultivate tobacco and storing grapes. At that time, when he was eleven years old, his father died and passed to the guardianship of his greater brother, Lawrence, a man of good character which, in a way, was his tutor. At home, George met the world wide and more refined, as Lawrence was married to Anne Fairfax, one of the great heiresses in the region and used to hobnobbing with high society of Virginia.

A settler with military vocation

Listening to the stories of his half-brother, an early military vocation woke up in him and fourteen wanted to become a soldier, although he had to discard the idea before the fierce opposition of her mother, who refused to continue the arms race. Two years later he began working as a surveyor, as Assistant to an expedition to measure the lands of lord Fairfax in the Shenandoah Valley.

From there, the grueling days in field open, without amenities and exposed to the dangers of the wild life, taught him not only to know the customs of the Indians and the possibilities of colonization of the West, but to master his body and his mind, tuning it for the task that reserved you the future. But for the moment, although political concerns do not disturb you (the young Washington was a faithful subject of the British Crown), was upset by the constraints imposed by the metropolis to colonization, since with his half-brother they projected to take their businesses to the lands of the West.

Twenty years occurred a decisive change in his life, which made him head of the family. A tuberculosis ended the life of Lawrence in 1752 and George inherited the plantation of Mount Vernon, a huge estate with 8,000 acres and 18 slaves. Therefore, it became one of the richest men in Virginia, and as such acted: it soon distinguished himself in the Affairs of the community, was an active member of the episcopal Church, and ran as a candidate, in 1755, the camera of the bourgeois of the district. He also excelled in the amusement; It was a magnificent rider, tall, blue eyes, a great Hunter and best fisherman; He loved dancing, billiards and cards and attending horse races (had its own blocks) and a few theatrical performances were given in the region. His vocation of soldier had not died, but among his plans was also a brilliant military.

His home in Mount Vernon, Virginia

By then, English and French disputed the dominance of North America, and the controversy over the routes of the headwaters of the Ohio had led to an extreme tension between the settlers. Washington enlisted in the army, and shortly after the death of his half-brother was appointed by Governor Robert Dinwiddie Commander of the district, with a salary of $ 100 per year. Before the invasions of the French border, in 1753 the Governor commissioned him the Mission of practicing a recognition in the border area. In mid November, Washington was launched in front of six men by the Ohio Valley, an inhospitable country, town of savage tribes and multiple dangers. Despite the cold and the snow, it could carry out the hard journey to Fort Le Boeuf in Pennsylvania, a feat that began to cement his reputation.

Declared in 1756 the war of the seven years, than for the English settlers in America supposed to struggle for his expansion against the French dominance, Washington was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, under the command of general Fry. This dying in combat, he succeeded him as Supreme Head of the armed forces of the County, passing little then joined the staff of general Braddock, who ran regular troops sent by England. On July 9, 1755 were distinguished at the battle of Monongahela by his courage and decision making capacity, although this ended in a disaster for the British.

The defeat had an impact so in his mind that young military withdrew to Mount Vernon with the firm intention not to take up arms again. But it could not carry it out, as notables from Virginia asked him to take care of the troops, while it had only twenty-three years of age. Washington retained control between 1755 and 1758, time he also was chosen as a representative of the County of Frederic for the camera of the Burghers of Virginia. His name was already popular, is admired him for his experience and tact, and began to carve out a solid political reputation by intervening actively in the deliberations of the Assembly.

After some troubles, disillusioned with the course of the war with France and the conduct of the British commanders, Washington resigned his military to return to Mount Vernon and soon, the January 6, 1759, he married Martha Dandridge, a rich woman as beautiful, widow of Colonel Parke Custis and owner of one of the biggest fortunes of Virginia. He possessed a large number of slaves, 15,000 valuable acres and two children of six and four years, which became the true family of Washington.

In Mount Vernon couple, joined more than by a passionate love for a harmonious happiness, took the life of the rich owners, attentive to the prosperity of their lands and the prominent role in the social life of the region. Everything was great, the clothing was bought in London, the holidays were splendid and guests were counted by hundreds. But this rumbosa life would be disrupted by the political storm that soon hit in the North America.

