The Year in Revolution: 1783 Sovereignty video is about the United States’ presentation as a sovereign nation on the world’s stage in 1783. The Treaty of Paris states that: “Great Britain acknowledges the Sovereignty and Independence of the of the Thirteen United States of America.” Seven years before it was signed, in Common Sense, Thomas Paine called on Americans to recognize that the future of the world depended on America’s success as a sovereign and independent nation–“‘Tis not the affair of a City, a County, a Province or a Kingdom; but of a Continent–of at least one eight part of the habitable Globe. ‘Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected even to the end of time, by the proceedings now.” The achievement of American sovereignty ultimately fulfilled the promise put forward by the Declaration of Independence. An independent America could trade with the whole world, avoid the endless wars of Europe, and provide a better life for its people. The most important parts of the Declaration included the idea that Americans constituted “one people,” that this new nation would assume a “separate and equal station” among “the Powers of the Earth,” and that the nation would be dedicated to the ideals of universal equality and natural rights. The fulfillment of those aims remains our national purpose today.
The Year in Revolution Series was produced with classroom use in mind. Beginning with 1775 and ending with 1783, students and lifelong learners alike will learn about each year of the Revolution through a comprehensive overview video and five “who, what, where, when, and how” videos. The animated series draws heavily from the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati’s library and museum collections.
Funding for Year in Revolution: 1783 Overview was made possible by a grant from the George S. Rich Family Foundation. The creative team for this series was assembled by the American Revolution Institute and the talented educational production leads at Makematic Limited/ClickView.