【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 ellow39。s Tales of a Wayside Inn in 1863. Longfellow39。s poem is credited with creating the national legend of Paul Revere, a previously littleknown Massachusetts silversmith.Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott kept watch in Boston for the approach of British troops the day before the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolution. The Landlord39。s Tale: Paul Revere39。s Rideby: Henry Wadsworth LongfellowListen my children and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of Paul Revere,On the eighteenth of April, in Seventyfive。Hardly a man is now aliveWho remembers that famous day and year. He said to his friend, If the British marchBy land or sea from the town tonight,Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry archOf the North Church tower as a signal light,One if by land, and two if by sea。And I on the opposite shore will be,Ready to ride and spread the alarmThrough every Middlesex village and farm,For the country folk to be up and to arm.Washington39。s crossing of the Delaware River, one of the rebels39。 first successes in the Revolutionary WarSurrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown by (John Trumbull, 1797).Washington hurriedly moved American and French troops from New York, and a bined FrancoAmerican force of 17,000 men menced the Siege of Yorktown in early October. For several days, the French and Americans bombarded the British defenses. Cornwallis39。 position quickly became untenable, and he surrendered his entire army of 7,000 men on October 19, 1781. 《美國(guó)獨(dú)立宣言》（United States Declaration of Independence），為北美洲十三個(gè)英屬殖民地宣告自大不列顛王國(guó)獨(dú)立，并宣明此舉正當(dāng)性之文告。1776年7月4日，本宣言由第二次大陸會(huì)議于費(fèi)城批準(zhǔn)，當(dāng)日茲后成為美國(guó)獨(dú)立紀(jì)念日。宣言之原件由大陸會(huì)議出席代表共同簽署，并永久展示于美國(guó)華盛頓特區(qū)之國(guó)家檔案與文件署（National Archives and Records Administration）。此宣言為美國(guó)最重要的立國(guó)文書(shū)之一。起草與采用1776年6月，馬薩諸塞州的約翰亞當(dāng)斯、賓夕法尼亞州的本杰明富蘭克林、維吉尼亞州的托馬斯杰斐遜、紐約州的羅伯特李文斯頓（Robert R. Livingston）、康乃迪克州的羅杰謝爾曼（Roger Sherman）（即后世所稱之五人小組（Committee of Five））聚集起草合宜之文告以宣示獨(dú)立之決心。五人小組決議，宣言由托馬斯杰斐遜獨(dú)力起草后對(duì)富蘭克林與亞當(dāng)斯展示，富蘭克林一人即至少修訂了其中48處。杰斐遜后據(jù)此謄錄了一份修訂版，由五人小組于1776年6月28日上呈大陸議會(huì)。1776年6月7日，維吉尼亞的理查亨利李（Richard Henry Lee）上呈李氏決議文（Lee Resolution）至大陸議會(huì)；7月2日，正式宣告獨(dú)立。決議文中寫(xiě)道：“茲決議：合眾殖民地（United Colonies）為，亦應(yīng)是，自由獨(dú)立之國(guó)家，其免除自身對(duì)不列顛王室之擁戴；其與大不列顛國(guó)之一切政治聯(lián)系為，亦應(yīng)是，徹底無(wú)效?！薄ぉけ泵廓?dú)立宣言（Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.）大陸議會(huì)于賓夕法尼亞的獨(dú)立廳采納獨(dú)立宣言時(shí)，曾小幅重寫(xiě)部分總綱。宣言全文于8月10日送達(dá)倫敦。The Declaration of Independence“We hold these truth to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government bees destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government…..”坐落在美國(guó)首都華盛頓的華盛頓紀(jì)念碑上有一方碑文所用的正是徐繼畬在《瀛寰志略》中稱讚華盛頓的一段話：華盛頓，異人也。起事勇於勝?gòu)V，割據(jù)雄于曹劉，既已提三尺劍，開(kāi)疆萬(wàn)里，乃不僭位號(hào)，不傳子孫，而創(chuàng)為推舉之法，幾於天下為公。其治國(guó)崇讓善俗，不尚武功，亦迥與諸國(guó)異。余見(jiàn)其畫(huà)像，氣貌雄毅絕倫，嗚呼，可不謂人傑矣哉！米利堅(jiān)合眾國(guó)之為國(guó)，幅員萬(wàn)里，不設(shè)王侯之號(hào)，不循世襲之規(guī)，公器付之公論，創(chuàng)古今未有之局，一何奇也！泰西古今人物，能不以華盛頓為稱首哉!徐繼畬 (17951873)是山西五臺(tái)人， 19 歲中舉， 1826 年中進(jìn)士，被欽點(diǎn)為翰林院庶吉士，以后歷任翰林院編修、陜西道監(jiān)察御使和廣西潯州知府。 