Why go
Boston and Philadelphia offer anchors for the revolutionary story, while the broader history of expansion changes how that story reads. Independence established a new political framework; acquiring territory raised different questions about power, belonging and land. Following both themes gives founding landmarks context beyond the celebration of a single date.
The full story
Delegates from thirteen British colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, while the Revolutionary War was underway. Britain recognized American independence in 1783. The Constitution followed in 1787, with ratification in 1788, and the first ten amendments became the Bill of Rights in 1791. These milestones established the republic's political framework, but its territorial boundaries continued to change. During the nineteenth century, expansion proceeded through the acquisition of land and the admission of new states. The idea of Manifest Destiny helped justify movement across North America. Indigenous peoples were displaced as the country extended toward the Pacific. Founding documents and territorial expansion therefore tell connected but different stories. One concerns the institutions and liberties claimed by the republic; the other asks how its growth transformed land and the lives of people already there.