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The American Revolution was an upheaval that ended British control of middle North America, resulting in the formation of the United States of America in 1776. An account of the military actions of the American Revolutionary War appears in a separate article.

The Revolution was also a series of broad intellectual and social shifts that occurred in American society as new republican ideals took hold in the population. In some states (especially Pennsylvania), sharp political debates broke out over the role that democracy should play in government. The American shift to republicanism and gradually expanding democracy was an upheaval of the traditional social hierarchy; the new republican ethic (augmented by classical liberalism) formed the core of American political values.

Historians usually agree that the revolutionary era began in 1763, when Britain defeated France in the French and Indian War and the military threat to the colonies from France ended. The end of the Revolution is usually marked by the Treaty of Paris, in 1783 with the recognition of the United States as an independent nation. However, references to the "revolutionary era" sometimes stretch to 1789, when the new national government under George Washington began operating.

Interpretations about the effect of the revolution vary. At one end of the spectrum is the older view that the American Revolution was not "revolutionary" at all, that it did not radically transform colonial society, but simply replaced a distant government with a local one. The more recent view pioneered by historians such as Bernard Bailyn, Gordon Wood and Edmund Morgan is that the American Revolution was a unique and radical event, based on an increasing belief in republicanism that produced deep changes that had a profound impact on world affairs.

Origins: Republican ideology

Intellectually, the Americans were primarily influenced by the "country" party in British politics, which roundly denounced the corruption surrounding the "court" party in London. This approach produced a political ideology called "republicanism" that was widespread in America by 1775. Corruption was associated with luxury and, especially, inherited aristocracy, which Americans increasingly condemned. Civic virtue required men to put civic goals ahead of their personal desires, and to volunteer to fight for their country. For women, "republican motherhood" became an ideal, as exemplified by Abigail Adams; the first duty of the republican woman was to instill republican values in her children, and to avoid luxury and ostentation. The "Founding Fathers" were strong advocates of republicanism, especially Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

A second stream of thought growing in significance was the liberalism of John Locke, including his theory of the "social contract". This had a great influence on the revolution as it implied the inborn right of the people to overthrow their leaders should those leaders betray the agreements implicit in the sovereign-follower relationship. Historians find little trace of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's influence in America. In terms of writing state and national constitutions, the Americans used Montesquieu's analysis of the ideally "balanced" British Constitution. But first and last came a commitment to republicanism, as shown by many historians such as Bernard Bailyn and Gordon S. Wood.

Origins: Taxation without Representation

In the early 18th century, Great Britain possessed a vast holding on the North American continent. In addition to the twenty-nine British colonies, victory in the Seven Years' War had given Great Britain New France (Canada), Spanish Florida, and the Native American lands east of the Mississippi River. A war against France's former Indian allies — Pontiac's Rebellion solidified the western frontier. At this time, the colonists considered themselves loyal subjects of the British Crown, with the same historic rights and obligations as subjects in Britain.

The British government sought to tax its vast North American possessions and help pay for its past wars (most of which occurred in Europe). The new tax policies that were implemented served to stabilize the Empire's finances. The policies also aimed to curtail smuggling, especially in the colonies of the West Indies, and to ensure exclusive trade with Britain. The problem was that Britain refused to consult with the colonies about taxes, thereby violating the historic British principle of "no taxation without representation." London said the Americans were "virtually" represented and did not need to be consulted. William S. Carpenter, "Taxation Without Representation" in Dictionary of American History, Volume 7 (1976)

In theory, Great Britain already regulated the economies of the colonies through the Navigation Acts according to the doctrines of mercantilism, which said that anything that benefited the Empire (and hurt other empires) was good policy. Widespread evasion of these laws had long been tolerated. Now, through the use of open-ended search warrants (Writs of Assistance), strict enforcement became the practice. In 1761, Massachusetts lawyer James Otis argued that the writs violated the constitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case, but John Adams later wrote, "American independence was then and there born."

In 1763, Patrick Henry argued the Parson's Cause case. Clerical pay had been tied to the price of tobacco by Virginia legislation. When the price of tobacco skyrocketed after a bad crop in 1758, the Virginia legislature passed the Two-Penny Act to stop clerical salaries from inflating as well. In 1763, King George vetoed the Two-Penny Act. Patrick Henry, assisted by Brittany Freytag, defended the law in court and argued "that a King, by disallowing Acts of this salutary nature, from being the father of his people, degenerated into a Tyrant and forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience."

