Few educators in history have made such a profound effect on the shape of the future as John Locke. His practical, down to earth approach on education and his belief in the folly in the practice of divine kinship did much to shape the course of the Enlightenment period and the basis of modern European thought.

Locke was born in 1632 into an upper middle class family in England and studied medicine at Oxford. Early on Locke found himself disagreeing with professors who insisted on teaching the ancient Greek philosophers. He was more interested in newer theories and had a penchant for the works of Rene Descartes. Through his friendship with the mechanical philosopher Robert Boyle and the famed scientific rebel Isaac Newton, Locke found logic in the new theories floating around in the late 17^th century.

Soon after graduating from college, Locke came under the employ of the Earl of Shaftsbury and assisted him in a number of non medical matters including the administration of his estate, various business matters and also acted as his political advisor. The earl enjoyed Locke’s unique (for the time) views on the freedom of religion, the unbelief in absolutism and the desire for a democratic governing body for the country.

In 1682, Locke’s anti royal sentiments resulted in his banishment to Holland. It was in exile that Locke penned his influential work “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” In 1688, the Glorious Revolution in which William of Orange overthrew the current English king, James II. This meant Locke could return to his homeland without fear of persecution or prosecution and so he did.

In 1690, Locke published his two treaties on government which were considered influential works in the revolutions of the 18^th century, namely America and France. Locke argued that revolution against tyranny was acceptable to bring legitimate rule to a nation. He also explained his thoughts on education which involved learning from experience not just because we exist.

During the 1690s Locke worked for the new British government in a number of positions including commissioner of plantations and trade. He continued with his theoretical writings, publishing on religion, government, ethics and education.

Locke retired to the country to live with friends and passed away in 1704, long before many of his works would influence the birth of a democratic America and the overthrow of royal power in France. But without Locke’s suggesting divine kingship as wrong and the rights of the citizens as the main work of any government, those two revolutions may have taken very different forms. His work on education would underlie the public school system in Britain and his thoughts on theology helped others find their own path to religious freedom. Locke was one of many that created the bedrock for the Enlightenment period.

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It was on September 8 of 1565 that America’s oldest city came into existence. St. Augustine, Florida was established long before the pilgrims, the war of independence or the statute of liberty. The city is an often overlooked testament to the long and diverse history of the United States.

Juan Ponce De Leon, the famed Spanish explorer, arrived in St. Augustine in 1513 but it wouldn’t be until 1565 that another famous Spanish sea farer, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, took his 600 men onto land and claimed the area for Spain. The name St. Augustine comes from the fact that it was a scant 11 days since the feast day of St. Augustine and the company’s arrival in Florida and the founding of the city took place.

The early history of the St. Augustine includes the building of the Spanish fort four decades before the colony at Jamestown, the sacking of the city by Sir Francis Drake in 1586 and the death of 60 inhabitants by pirates under John Davis in 1668.

The city changed hands a number of times during its lifetime. The Spanish established a military fort on the site in 1672 and for almost a century, it was considered a Spanish town. In 1763, the British captured the city (after sacking it twice in the past) and kept it until 1784. One of the articles of the Treaty of Paris (1783) which ended the American Revolutionary War was that the city be returned to Spanish control. By that time Spanish influence had declined around the globe and St. Augustine never fully returned to its Spanish roots.

In 1821, the area that was to become the state of Florida was sold to the newly formed United States. St. Augustine was already established with roads, commerce and laws and needed only the influence of the pioneer spirit to complete its transformation to an American stronghold.

Henry Flagler came to St. Augustine in 1883 and left a permanent mark on the city. Many of the buildings were constructed under his direction still stand today including the Lightner Museum and Flagler College. Other old buildings in the city include the Governor’s home built in 1713, the basilica of St. Augustine built in 1797 and the oldest building in the town, a Spanish style domestic dwelling built in 1706. The city is a mix of colonial, Spanish revival, Victorian and modern architecture.

Today, St. Augustine is well established as a tourist attraction. The original city walls, the colonial architecture and the European influence make this Florida town a unique slice of American history. Most people are taught that Jamestown or the landing at Plymouth mark the beginning of a truly American way of life yet it was at St. Augustine that the nation first made its way into world history.

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The Americans at the outset of the Revolutionary War were outnumbered by the British in military capacity by 3 to 1, were poorly trained and had less arms power as well as financial resources at their disposition. The American advantage resided in that they were fighting on land they knew better than the British, familiar as they were with the wilderness of the terrain they themselves had populated and fought for against the Native Americans. The Americans also had excellent leadership for a young coalition of colonies: George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Patrick Henry were among the great political, military, and ideological minds behind the American push for independence.

