It is because the Americans started to see all the other countries become free and they wanted to become free to. They also started to not like the way the British treated them.
17-1800's
I know that James Hutton is considered a father of modern geology and he was born during some where in the 1720's so that's the closest answer, also Charles Lydel was born during the late 1790's.
I'm NOT 100% sure about this answer but I think it's the Lines of Longitude
Answer:
This map accurately shows landmasses without distortion.
Explanation:
