The dream of finding an all water route across North America, the mythical Northwest Passage, had been imagined since the time of Christopher Columbus, but three hundred years after the Admiral of the Ocean Seas completed his epic voyages, the vast interior of the continent was still essentially unknown to Europeans. As early as 1783, Thomas Jefferson had wanted to send an expedition to explore and chart the great unknown west of the Mississippi, and over the next twenty years, Jefferson tried on several occasions to enlist the support of some brave adventurer to undertake the exploration but with no success.

In 1682, Robert de la Salle, a French explorer and fur trader, reached the mouth of the Mississippi River and claimed the interior of North America for King Louis XIV. Four decades later, Jean-Baptiste de Bienville founded New Orleans, creating a massive strategic arc across North America stretching from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. And from within this domain, the French controlled the core of the continent and the hugely profitable fur trade. But their hold did not go unchallenged and in a series of wars throughout the eighteenth century, the British dispossessed the French of its colonies in North America. As the final war drew to a close, France secretly transferred Louisiana and the river port of New Orleans to Spain rather than have Louisiana fall into British hands. When Napoleon came to power in 1799, he had visions of reestablishing a North American empire and in October 1800, he forced Spain’s King Carlos IV to give Louisiana back to France. 

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced into the Second Continental Congress what has come to be known as the Lee Resolution, calling for a complete separation from Great Britain. This leap of faith into the unknown space of independence finally had been publicly demanded and a contentious debate ensued. Congress created a committee to draft a declaration of independence in the event they chose that course of action. The committee included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson, and chose Jefferson to be the main penman.

Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary journey began in the 1760s and culminated in his masterfully written Declaration of Independence in 1776. But in between these events, Jefferson crafted one of the most impactful statements ever for American independence. Entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America, it was perhaps the most logical assessment of the true relationship between Great Britain and her American colonies; concepts that Jefferson had refined over the course of several years.

n 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, the first internal tax on the American colonies, and thus began a decade of missteps by the British. That same year, Thomas Jefferson concluded his time studying law under George Wythe and began his brief but successful law career. In colonial Virginia, there were two levels of courts – county courts, which were scattered throughout the colony, and the General Court of Virginia in Williamsburg. Jefferson opted to bypass the county courts and try for immediate admittance to the General Court. His brilliance recognized, Jefferson was accepted, and at age twenty-four, he joined a small group of much older attorneys considered the best in the colony, including George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton, and Richard Bland.

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in a small farmhouse on the frontier of western Virginia, in today’s Albemarle County. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a mountain of a man and well-respected throughout the region as a surveyor who ranged far and wide over the western portions of the colony. Peter’s work brought him significant wealth and put him in contact with the leading authorities in the colony. Sadly, in the summer of 1757, when Tom was fourteen, his father got sick and passed away, leaving behind a widow and eight children and a sizeable, debt-free estate. One of his father’s dying wishes was for Tom to complete his education, and in March 1760, Jefferson entered the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

The presidential election of 1800 was one of the most controversial and consequential in the history of the United States. It represented a true changing of the guard as the Federalist party of Washington, Hamilton, and Adams gave way to the Democratic-Republican ideals of Jefferson and Madison and took the United States in a different direction for a generation to come.

Even before America’s declaration of independence, Spain began to secretly supply the colonists with war materials. Soon after France and the United States signed its Treaty of Alliance, Spain declared war on England to support her French cousins, thus indirectly becoming America’s ally. Spain stretched British war-fighting capacity beyond the breaking point, turning a regional war into a costly conflict between the world’s two greatest colonial empires.

In August 1782, Loyalist Captain William Caldwell led three hundred warriors into Kentucky and attacked Bryan’s Station. Caldwell’s men could do little against the palisaded walls of the stockade and withdrew towards the Ohio when they learned of the approach of a relief force led by Colonel John Todd and Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Boone. The Kentuckians surprisingly caught up with Caldwell at a river crossing known as Lower Blue Licks, but Daniel Boone sensed an ambush. A hotheaded Major named Hugh McGary accused Boone of cowardice, jumped on his horse, and yelled for all to hear, “Them that ain’t cowards follow me.”

On February 5, 1779, Colonel George Rogers Clark and 120 determined American soldiers, left Kaskaskia and began an arduous winter trek eastward to capture the British post of Fort Sackville on the Wabash River, near the town of Vincennes. Many days were spent wading through frigid water, at times up to their necks. To compound matters, their pack horses all died and their provisions dwindled to what the men could carry on their backs.

In August 1763, England’s Board of Trade replaced General Jeffery Amherst as commander-in-chief of North America with General Thomas Gage, who hoped to crush Pontiac’s rebellion the following summer. However, Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, reminded them of the exorbitant cost in men and material required to forcefully subdue the tribes. They reluctantly gave permission to Sir William to first try and buy the peace with presents, and many proud warriors accepted Johnson’s generous terms. But the remorseless Delaware and Shawnee scorned his offers, and Gage ordered Colonel John Bradstreet to proceed to Fort Detroit via Lake Erie, destroying all villages he encountered.

In June 1777, Fort Ticonderoga had been in American hands for two years, but little had been done to strengthen its defenses. The fort, commanded by General Arthur St. Clair, was garrisoned by 2,000 Continental troops but was not prepared to withstand an assault. When the vanguard of British General John Burgoyne’s 7,000-man army arrived in front of Fort Ticonderoga, British officers soon discovered Mount Defiance, a hill that dominated the fort, was unoccupied.

After achieving a great victory at the Battle of Trenton, General George Washington recrossed the Delaware River hoping for a second miracle. In response, Lord Charles Cornwallis and 6,000 Redcoats marched towards Trenton and struck back at the bold Americans, leaving a battalion at Princeton, twelve miles north. On the night of January 2, 1777, Washington, unnoticed by British sentries, moved his men around the British flank towards Princeton and attacked at dawn. Perfect.

When General George Washington took command of the Continental Army, the challenges he faced were formidable. Instead of one unified force, every colony had its own militia, each at various stages of development. Consequently, training was non-existent, discipline was lax, and the men were disrespectful to their officers. By comparison, the British Army was a force of well-equipped and well-trained soldiers, led by professionals, and far more numerous than the Continentals.