The struggle for independence

The end of the seven years war, marked the 10 February 1762 by the Treaty of Paris, meant the resignation of France to its claims on Acadia and Nova Scotia and possession, from England, Canada and the entire region of Louisiana, except for New Orleans. But the trade discrepancy between London and their colonies increased as a result of this conclusion, as the British Government considered that all his possessions were to cooperate on the repayment of expenses incurred by the war, since all of them had benefited from its results.

In fact, the deficit caused by the war was enormous, and in March 1765 the English Parliament voted a tax that hurt the traditional rights of the colonies, by imposing the use of paper ring for all types of contracts. With real political blindness, the following year he imposed a series of customs duties on paper, glass, lead and tea, which provoked the indignation of the American business world and the formation of Patriotic League against English goods consumption. At the forefront of struggles that preceded the revolutionary outbreak had placed Virginia aristocrats and Democrats of Massachusetts. Washington felt irritated by such measures, but it continued being a minion loyal to England and a man of moderate views.

Washington in Hunter costume

In 1773 the Boston population protested against taxes throwing shipments of tea into the sea. The fact, known as the Boston Tea Party, ended up open eyes to Washington and to tip him towards the defense of American freedoms. When Virginia lawmakers met the following year in Raleigh, he attended and signed the resolutions. In the first revolutionary Parliament of that year delivered an eloquent speech by declaring: "I organize an army of a thousand men, will keep them with my money and I will put in front of them to defend Boston". He had outlived a moderate when, dress uniform, he represented Virginia in the first Continental Congress, which was held in Philadelphia in 1774. His letters show that he was still opposed to the idea of independence, but was determined to not give up "the loss of rights and privileges which are essential to the happiness of all free State and without which the life, freedom and property become completely unsafe".

Started the hostilities between British and Americans in the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, the separatists said their hopes of independence from the British Crown. All colonies were at war against the metropolis and, at the second Congress met in Philadelphia that year, entrusted the command of the troops to the Virginian planter George Washington. His election was partly the result of a political compromise between Virginia and Massachusetts, but also the consequence of the fame gained in the campaign of Braddock and the talent with which impressed the delegates of the Congress.

The new head of the colonial forces was then face the risky task of creating an army almost from scratch and in the presence of the enemy. Arriving at Boston met with more than fifteen thousand men, but it was only a confused mass of insurrectionists undisciplined, divided into hostile bands, often in ragged and poorly armed. Missing food and supplies, and in addition, each provincial assembly dictated orders to his whim. Here Washington showed his brilliant skills of organization and his tireless energy, disciplining and training the inexperienced volunteers, gathering supplies and calling the colonies in their support. In this way he organized the army of Massachusetts, which could deal with Boston and expel from New England to the British general Howe in 1776. That year, before the arrival of new troops sent by the metropolis, the Americans had solemnly proclaimed the independence of the United States.

Washington had won the first round against the troops of the Crown, but they were still missing several years of war in which American soldiers would be put on the brink of annihilation. The decisive factors for the victory, first included its ability to give confidence to soldiers, his tireless energy and your great common sense. It was never a great strategist, since, as said Jefferson, 'often failed to open', but was able to keep alive among his men flame of patriotism and always listened to the views of the generals under his command, regardless of set aside his own opinion.

So, in a second moment, withdrew its troops South and expected the British counter-offensive in Long Island, but decided to retire due to their numerical inferiority regarding Howe. Since then, Pennsylvania used a tactic of attrition which earned him victories in Trenton and Princeton in 1776, but also defeats Brandwine and Germantown in the following year. In retreat, it contained the forces of Howe advancing on Philadelphia. City could not resist and fell into the hands of the British boss, but soon the English suffered a considerable disaster and general Burgoyne was forced to capitulate in Saratoga, on 17 October, before the siege of the American chief Gates.

This success of the American Revolution moved in Europe to adherents of the encyclopedic and the supporters of the "natural man" of Rousseau. Volunteers Polish Kosciuszko as La Fayette, Rochaubeau and De Grasse, French and South American as Miranda, came to the rescue of the hosts of Washington, which saw its task as well provided. After the terrible winter of Valley Forge, where he dedicated himself to training his troops, he could resume victoriously fighting thanks to received reinforcements. The French Government saw in the conflict the chance to avenge the defeat of the seven years war, and in 1778, signed an alliance with the United States, to which Carlos III of Spain joined the following year.