The revolution began in Lexington, Massachusetts on April 18, 1775, when British General Thomas Gage sent 700 soldiers to destroy guns and ammunition stored by the colonists in the town of Concord near Boston, provoking response from the colonists. The British also attempted to arrest two key leaders of the patriot movement, Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The colonists elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and under his guidance entered the subsequent battle with the British on Breed’s Hill on June 17, 1775, today remembered as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

By the summer of 1776, the colonies were organized and decisive enough to declare their independence from Britain in a formal resolution. After forming a committee to draft the declaration of independence, the document was endorsed by the Congress on July 4, 1776.

On December 25, 1776, after a stalemate on the battlefront of New York, George Washington and 2,500 of his soldiers crossed the Delaware River at night and attacked British and Hessian forces. Washington and his troops overpowered the opposition suffering only six wounded soldiers and cemented the path towards victory for the Revolutionary forces. By March 1777, Washington’s army had routed the British out of most of New York and New Jersey back towards New Brunswick.

In the months prior to and including July of 1777, the British attempted to take the Hudson River Valley in order to cut New England off from the other colonies and leverage control in this manner. They were able to defeat American forces at Fort Ticonderoga under General Burgoyne and his 7,700 troops on July 6, 1777. British Lieutenant Colonel St. Leger and his troops were set to join General Burgoyne from Canada as was the army of General Howe from New York. This reinforcement failed to materialize as St. Leger’s troops were defeated by Benedict Arnold and his American militia, forcing their retreat to Canada, while General Howe’s forces were held back by Washington’s forces at the Battle of Brandywine and then at the Battle of Germantown. General Burgoyne’s forces attacked General Gates’ American forces twice, but he was driven back each time. Meanwhile, on September 26, 1777 Britain’s General Howe was able to occupy Philadelphia, forcing the American Congress to relocate to York, Pennsylvania.

A decisive battle was fought and won by the Americans in Saratoga on October 7, 1777 when the American forces under General Horatio Gates and General Benedict Arnold defeated General Burgoyne’s army. On October 17, 1777, about 5,700 of General Burgoyne’s men surrendered to the Americans and were sent back to England. This was the point at which the French government recognized the independence of the United States of America. By July 1778, the French would also declare war on Britain and ally themselves with the American effort. The British would be further threatened and put at a disadvantage in their counter efforts against the Americans when the Spanish also declared war on the British, though establishing no alliance with the United States, and other European countries such as Holland and Poland gave their support to American initiatives. The British, in turn, fought back allying themselves with various Native American tribes.

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By 1783, Britain had signed a peace treaty with Spain and France while Spain, followed by Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, formally acknowledged the United States of America. On February 4, 1783, England officially ended hostilities with the United States of America and on April 11, 1783, the American Congress officially declared an end to the Revolutionary War and it was formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783.

The Revolutionary War that was to decisively sever the relationship between the American colonies and their British rulers was provoked by increasing British infringement on the rights of the colonists in the 1760s.

After having accrued substantial debt during the French and Indian War and in attempts to both garner more income from their American colonies and solidify control over their economies, the British took measures that would ultimately antagonize their American subjects. In 1764, the British government attempted to pass the Currency Law that would forbid the printing of legal tender paper money in the colonies. This threat to the economies of the industrial North and agricultural South united the colonies against the British in an act of civil disobedience and tensions were further heightened when England sought to impose the Stamp Act, taxing the colonies directly for the first time in order to assuage British debt. The issue of taxation without representation under British power surfaced as a pivotal point in the movement towards action against what would increasingly be felt as excessive rule by the British. Rebellion by the colonies would not flourish for another decade, but these first incidents of colonial upheaval in face of British mandates, set the tone for a period of mounting tensions.

The Revolutionary War that would mark a new era in global politics was not without internal struggle. Although an impetus for change was irreversible, about 20 to 30 percent of the colonists remained loyal to the British crown during the War, becoming known as Loyalists or ‘Tories’ or ‘King’s men.’ Furthermore, the colonies were still in conflict with some of their Native American neighbors and the later intercession of foreign European forces, such as the Hessians, French, and Spanish, made the lines of war and boundaries of conflict less clear.

The Revolution began in 1775 after an altercation in Lexington, Massachusetts. The unraveling of British dominion in the American colonies had as much to do with reaction to authoritative acts by the British as it did with disparate ideologies evolving in the New World about republicanism and democracy in the face of traditional hierarchical and monarchical systems. It

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was also a case of local governance versus distant governance and the question of the effectiveness and legitimacy of one system over another. What was unique and formidable about the emerging Americans was the strength and determination of their leadership and the vision they had for a future government that would rest on principles of republicanism and enlightened ideas regarding the rights of citizens and would institute a system of laws chosen by the people themselves.