In 1764, British Prime Minister George Grenville's Sugar Act and Currency Act created economic hardship in the colonies. Protests led to the boycott of British goods, and to the emergence of the popular slogan "no taxation without representation," in which colonists argued that only their colonial assemblies, and not Parliament, could levy taxes on them. Committees of correspondence were formed in the colonies to coordinate resistance to paying the taxes. In previous years, the colonies had shown little inclination towards collective action. Grenville's policies were bringing them together.

Stamp Act 1765
A milestone in the Revolution occurred in 1765, when Grenville passed the Stamp Act, as a way to finance the quartering of troops in North America. The Stamp Act required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the colonies to carry a tax stamp purchased from royal officials.

Colonial protest was widespread. Secret societies known as the Sons of Liberty were formed in every colony, and used propaganda, intimidation, and mob violence to prevent the enforcement of the Stamp Act. The furor culminated with the "Stamp Act Congress", which sent a formal protest to Parliament in October of 1765. Parliament responded by repealing the Stamp Act, but pointedly declared its legal authority over the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”

The sequel to the Stamp Act was not long in coming. In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, placing taxes on a number of common goods imported into the colonies, including glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. In response, colonial leaders organized boycotts of these British imports. In June 1768, the Liberty, a ship belonging to colonial merchant John Hancock and suspected of smuggling, was seized by customs officials in Boston. Angry protests on the street led customs officials, fearing for their safety, to report to London that Boston was in a state of insurrection.

London sent troops that began to arrive in Boston in October of 1768. Tensions continued to mount; culminating in the "Boston Massacre" on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers of the 29th Regiment of Foot fired into an angry mob, killing five. Revolutionary agitators, especially Samuel Adams, used the event to stir up popular resistance, but, after the trial of the soldiers, who were defended by John Adams, tensions diminished.

The Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770, after much colonial protest, and it was still theoretically possible that further troubles with the colonies might be avoided. However, the British government had left one tax from the Townshend Acts in place as a symbolic gesture of their right to tax the colonies — the tax on tea. For the revolutionaries, who stood firm on the principle that only their colonial representatives could levy taxes on them, it was still "one tax too many". This resulted in the Boston Tea Party, in which the colonists destroyed many crates of tea on ships in Boston Harbor. The King decided that act of defiance had to be punished severely.

Western land dispute
The Proclamation of 1763 restricted American movement across the mountains. Regardless, groups of settlers continued to move west. The Proclamation was soon modified and was no longer a hindrance to settlement, but its promulgation without consulting Americans angered the colonists. The Quebec Act of 1774 extended Quebec's boundaries to the Ohio River, and seemed to turn the west over to the Catholics in Quebec. By then, however, the Americans had scant regard for new laws from London-—they were organizing at the local and colonial level for war.

Crises, 1772–1775

While there were many causes of the American Revolution, it was a series of specific events, or crises, that finally triggered the outbreak of war.

In June 1772 came the Gaspée Affair, where a British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations was burned by American patriots. Soon afterwards Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts reported that he and the royal judges would be paid directly by London, thus bypassing the colonial legislature. In late 1772 Sam Adams set about creating new Committees of Correspondence that would link together patriots in all 13 colonies, and eventually provide the framework for a rebel government. In early 1773 Virginia, the largest colony, set up its Committee of Correspondence, including Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson.

Most serious of all was the Boston Tea Party. The "Tea Act", passed by Parliament in 1773, allowed the British East India Company to sell tea without the usual colonial tax, thereby allowing it to undercut the prices of the colonial merchants. Americans were outraged that it imposed a monopoly, again without consultation. On December 16, 1773, came the Boston Tea Party where Sons of Liberty dressed up like Indians and dumped all the tea into the Boston harbor.

London immediately responded with the Intolerable Acts, called by the British the "Coercive Acts" or "Punitive Acts", a series of laws, passed by Parliament in early 1774. Even worse Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act which stripped the people of the colony of self government, with local officials to be replaced by new royal officials. General Thomas Gage was brought in to replace Hutchinson, effectively putting the colony under martial law. In the colony Gage discovered he was powerless outside Boston, as the people seized control in every town. Patriot calls for an intercolonial conference were answered by the First Continental Congress which began meeting in Philadelphia, and which soon became a de facto national government. All the colonies joined in boycotts of British merchandise, which was a heavy blow to the British business community.