The help of the French troops was so effective that Washington could recover Philadelphia, lay siege to New York and go to the South to cut off the advance of lord Cornwallis, who was at the forefront of eleven thousand men, the bulk of British troops. On October 19, 1781 it was forced to capitulate, after falling prisoner with his army. This accountability led to the final victory of the colonists and the recognition of independence from England, before signing peace in Versailles, on January 20, 1783.

The constructor of the State

In war, in 1778, Congress had enacted the Act of Confederation, first attempt to form a homogenous block with the thirteen States of the Union. But this political formula gave poor results, as the war and postwar demanded more a strong central power to a Government without authority. At the top of the prestige and fame, after the military triumphs, Washington had to deal with the problems of national reconstruction. On the one hand refused to accept the Crown some notable offered, dedicated to fighting the royalist reaction of some sectors of the country, and on the other proclaimed the need for a Constitution.

His federalist stance, advocate for the implementation of an efficient central power that defended American interests abroad and would balance the partisan tendencies of the territories, was reconciled with the of the Republicans, supporters of preserving the economic and political independence of States. The agreement between the two groups was expressed by the Constitution on September 17, 1787, the first written Charter that regulated the form of Government of a country. Once again, the skills of organization and leader of Washington made that hopes were placed on it, and the Congress elected him as the first President of the United States in 1789.

Prudence, wisdom and above all an almost religious respect for the law, were the dominant notes of his eight years of rule. To elect four members of his Cabinet, Thomas Jefferson in the Secretariat of State, the general Henry Knox in the war, Alexander Hamilton in the Treasury and Edmund Randolph at Justice, Washington established a careful balance between Republicans and federal, which enabled the implementation of the unit that would coordinate and direct the administration of the country. To deal with serious economic problems that it crossed, it applied a strict fiscal policy and sought to associate the capitals with the State, in order to engage them in the stability of the nation. With identical goal created the Bank of the United States, and in order to promote industrial development, issued a series of protectionist measures that earned him the support of the bourgeoisie.

Elected to a second term in 1793, before doubts was Jefferson who convinced him to accept the post again. In this second stage of Government had to address serious problems, as the stems in the West by opposition to taxes on liquor, which originated in 1794, an uprising, known as the Whiskey Rebellion, which was put down by troops sent by order of the President.

Another element of wear was the clash between Jefferson and Hamilton, motivated by the radicalisation of the French Revolution and the armed conflict that devastated Europe. While Secretary of State bowed to the revolutionary France United States support, the Treasury Secretary defended the neutrality before the race. Washington, which at first had Treaty to maintain the harmony between the two, supported, once the European war, the positions of Hamilton and decided in favor of neutrality. It wasn't long to declare their sympathies pro British, despite the enormous debt that his country had with France, and this resulted in the weakening of relations with this nation. Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, expressed their disagreement by abandoning the Government and from the opposition, opposed the centralism of the President.

This was how the political star of Washington began to decline until shadow completely when they met the terms of a trade agreement signed by Britain, the Jay Treaty of June 25, 1794, which provoked strong discussions in Parliament and an actual decline of presidential popularity. Even so, he was elected for the third time to hold power, but this time he refused flatly, arguing that he wanted to return with his family and to the peace of the private life. In fact, it slowed down fear of the dictatorial temptation that defeat the democratic origin of its struggle for independence, and had no hesitation in returning to his Virginia plantation

The last two years of his life, he already in the decline of his physical powers, devoted them to take care of his family and its properties, except for a brief interruption in 1798, when he was appointed commander in Chief of the army faced the danger of a war with France. In the following winter, Washington returned home exhausted by a cavalcade of several hours, the cold and the snow. An acute laryngitis led him to death on December 14, 1799. The nobleman of the independence, which was «the first in the war, the first in peace and first in the heart of his countrymen», faced the end with her characteristic serenity, which had enabled him to face the danger of battlefields with absolute tranquility. As Jefferson wrote, it was an inaccessible to fear man.

