History

'Government Totally Annihilated': How Americans Governed Themselves as British Rule Crumbled

America in the mid-1770s was a jumble of spontaneous formations amid the ruins of an empire.

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An illustration of hands holding tools such as a rifle and a shovel | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson; Source images: iStock, Wikimedia
(Illustration: Joanna Andreasson; Source images: iStock, Wikimedia)

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This article originally appeared in print under the headline "'Government Totally Annihilated'."