The Intolerable Acts included:

  • The Massachusetts Government Act, which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings;
  • The Administration of Justice Act, which ordered that all redcoats to be tried be arraigned in Britain, not the colonies;
  • The Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until the British had been compensated for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party (the price was never paid); and
  • The Quartering Act of 1774, which compelled the residents of Boston to house British regulars sent in to control the vicinity.
  • The Quebec Act, while technically not one of the Coercive Acts, further upset the colonists by nullifying land claims and sending in Roman Catholics to the country outside of the Protestant colonies.
The First Continental Congress was convened in 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, which declared the Intolerable Acts to be unconstitutional, called for the people to form militias, and for Massachusetts to form a Patriot government.

In response, primarily to the Massachusetts Government Act, the people of Worcester set up an armed picket line in front of the local courthouse and refused to allow the British magistrates to enter. Similar events occurred, soon after, all across the colony. British troops were sent from England, but, by the time they arrived, the entire colony of Massachusetts, with the exception of the heavily garrisoned city of Boston, had thrown off British control of local affairs.

Fighting Begins at Lexington: 1775

The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19, 1775, when the British sent a regiment to confiscate arms and arrest revolutionaries in Concord. It was the first fighting of the American Revolutionary War, and immediately news aroused the 13 colonies to call out their militias and send troops to besiege Boston. By late spring 1776, the Americans forced the British to evacuate Boston. The patriots were in control everywhere in the 13 states (they were no longer colonies), and the states were ready to declare independence. While there still were many Loyalists, they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776 and all of the Royal officials had fled.

The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775, after the war had started. While creating the Continental Army, it also extended the Olive Branch Petition to the crown as an attempt at reconciliation. King George refused to receive it: instead, he issued the Proclamation of Rebellion, requiring action against the "traitors." There would be no negotiations whatsoever until 1783.

Patriots

The revolutionaries, known as Patriots, Whigs, Congress Men or Americans included a full range of social and economic classes, but a unanimity regarding the need to defend the rights of Americans. After the War, Patriots such as George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, for example, were deeply devoted to republicanism while also eager to build a rich and powerful nation, while Patriots such as Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine represented democratic impulses and the agrarian plantation element that wanted a localized society with greater political equality.

Loyalists and neutrals

Between 20% to 30% of the colonists remained loyal to the British Crown; these became known as Loyalists (or 'Tories', or 'King's men'). Loyalists were older, less willing to break with old loyalties, often connected to the Anglican church, and included many established merchants with business connections across the Empire, for example Thomas Hutchinson of Boston. Recent immigrants who had not been fully Americanized were also inclined to support the King, including recent Scottish settlers in the back country.

Native Americans mostly rejected American pleas that they remain neutral. Most groups aligned themselves with the Empire. There were also incentives provided by both sides that helped to secure the affiliations of regional peoples and leaders, and the tribes that depended most heavily upon colonial trade tended to side with the revolutionaries, though political factors were important as well. The most prominent Native American leader siding with the Loyalists was Mohawk Joseph Brant, who led frontier raids on isolated settlements in Pennsylvania and New York until an American army under John Sullivan secured New York in 1779, forcing the British permanently into Canada. As was the case in most early modern wars, the military failure of the Native Americans was seen as a forfeiture of their lands, many of which were subsequently peopled with Americans.

After the war, the great majority of Loyalists remained in America and resumed normal lives. Some, such as Samuel Seabury, became prominent American leaders. A minority of about 50,000 to 75,000 Loyalists relocated to Canada, Britain or the West Indies. When the Loyalists left the South in 1783, they took about 75,000 of their slaves with them to the British West Indies.

A minority of uncertain size tried to stay neutral in the war. The Quakers, prominent especially in Pennsylvania, were one group that was outspoken on its position of neutrality, a stance based on a religious conviction of pacifism that did not endear them to the Patriot population. This conflict was heightened in 1777 by the executions of Friends John Roberts and Abraham Carlisle for treason, Roberts for an action of protest against the exile of prominent Quakers from Philadelphia and Carlisle for accepting a minor office during the British occupation of the city. As the conflict escalated, Quakers were increasingly attacked as supporters of British rule, "contrivers and authors of seditious publications" critical of the revolutionary cause. For the Quakers, as for others, neutrality was not always a safe position to maintain. (Gottlieb 2005)

Class differences among the Patriots

Historians in the early 20th century examined the class composition of the Patriot cause, looking for evidence that there was a class war inside the revolution. In the last 50 years historians have largely abandoned that interpretation, emphasizing instead the high level of ideological unity. Just as there were rich and poor Loyalists, the Patriots were a 'mixed lot', with the richer and better educated more likely to become officers in the Army. Ideological demands always came first, as the Patriots viewed independence as a means of freeing themselves from British oppression and taxation and, above all, reasserting what they considered to be their rights. Most yeomen farmers, craftsmen and small merchants joined the patriot cause as well, demanding more political equality. They were especially successful in Pennsylvania and less so in New England where John Adams attacked Thomas Paine's Common Sense for the "absurd democratical notions" it proposed.

