Early colonists came to America in the 1600s and 1700s in pursuit of economic opportunity and political freedom from the British.
Their journey to freedom began in 1775 with what is referred to as the “shot heard around the world” — when local militia clashed with British soldiers in the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Then on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, calling for the American colonies to secede from Great Britain. But it would not be until 1783 when the Revolutionary War ended with victory by the Americans that the United States would be recognized as an independent nation.
