The American Revolution

The thirteen British colonies established on the east coast of North America were responsible at 18th century for the first colonial insurrection against a metropolis. Some colonists, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment that came from Europe, even from the metropolis itself, started to consider self government or, at least, at least, the same rights as the British.
The main problem was excessive taxation without match, “Taxation without representation” was one of their main mottos.After some incidents (the Boston Massacre, 1770 and the Boston Tea Party, 1773) delegates from every colony met at Philadelphia in a so-called Continental Congress trying to get some rights from the British Crown. The Crown not only refused their reclamations but sent an army to stop them.
On 4th July  1776, after a series of hard debates, the delegates of the colonies signed The Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson. The influence of this text would be bigger than its author thought, becoming one of the cornerstones of liberalism and democracy.

The Declaration of 1776 led to a long war won by the Americans with some help from France and Spain, enemies of Britain at that time. The War finished in 1783 and George Washington was declared first president of the United States while their parliament, Congress, was writing its constitution.
In 1787 the Constitution was finished. It was the first written constitution of the world, model for many to come.
The United States was organized as a federation in which every state had its own government and laws. But all foreign affairs and the army where in hands of the federal government and its chief executive, the President of the United States.
The Constitution was completed by a Bill of Rights based on the Virginia Declaration of Rights. This Bill of Rights warrant basic freedoms and rights such as
freedom of speech, freedom of press, religion, etc…