The Revolutionary War

The American Revolution

The American Revolution was made up of two related events: the American War of Independence (1775-1783) and the formation of the American government as laid out by the Constitution of the United States in 1787.

First, the war achieved independence from England by the colonies. Second, the newly created United States of America established a republican form of government, in which power resided with the people.

Colonists Against England

One of the reasons that the King of England allowed the colonies so much freedom and self-government was that England and France were at war much of the time between 1689 and 1763. At the end of the war, the colonists had become used to the freedom they had had. Now that the problems with France were solved, England was ready to reestablish its control over the colonies. The war had been very expensive and England wanted the colonies to help pay the costs. The Navigation Acts were passed which allowed colonists to ship their goods only on English ships and to sell some of their produce only to England. England also put new taxes on the colonists, such as the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act forced the colonists to buy stamps from the government to put on their printed materials such as wills and newspapers. England was making the colonists pay a tax but the colonies were not allowed to send representatives to the English legislature to vote on the tax.

To show they were against the British laws and policies, the colonists did not follow or obey the laws. They also boycotted English goods as much as they could, finding substitutes for the goods. They demonstrated in public and wrote letters and editorials in the newspapers complaining about the unfair taxes and laws. The colonies cooperated with each other and united against England.

England passed the Tea Act of 1773 which placed a tax on imported tea. The colonists were so angry that some of them dressed up as Indians and secretly boarded a ship in the Boston harbor which was carrying tea. The colonists dumped all the tea into the ocean. The act is famous as the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party made people in England very angry with the colonists.

First Continental Congress

To show their unified position, the colonists held the first meeting of the Continental Congress, from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in Philadelphia.

Twelve of the 13 colonies sent representatives, including such famous men as George Washington and Patrick Henry. The Congress wrote a Declaration of Rights, which asked the King to look at and correct the problems. The Congress also voted on a boycott of British goods.

Patrick Henry's stirring words to close the Congress, 'Give me liberty or give me death," told the English that this group of colonists calling themselves Americans was willing to fight for the principles in which they believed. The colonists began training the militia and storing supplies.

The Revolutionary War

Unfortunately, the English did not listen. The King rejected the Declaration of Rights. They also sent troops to America. At Lexington, Massachusetts, the Colonial Minute Men did not leave quickly enough when the English troops arrived. Eight Americans died and some were wounded. The English pushed on to Concord, where the colonists "fired the shot heard round the world," and started the American Revolutionary War.

During the first year of the war, the colonists were not sure if they were fighting for their rights as English citizens or for independence. Some factors helped the Americans decide to fight for independence. The English hired German soldiers, called Hessians, to help them fight the war. This made the Americans very angry. Some Americans were influenced by Thomas Paine's famous pamphlet, "Common Sense." His appeal to Americans that they had a "moral obligation to the world... to set herself up as an independent democratic republic," persuaded many people to be active, loyal supporters of the revolution.

The Americans had self-confidence because they had fought well against the British. The Americans also were lucky to have George Washington as their Commander in Chief. He had military experience and was greatly admired by his men. He was a great inspiration during the hard times of the war. And though his men were not as well trained as the English soldiers, they usually could shoot more accurately. Also, the Americans could not get help from France until they declared their independence from England because England might declare war on France.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29