Chronology of George Washington

1732	Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia (United States).
1752	He enlists in the army.
1755	He was elected representative to the Chamber of the Burghers of Virginia by Frederic County.
1756	The seven years war.
1759	He married Martha Danbrigge, widow of Colonel Parke Custis.
1775	He is appointed commander in Chief of the army.
1776	Proclamation of the independence of United States.
1777	The English capitulate at Saratoga.
1781	Lord Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.
1787	The Constitution is promulgated.
1789	He was elected the nation's first President.
1790	Create the Bank of the United States.
1793	He was elected for a second term.
1794	Signing of the trade agreement with Great Britain, known as the Jay Treaty.
1799	He died in Mount Vernon, Virginia (United States).

George Washington and independence of United States

The independence of the United States

The independence of the English colonies in North America and the birth of the United States is one of the historical events more relevant from the 18th century. The U.S. Constitution, promulgated on September 17, 1787, became the first written Charter that regulated the form of Government of a country. To put emphasis on the rights of the individual and to grant sovereignty to all the citizens and not a monarch, it laid the Foundation of modern legality.

This was one of the reasons that led to the independence of the United States became a symbol of the struggle for the freedom of peoples and was to be a point of reference for subsequent insurgent movements, among which included the French Revolution. In the same way, the independence of the United States showed that it was possible that the colonized territories released the European yoke. The American nation was a reference point for many leaders of Latin America. After achieving its independence, many of the old Spanish colonies were inspired by the political organization of United States to build its States: an example course is that of Mexico, a nation that, when least nominally adopted a federal structure similar to its neighbor to the North.

Background and causes

The American Revolution meant the independence of one of the most prosperous colonial possessions of the 18th century. Located along the Atlantic coast of North America, the thirteen colonies who were involved in the struggles for independence were by the North, Massachusetts (New England), Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, in the Center, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and to the South, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

The form of Government that hosted England in their possessions introduced an embryo direct participation of the population in their internal affairs whose authority rested with the assemblies of citizens. In the middle of the 18th century, the social structure within colonies indicated the location at the top of the power of a territorial oligarchy that had controlled the citizens, whose ideology was deeply conservative assemblies through several generations. But his side began to emerge a large and prosperous middle class willing to defend tolerance, the free development of their properties and the trade demands of the Crown. This last sector, especially based in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Newport or Charleston, become the guide of the revolution to promote secret organizations that adopted the name of "Sons of liberty".

George Washington

The causes of independence must place them on different levels. The most profound of these points to the change of mindset that underwent these territories with the migratory wave that arrives in Europe between 1700 and 1760. This phenomenon was going to influence a society with a marked religious pluralist, tolerant and desacralizadora the power structure that facilitated the introduction of the moral and ethical debate in political action.

There is also an ideological cause that is notable in the fast reception which is made of natural rights and the illustrated ideas that later nutrirían the independence movement. The cultivation of a rhetoric based on the myth, legend and history completed the interiorization of a hometown spirit. The last cause points to the political and economic transformations that England tried to introduce in its colonies at the end of the seven years war with France in 1763.

The alarming growth of British debt, as a result of the war, led to the rey Jorge III to impose the increase tax pressures on their subjects of overseas. In 1764 the rise experienced by the tax on sugar, the authorization of general research given to customs agents to register the business in search of contraband, the creation of the standing army and the stamp Act were some of the measures that provoked the indignation of the settlers. They convened assemblies in order to express their protest and ask the King their repeal.

One of the most important assemblies was the meeting of the law of the ring held in New York in October of 1765. There the "sons of liberty" laid the Foundation for an action coordinated with the Crown and outlined the first shared rights of the thirteen colonies. Although the British Parliament heard the cry that came from their American possession and suspended the stamp Act, shortly after this same institution voted the "Declaratoy Act", a decision which recognized the right to establish tax ´externos´ to the colonies in all cases without exception. Based on this Decree, in 1767 Parliament passed three laws whose provisions on the right to import of tea, glass, paper, lead and other items that the colonies imported.

The rebellion of tea

The "Declaratory Act" and the increase in taxes returned to put up fight the settlers. From the most reluctant Assembly to comply with actual devices, Massachusetts, referred a circular to the rest of the colonies exhibiting the rights of settlers and proposing the boycott of English tea. The episode known as the massacre of Boston in March of 1770, when soldiers who were guarding the port made use of their weapons and killed some settlers protesting against tax, sharpened the conflict between Americans and Brits.

