Purported diary entry of King George III on July 4, 1776
The year 1776 has at least two important events: The Declaration of Independence of the American Colonies, and the publishing of The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.
Note that one event refers to governments, organizations, while the other refers to a single person by name. Adam Smith is synonymous with capitalism and classical economics, where an "invisible hand" hidden within markets causes supply to handle demand and demand to regulate supply. For the Declaration, Jefferson is known for drafting it, Hancock for his signature, Franklin for being, uh, himself...but mostly it's thought of as "what the Founding Fathers did." And that's likely because its impact goes beyond what was written - not just ideological ("we're independent because we can be") but also military tactics ("so we're all-in on this war because we're going to be executed for treason if we lose") and diplomatic ("we are accepting help from any nation who wants to support freedom ... or annoy Great Britain.") Even if the writing was mostly one person, the implementation involved anyone involved in the American Revolution.
Which is a way of suggesting that in 1776, Britain was still in its Third Turning, while the United States was in its Fourth. This seems to correlate with the 1783 speech in Highlander, where historical figures are named with regard to Austria (Mozart) and France (the Montgolfier brothers), suggesting they are in a Third Turning. Meanwhile the United States as a group is referred to concerning the recognition of independence - a Fourth Turning indicator.
This could help to show that Europe and Britain and the Colonies had been drifting out of sync with each other for some time. The Colonies entered their Fourth Turning by 1773, while Britain (still in a Third) might have been unable to focus resources until they were too late to be of help.
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