The American Revolution was a war that was fought between the thirteen American colonies and Britain to gain America’s Independence. Many of us have learned the story of American Independence, but how much we have remembered from our childhood is a whole different story.
The American Revolution began in 1775 with the “shot heard round the world”? which was fired at Lexington on April 19, 1775. The American Revolution lasted eight and a half years and finally ended on September 3, 1783, with America and the King of England signing the Treaty of Paris. Before the war was over the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and as far as American colonists were concerned they were no longer under the King’s rule, which is why we celebrate our Independence Day on July 4 each year.
Colonies:
Since America was under the King’s rule in the very beginning they were known as colonies not as states. Once the Declaration of Independence was signed, America became known as the United States. The thirteen colonies that were involved in the American Revolution were: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. These states were the thirteen original states in the United States.
Causes and early troubles:
By the middle of the 18th century the colonies and Britain had major differences in their lifestyle and politics. In the very beginning the colonies were pretty much allowed to develop on their own, but then in 1763 Britain decided to take a more active role in the colonies. After the French and Indian Wars were over in 1763 Britain decided to tax the colonies to help pay for the war and to help pay for there defense. Britain also was making the colonies return revenue to the mother country. Because of the strict guidelines that Britain was now trying to enforce, many colonists were left unhappy.
One of the main reasons that the colonists were unhappy was because when Britain decided to tax the colonies on sugar and molasses, as well as making them return revenue to the mother country, the colonies did not have any representation in Parliament. Some of the colonists, such as Samuel Adams, John Adams, and the Sons of Liberty felt that they should not have to pay taxes since they were not being represented in Parliament. These colonists led the cry of “no taxation without representation”?.
But this was only the tip of the iceberg. Britain continued to pass various acts that made it harder and harder for the colonists to develop themselves. Some of the more famous acts that were passed by King George II and Parliament were the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and the Coercive Acts, which the Americans called the Intolerable Acts. All of these acts were designed to tax and/or control the American colonies.
Although not all of the colonists believed that they should be independent, the battle was set to begin. A majority of the colonists thought that they should be free, and after British soldiers and colonials opened fire on each other the revolution had begun. Not only did the colonists have to fight the British soldiers who were formally trained, they also had to contend with the colonists who didn’t think they should be free from Britain’s rule.
The battle lasted for eight and a half years and was finally over when the British soldiers surrendered and King George II signed the Treaty of Paris, which gave the colonies their independence.
