File:A course in civil government (1894) (14744592756).jpg

Identifier: courseincivilgov00thor (find matches)
Title: A course in civil government
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Thorpe, Francis Newton, 1857- (from old catalog)
Subjects:
Publisher: Philadelphia, Eldredge & brother
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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tion of the colonists indeclaring themselves independent resulted in war. Theking sent over large bodies of troops to compel the colo-nists to recognize his authority. These royal troops weretrained and disciplined soldiers, well supplied with food,clothing and all the munitions of war. The troops of the colonists were men of peaceful habits,wTho left their farms, their workshops and their homes todefend their rights. They wrere without experience in theart of war, poorly equipped with arms and scantily sup-plied with food and clothing. On many occasions largebodies of troops passed whole days without food, andthe snow-capped lulls of Valley Forge, reddened with bloodfrom their bruised and unshod feet, testified to their devo-tion to the cause of liberty and human rights. It would seem that the struggle could not long endure,and that inevitably the king would conquer. But thereis a God that watches over the destinies of nations.After eight years of contest of varying fortune, the col-
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42 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. onists were victorious; the royal troops boarded theirships and sailed back to England, and the United Statesof America, free, independent and self-governing, assumedits station among the sovereign nations of the earth. 71. The Colonies become States.—During the war thecolonies were joined together in a loose federal governmentunder the Articles of Confederation. This form of gov-ernment proved defective; it lacked a supreme executive,a supreme legislative and a supreme judiciary. In 1787a more perfect union was formed by the adoption of theConstitution of the United States, which guarantees therights of the States and the rights of the citizen. Thecolonies became States, with written constitutions in wThichthe familiar idea of a tripartite government was carefullyfollowed. The colony of New Hampshire was the first toform a State government in 1775, before the Declarationof Independence. Most of the State governments wereformed about the time of the Declaration.

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