Existing comment:
Forming a New Nation: 1776 to 1801:
As early as the 1600s, America's diverse populations -- native peoples, Europeans, and Africans -- interacted to create a hybrid new world. European colonists united in 1776 to separate from England, winning a revolution based on the principles of representative government, freedom and expression, and equality. Though often argued over, these rights have been expanded through the centuries to all Americans, and continue to guide us today.
The objects in this first section help tell stories about the formation of the United States, from the colonial period to the Revolutionary War and its immediate aftermath. |