Women

The boycott of British goods would have been entirely unworkable without the willing participation of American women: women made the bulk of household purchases, and the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth. And, as cloth was still a basic necessity, for the boycott to work, women would have to return to spinning and weaving, skills that had fallen into disuse. In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts wove 20,522 yards of cloth.

As the Revolution progressed and economic disruption deepened, women participated directly in the food riots and tarring and feathering that was the people's response to price gouging by merchants, Loyalist and Patriot alike. In August 1777, Thomas Boyleston, a Patriot merchant who was withholding coffee and sugar from the market waiting for prices to rise, was confronted by a crowd of 100 or more women, who seized the keys to his warehouse and distributed the coffee themselves while a large crowd stood by and watched, dumbfounded.

Creating new state constitutions

By summer 1776, the patriots had control of all the territory and population; the Loyalists were powerless. All thirteen states had overthrown their existing governments, closing courts and driving British agents and governors from their homes, and they had elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any legal framework whatsoever-— new constitutions were needed in each state to replace the superseded royal charters. They were states now-—not colonies.

On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution, six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Then, in May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4. Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown.

The new states had to decide not only what form of government to create, they first had to decide how to select those who would craft the constitutions and how the resulting document would be ratified. In states where the wealthy exerted firm control over the process, such as Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, the result was constitutions that featured

  • Substantial property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications);
  • Bicameral legislatures, with the upper house as a check on the lower;
  • Strong governors, with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority;
  • Few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government;
  • The continuation of state-established religion.

In states where the less affluent had organized sufficiently to have significant power, especially Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New Hampshire, the resulting constitutions embodied

  • universal white manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey enfranchised some property owning widows, a step that it retracted 25 years later);
    • strong, unicameral legislatures;
    • relatively weak governors, without veto powers, and little appointing authority;
    • prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts;
    • disestablishment of religion.

    Whether conservatives or radicals held sway in a state did not mean that the side with less power accepted the result quietly. In Pennsylvania, the propertied class was horrified by their new constitution (Benjamin Rush called it "our state dung cart"), while in Massachusetts, voters twice rejected the constitution that was presented for ratification; it was ultimately ratified only as a result of the legislature tinkering with the third vote. The radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution were to last only fourteen years-—in 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and wrote a new constitution that substantially reduced universal white-male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America.

    Military History: expulsion of British 1776

    The military history of the war in 1775 focused on Boston, held by the British but surrounded by militia from nearby colonies. The Congress selected George Washington as commander in chief, and he forced the British to evacuate the city in March 1776. At that point the Patriots controlled virtually all of the 13 colonies and were ready to consider independence.

    Independence, 1776

    Main article: American Revolutionary War

    On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published a political pamphlet entitled Common Sense arguing that the only solution to the problems with Britain was republicanism and independence from Great Britain.

    On July 4, 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Second Continental Congress. Note that the war began in 1775, while the declaration was issued in 1776. Until this point, the colonies sought favorable peace terms; a majority did not approve of an outright push for independence.

    The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, formed the first governing document of the United States of America, combining the colonies of the American Revolutionary War into a loose confederation of sovereign states. The second Continental Congress adopted the Articles on November 15, 1777.

    The British continued to blockade the American coast, but French merchants, with funding from the French government, sent in large supplies of munitions.

    The British Return: 1776-1777

    The British returned in force in August 1776, engaging the fledgling Continental Army for the first time in the largest action of the Revolution in the Battle of Long Island, eventually seizing New York City and nearly capturing Washington. They made the city their main political and military base, holding it until 1783. They also held New Jersey, but in a surprise attack Washington crossed the Delaware into New Jersey and defeated British armies at Trenton and Princeton, thereby reviving the Patriot cause and regaining New Jersey. In 1777, the British launched two uncoordinated attacks. The army based in New York City defeated Washington and captured the national capital, Philadelphia. Simultaneously a second army invaded from Canada with the goal of cutting off New England. It was trapped and captured at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777. The victory encouraged the French to officially enter the war, as Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778. Later Spain (in 1779) and the Dutch became allies of the French, leaving Britain to fight a major war alone without major allies. The American theatre thus became only one front in Britain's war.