1840 年鴉片戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)爆發(fā)時(shí)，徐繼畬已經(jīng)改到福建做官， 1846 年他在任福建巡撫時(shí)，徐繼畬他開(kāi)始有心收集資料，研究西方為什么能那么強(qiáng)大，把大清打得一敗涂地。研究的結(jié)果是，他在 1848 年出版了亞洲第一部系統(tǒng)介紹世界地理的著作《瀛環(huán)志略》。 《瀛寰志略》共 10 卷，其中對(duì)美國(guó)的介紹分量很重。徐詳細(xì)介紹了美國(guó)的立國(guó)史、政治制度，特別是華盛頓的功績(jī)。 他寫(xiě)道：“華盛頓建立了國(guó)家后，就交出了權(quán)力而過(guò)平靜的生活。眾人不肯讓他走，堅(jiān)決要樹(shù)立他為帝王。華盛頓就對(duì)眾人說(shuō)：‘建立一個(gè)國(guó)家并把這種權(quán)力傳遞給自己的后代，這是自私。你們的責(zé)任就是選擇有才德的人掌握國(guó)家領(lǐng)導(dǎo)職位’?！?徐繼畬還在書(shū)中盛贊道：像華盛頓這樣率眾奪取“天下”卻完全放棄君王一統(tǒng)、實(shí)施民主政治者，乃曠古所未見(jiàn)。 ⊙該文章轉(zhuǎn)自[歷史風(fēng)云網(wǎng)]：John Trumbull39。s painting, Declaration of Independence, depicting the fiveman drafting mittee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress.Between 1776 and 1789,the United States became an independent country, creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing the federal government. In an attempt to gain autonomous status within the British Empire, American Revolutionaries implemented nonviolent means of protest which quickly grew into a political revolution followed by a war for independence to defend it. The Americans eventually won the war, declaring the United States a sovereign nation in the interim. After thirteen years of relatively loose Confederation, the . government, fearing foreign invasion and domestic insurrection, replaced the governing Articles of Confederation to strengthen the federal government39。s powers of defense and taxation with the Constitution of the United States in 1789, still in effect today. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, customarily referred to as the Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the United States of America and legally established the union of the states.Constitution for the United States, later replaced by the creation of the current United States Constitution in 1788 3. 美國(guó)西進(jìn)運(yùn)動(dòng) Westward expansion (1789–1849) 1812年戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，又稱第二次獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，是美國(guó)與英國(guó)之間發(fā)生于1812至1815年的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。是美國(guó)獨(dú)立后第一次對(duì)外戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。美國(guó)正式向英國(guó)宣戰(zhàn)，但是英國(guó)軍隊(duì)的50%兵員是加拿大的民兵。同時(shí)，美洲印地安部落由于種種原因也卷入了戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。1812年6月18日，美國(guó)向英國(guó)宣戰(zhàn)。1812至1813年，美國(guó)攻擊英國(guó)北美殖民地加拿大各省。1813年10月至1814年3月，英國(guó)在歐洲擊敗拿破侖，將更多的兵力增援北美戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)。英國(guó)占領(lǐng)美國(guó)的緬因州，并且一度攻占美國(guó)首都華盛頓。但是英國(guó)陸軍在美國(guó)南部的路易斯安娜州戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)、恰普蘭湖戰(zhàn)役 、巴爾地摩戰(zhàn)役、新奧爾良戰(zhàn)役中多次遭到挫敗，并且海軍也遭受敗局。1815年雙方停戰(zhàn)，邊界恢復(fù)原狀。Growth 184050美國(guó)在十九世紀(jì)所獲得的領(lǐng)土American Progress by John Gast (circa 1872)celebrates . romantic nationalism in the form of westward expansion—an idea known as Manifest Destiny.Economic growth in America per capita ine The North River Steamboat (erroneously referred to as the Clermont), made its first trip from New York City north on the Hudson River to Albany on August 17, 1807.（18491865）Between the years 1849 and 1865, events that took place in the United States included the American Civil War and the turbulent years leading up to it, during which occurred