In 1775, the Second Continental Congress authorized the creation of the United States Army on June 14. On October 13, they authorized the creation of the United States Navy and on November 10, the United States Marines were established.
I was not a great student of history when I was in school, but thinking about the 250th anniversaries of the Armed Forces made me wonder what events had occurred to make the colonists create a military force and to declare their independence from England.
The British Empire had gained dominance in North America after it defeated France in the Seven Years War in 1763. But that war had cost England a lot of money and they were in debt. The British Parliament wanted to receive revenue from the colonies and started passing laws such as the Sugar Act and the Currency Act in 1764. The Sugar Act imposed duties on non-British goods shipped to the colonies. The Currency Act prohibited the colonies from issuing their own currency. In 1765, Britain required the colonies to provide food and shelter for British troops stationed in the colonies. In 1767 Parliament passed the Townshend Act which required taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea. The colonists did not have any representatives in the English Parliament, and they protested that they were being taxed without any representatives speaking on their behalf.
Tensions continued to rise between the colonies and England. The First Continental Congress was held in 1774 and colonists agreed to form the Continental Association and called for the suspension of trade with Great Britain. It also declared that colonists should have the same rights as Englishmen.
Then on April 19, 1775, the shot heard around the world was fired. British troops were planning to destroy ammunition that was being stored by the colonists at Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes alerted the Minute Men in the area. The British troops and the Minute Men met at Lexington and a stray bullet was fired from a British gun. That shot led to more gunfire and several Americans were killed.
The British troops moved on to Concord and met resistance from many colonists. At the end of the day, both sides had suffered losses of men.
Less than a month later, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10.
My son, the history teacher, would probably be appalled at this thumbnail sketch of history, but for purposes of this column, I just wanted to remember how turbulent the times were when our nation was created. Our Constitution was not the law of the land until March 4, 1789.
As we prepare to celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation in 2026, let’s remember that our forefathers’ goal was to establish a more perfect union. I think they realized that they were passing that goal on to all future generations. What contributions can we all make to achieve a more perfect union?
Every year I wish I were still in Naperville so I could attend the Thursday evening summer band concerts—especially the one being held on July 3 to celebrate our heritage. I hope you can attend the concert.