    British attack the South, 1779-1781

    In late December 1778 the British captured Savannah and started moving north into South Carolina. They captured Charleston, South Carolina, and set up a network of forts inland, believing the Loyalists would rally to the flag. Not enough Loyalists turned out, however, and the British had to fight their way north into North Carolina and Virginia, where they expected to be rescued by the British fleet. That fleet was defeated by a French fleet, however. Trapped at Yorktown, the British surrendered their main combat army to Washington in October, 1781. Although King George III wanted to fight on, his supporters lost control of Parliament and the war effectively ended for America.

    America after the war

    The American Revolution saw several noteworthy political innovations that reflected the new republican ideology: the separation of church and state, which ended the special privileges of the Church of England. Even more important was the widespread assertion of liberty, individual rights and equality which would prove core values to Americans and were highly appealing also in western Europe; the idea that government should be by consent of the governed (including the right of rebellion against tyranny); the delegation of power to the government through written constitutions; and the notion that colonial peoples of North and South America could become self-governing nations in their own right.

    The peace treaty with Britain, known as the Treaty of Paris (1783) gave the U.S. government control, on paper, of all land east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, but the Native American nations actually living in this region were not a party to this treaty and had not been militarily defeated by the Patriots. Further, the British remained in possession of the Great Lakes forts through which they continued to supply their Native American allies with trade items (including weapons) and to otherwise stir up trouble for Americans.

    The effect on British North America

    For two percent of the inhabitants of the United States, defeat was followed by exile. Approximately fifty thousand United Empire Loyalists fled to the remaining British colonies in North America, such as the Province of Quebec, (concentrating in the Eastern Townships), Upper Canada (now known as Ontario), and Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia (where their presence would result in the creation of New Brunswick). This exodus sowed the seeds for the French-English duality in British North America (now Canada).

    Revolution beyond America

    The American Revolution was the first wave of the Atlantic Revolutions that would also take hold in the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American wars of liberation. Aftershocks would also be felt in Ireland in the 1798 rising, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in the Netherlands.

    The Revolution had a strong, immediate impact in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs had been openly indulgent to the Patriots in America, and the Revolution was the first lesson in politics for many European radicals who would later take on active roles during the era of the French Revolution. Jefferson's Declaration had an immediate impact on the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789.

    The American Revolution affected the rest of the world. The thinkers of the Enlightenment only wrote that common people had the right to overthrow unjust governments. The American Revolution was a case of practical success, which provided the rest of the world with a 'working model'.

    The American Revolution set an example to the people in Europe and other parts of this world. It encouraged the people to realize they had rights independent of the sovereign; it promoted republicanism to overthrow monarchs. It incited people to fight for their rights, and it showed them that it was possible to win even against the world's foremost power, Great Britain.

    Nowhere was the influence of the American Revolution more profound than in Latin America, where American writings and the model of colonies, which actually broke free and thrived decisively, shaped their struggle for independence. Historians of Latin America have identified many links to the U.S. model. See John Lynch, "The Origins of Spanish American Independence," in Cambridge History of Latin America Vol. 3 (1985), pp 45-46

    The national debt

    The national debt after the American Revolution fell into three categories. The first was the $11 million owed to foreigners-—mostly debts to France that totaled up during the American Revolution. The second and third-— roughly $24 million each-—were debts owed by the national and state governments to Americans who had sold food, guns, and other resources to the revolutionary forces. Congress agreed with some debate that the power and the authority of the new government would pay for the foreign debts. There was also other debts that consisted of promissary notes issued during the Revolutionary War to soldiers, merchants, and farmers who accepted these payments on the premise that the new Constitution would create a government that was likely to pay off the debts of the Revolutionary war.

    The war expenses of the individual states were another issue. In the 1790s it was ascertained that the states had contributed $114,407,297 to fighting the war while the central government had contributed but $36,742,599. (Jensen 379). The Nationalists wanted to assume the debts of the states as part of the national debt. This would create the need for taxation. At Hamilton's urging, in 1790, Congress combined the state debts with the foreign and domestic debts into one national debt totalling $80 million. Everyone received face value for wartime certificates, so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.

    Films and plays

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "American Revolution".

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