The settlers refused to buy tea from England to confirm the King such a tax, so they decided to import it illegally in the Netherlands. Likewise, in Charleston, Philadelphia, Boston and New York began to organize riots demanding that British vessels returned to the metropolis with their cargo. The incident of the "five o'clock tea" in Boston is another event that is part of the anecdotes of the revolution. December 16, 1773, a group of colonists disguised as mohawk Indians hiked vessels loaded with boxes of tea and threw them into the sea with the blessing of the population.

Confrontation with British troops

In retaliation for this Act of sabotage, Jorge III made that Parliament voted for the closure of the port of Boston and the capital moved to Salem. He also ordered apply the "Regulation Act" that nullified the Charter of Massachusetts and placed the colony under the direct administration of England. The Assembly of citizens of sanctioned colony declared intolerable these measures and launched a call for help to the rest of the colonies. All supported Massachusetts and decided to make a common front against England.

This collective rebellion materialized itself on September 5, 1774 to become Philadelphia the first continental Congress of the "sons of liberty". This Congress did not propose independence nor tried to enact stand-alone legislation. Still dominated by conservative hardliners of reconciliation with the Crown, the purpose of the Congress was to sue rey Jorge III a rectification for injustices with the increase in taxes and the punishment of the rebel colony.

However, a more radical sector led by Samuel Adams, who decided to create associations of patriots whose objective should be to oppose British aggressions by force if they continued in Massachusetts emerged from this Conference. Massachusetts established so in practice a provisional Government led by John Hancock, parallel to the constituted by the British under the command of general Gage. The loyal to Adams and Hancock were organized and armed to deal with any realistic attack in "emergency companies".

The armed conflict between the rebels and the "red coats" was inevitable. It was going to happen in regions where Adams and Hancock had taken refuge. General Gage ordered a detachment of troops go to Lexington where suspected were both leaders. The famous ride of the "Patriot" Paul Revere to the village announcing the arrival of the British allowed the escape of Adams and Hancock to the neighbouring village of Concord. There the battle occurred on April 19, 1775. British troops left an "emergency company" that was filed on their way, but the arrival of new reinforcements finally made them back. A few days of this bloodless battle, the Patriots began the siege of the city of Boston.

The pretext for the outbreak of the joint rebellion of the thirteen colonies was activated with the events of Concord. One to one all Governments loyal to the King collapsed and instead the settlers formed emergency committees. But even the feeling of independence was not majority. This confirms that the conciliatory approach that took the second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. While recognising the State of war still rejecting ignorance of Jorge III authority. Members decided to send you one last request, the "olive branch", as a sign of reconciliation provided that he rectified the injustices.

At the same time proclaimed George Washington head of the continental army. When Washington took command in Cambridge (Massachusetts) met with a contingent that has not recovered from the battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, the bloodiest of the revolutionary war, which despite assuming the loss for the colonists of Boston to the British forces inflicted heavy casualties.

The King's response to the "olive branch" was negative and ordered the dispatch of reinforcements to quell the rebels. This repressive attitude placed the Congress in the dilemma that the brochure published in January 1776 by Thomas Payne with the name of Common Sense summed up perfectly: just was the return to the submission or the quest for independence. Many congressmen began to take seriously this last possibility. The tendency to free itself completely from the King was going to be more pronounced in New England and in the States of South Central colonies.

The war

The war development of the revolution lasted about seven years and staged two clear phases. The first phase includes actions taken by the continental army and militia Patriots between the autumn of 1775 and the winter of 1778, while the second phase begins with the establishment of the army Franco-American arising from the defensive alliance that United States celebrates with France of February 6, 1778.

George Washington in campaign

In what refers to the first stage, the strategy of Washington can do little to raise an army of poorly armed, trained worse and much smaller in number than the English troops. This explains that the expedition organized by Washington to the Canada would be a failure, although compensation achieve loss of the English of the Boston Harbor in March 1776.

While Washington's Army tried to amend the tide of the war, representatives of Virginia gave the decisive step to political change by declaring its independence from June 1, 1776. His example was continued for the rest of the colonies. July 4, 1776, the general Congress of Philadelphia proclaimed the union of the thirteen colonies and voted the famous declaration of independence of the United States of America, drafted by Thomas Jefferson with the support of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.

