New Nation.

Thomas Paine wrote on 19 April 1783, "The times that tried men's souls are over and the greatest and completest revolution the world ever knew gloriously and happily accomplished." The late eighteenth century was a time when many Americans tested the limits of their hard-won freedom, when notions of liberty were foremost in the minds of most civic-minded citizens. Thirteen British colonies had fought for their freedom and prevailed. Now loosely connected through the Articles of Confederation (adopted in 1782), the states were experiencing the benefits and challenges of independence. The Articles of Confederation established "a firm league of friendship" among the states. It soon became clear that the states needed a more unifying framework. The Constitution of 1787 marked a turning point in American legal history. The thirteen states formed a single republic, with some powers reserved to the states and other powers divided among three independent branches of...