Reform and Renewal: The phrase “in order to create a more perfect union” appears in the very first sentence of the American Constitution. This spirit of moral reform and perfectibility is continually invoked throughout American history by movements and voices from across political spectrums. As you progress through this course, pay attention to how various reform movements echo the original Puritan vision of America as a potential “City on a Hill.”

the committees of correspondence were the american colonies’ means for maintaining communication lines in the years before the revolutionary war. in 1764, boston formed the earliest committee of correspondence to encourage opposition to britain’s stiffening of customs enforcement and prohibition of american paper money. the following year, new york formed a similar committee to keep the other colonies notified of its actions in resisting the stamp act. in 1773, the virginia house of burgesses proposed that each colonial legislature appoint a committee for intercolonial correspondence. the exchanges that followed built solidarity during the turbulent times and bring about the formation of the first continental congress in 1774.

the columbian exchange, also known as the columbian interchange, named for christopher columbus, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the americas, west africa, and the old world in the 15th and 16th centuries, related to european colonization and trade following christopher columbus's 1492 voyage. invasive species, including communicable diseases, were a byproduct of the exchange. the changes in agriculture significantly altered and changed global populations. the most significant immediate impact of the columbian exchange was the cultural exchanges and the transfer of people between continents.

the new contact between the global population circulated a wide variety of crops and livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres, although diseases initially caused precipitous declines in the numbers of indigenous peoples of the americas. traders returned to europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in europe by the 18th century.

the term was first used in 1972 by american historian alfred w. crosby in his environmental history book the columbian exchange. it was rapidly adopted by other historians and journalists and has become widely known.