While the "sons of freedom" achieved a resounding victory at international level with his emancipation, setbacks in internal military strife during 1776 and 1777 threatened to disrupt the experience. The British military operations succeeded in recovering New York defeating Long Island the continental army August 27, 1776. The English troops under the command of the Howe brothers were going to continue their offensive in the North capturing New Jersey. In July 1777 realistic troops over Philadelphia advance again caused the escape of Washington's army.

But the luck began to be adverse to the English when it undertook the conquest of the Hudson Valley, control which would have been the division of colonies separating New England from the South. The two military meetings of Saratoga in September and October 1777 the defeat of the English troops before the American militia, commanded by general Horacio Gates, caused the surrender of general Burgoyne. This battle began the withdrawal of the army loyal to the King in the North and made return optimism to Americans.

The conflict becomes international

The February 1778 Franco-American Alliance was a triumph for American diplomacy, which Franklin was leading in Europe. If the agreement was the recognition of its independence in Europe for the colonists, for English it meant a return to the military struggle with its traditional competitor. But France was not only going to declare war on England, Spain would do the same in 1779 and a year later the Netherlands. Although Spain did not send men at arms to North America as Lafayette, contributed financially to support of the continental army through the 'Gardoqui and sons' House of Bilbao. Also the Visitador in New Spain, José de Gálvez, Washington's Army offered the possibility of refueling at the border, and the then-Governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, recovered the two Floridas to Spain in 1781.

George Washington and Lafayette

However to go to war with the major European powers, the British obtained between 1780 and 1781 some further victories over army ally in its attempts to reconquer the colonies from the North, whether launching attacks from the military base conquered in New York or attacking by the semi-desert border regions. In the latter the Rangers tories, i.e. the territorial oligarchy members loyal to the King, assisted by several Indian tribes, they fought their particular battle against settlers from New York and Pennsylvania.

Another major fight scene would be the sea, which until then had been exclusively dominated by English ships. Here made possible the greatest successes of the Patriots the pirates whose number reached about the two thousand. It is clear that the war had reached a point where none of the sides in conflict could move beyond what had been obtained if it wasn't at the expense of making a radical change in its strategy to combat. Such was the risk that they decided to run the English generals to move the scene of the fighting to the South of the country at the end of 1778.

The first people to fall into English hands was Georgia in December 1778; its reconquest was conducted by the troops of Colonel Campbell. The following year an outpost of the English army garrisoned in New York started in the South in order to take Charleston, South Carolina from strategic port. As in Georgia, not the American militia managed to avoid general Clinton is finally port last on May 12, 1780. Then the loyal troops under the command of general Cornwallis launched an offensive to recover North Carolina. Here begin the English debacle to prevent military ally in the battle of the King's mountain in October 1780 and, two months later, at the battle of Cowpens the consummation of this objective.

This obstacle, Cornwallis decided to attack Virginia, but the Allied troops under the command of general Lafayette cornered him at Yorktown, a city on the banks of the York River. The Allied on the regular army siege lasted about two months, and finally capitulated Cornwallis on October 19, 1781. With the fall of Yorktown hostilities between two regular armies ceased. England understood that its international isolation made by waste the continuation of the war, and that only the troops of general Clinton continued to occupy New York. Two more years would take United States and England to reach the agreement by which it recognized the independence of its former overseas possessions. The peace treaty was signed on September 3, 1783.

Finally, independence

Nineteen years had passed since the start of the protests against the English plan these rich territories become simple colonies that should only exist to serve the economic interests of England, providing raw materials and absorb thereof. The consequence that brought this attempt to introduce an regalista despotism to colonies that had since long ago internalized direct involvement in its internal affairs, right that it was assumed at the same time as inalienable, and moral was the acceleration of the total disengagement of the United States from England.

It would still require United States some years more to achieve the consolidation of its independence. The "articles of the Confederation" drafted in 1777 gave a quite limited to the continental Congress powers. When it was sealed the end of the war with England, no State of the Union wanted to submit to its mandate. This inner conflict was only going to solve in the Annapolis Convention of 1787 when all the States adopted the Constitution that established a national, Republican and federal Government. This process culminated with the election of George Washington as the first President of the United States from March 4, 1789.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas