The New England settlers spread westward and northward.  Connecticut adopted a written constitution in 1639.  The charter of Rhode Island, 1663, confirmed the aim of its founder, Roger Williams, in the separation of civil and religious affairs.

The English predominated in the colonies, though other nationalities were represented on the Atlantic seaboard.  The laws were based on English custom, and loyalty to England prevailed.  The colonists united for mutual support during the early Indian wars.  The United Colonies of New England, comprised Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven.  This union was formed in 1643, and lasted nearly forty years.  The “Lord of Trade” caused the colonies to unite later, at the time of the French and Indian War, 1754.

The colonies, nevertheless, were too far apart to feel a common interest.  Communication between them was slow, and commerce was almost entirely carried on with the English.  The boundaries were frequently a cause of conflict between them.  The plan of a constitution was devised by Franklin, but even the menace of war could not make the colonies adopt it.

While the English were establishing themselves firmly on the coast, the French were all the time quietly working in the interior.  Their explorers and merchants established posts to the Great Lakes, the northwest and the valley of the Mississippi.  The clash with the English came in 1690.  King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War and the French and Indian War, were all waged before the difficulties were settled in the rout of the French from the continent.  The so-called French and Indian War (1701-13) was the American counterpart of the Seven Years’ War of Europe.  The chief events of this war were:  the surrender of Washington at Fort Necessity, 1754; removal of the Arcadian settlers, 1755; Braddock’s defeat, July 9, 1755; capture of Oswego by Montcalm, 1756; the capture of Louisburg and Fort Duquesne, 1758; the capture of Ticonderoga and Niagara in 1759; battle of Quebec, September 13, 1759; surrender of Montreal, 1760.

At the Peace of Paris, 1763, the French claims to American territory were formally relinquished.  Spain, however, got control of the territory west of the Mississippi, in 1762.  This was known as Louisiana, and extended from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains.

At this period the relations of the colonies with the home government became seriously strained.  The demands that goods should be transported in English ships, that trade should be carried on only with England, that the colonies should not manufacture anything in competition with home products, were the chief causes of friction.  The navigation laws were evaded without public resistance, and smuggling became a common practice.