The American Revolution War (1775-1783), sometimes referred to as the American Revolution or the U.S war of Independence, was a war that was fought between the Kingdom of Great Britain (the colonial government) and its 13 North American colonies. The colonies later declared themselves independent in the year 1776, which eventually resulted in the creation of United States of America (Alden, 3). The brewing tensions between the residents of the colonies and the colonial government that represented the British Crown escalated into a full war. The skirmishes between the colonial residents and the British troops kicked off an armed conflict with the colonies fighting for their full independence (Carter, 3). With France entering the war and siding with the colonists, the war became an international war and the British troops finally surrendered. The colonies effectively won their independence although fighting continued upto 1783. This paper would explain the courses of the war, describe its course, discuss its outcomes and explain how the war contributed to the creation of an American Identity.
A number of factors were responsible for the American Revolution War. For a long time tensions had been brewing between the colonies and the colonial British government. As a result of the French-Indian War that had taken place between 1754 and 1763, the British government had lost a huge amount of money by buying expensive supplies for the British Troops and the colonies. In as much as the British were triumphant in the war, they also incurred huge debts. In order to offset the huge debts that it had incurred, the colonial government imposed taxes on the colonies without the consent of the people. This move infuriated the colonists. Taxes were imposed on goods that were initially free and as a result many people started boycotting the British goods. Most notably, the Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), Declaratory Act (1766) and the Tea Act (1773) which imposed taxes among the colonists were met with huge protests and demonstrations (Alden, 6). The resistance by the colonial government led the killing of five colonists is what was dubbed the “Boston Massacre.”
A number of delegates such as George Washington and John Adams among others met in Philadelphia (1774) to voice their grievances against the colonial government. The First continental Congress, as it was referred to, denounced taxation without representation and also resulted in the declaration of basic rights to everyone including right to life, right to property, right to liberty, right to assembly and a trial by jury. The congress had unanimously agreed to meet again in 1775 to consider further action but by that time the violence had already started (Kellogg, 7). The colonist had already begun stocking guns and ammunition against the laws of the colonial government. On April 1775, the colonist clashed out with the British troops in Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. This marked the very first shots that were fired during the Revolutionary War. When the second continental congress convened in Philadelphia, the delegates voted to form a continental army to be headed by George Washington. With the American Revolution war in full swing in 1776, many colonists agreed that time was rife to completely gain their independence from Britain. The congress unanimously agreed to adopt the Declaration of Independence drafted by a five member committee including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, and was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence bore the war with Britain (Kellogg, 8).
The British strategy of fighting the war was to separate the areas that the rebellion was enjoying much support (New England) from the other colonies. The British troops marched south from Canada and planned to meet the American forces at the Hudson River. The British army defeated the American army and retook Fort Ticonderoga. The other British troops moved from New York to confront George Washington’s army at Chesapeake Bay. The American troops were heavily defeated by the British forces at Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania hence enabling the British forces to advance to Philadelphia. However, with the move to advance the British forces to Philadelphia, the other British forces near Saratoga were left exposed. As a result, the British forces were heavily defeated in the ‘Battle of Saratoga (1977)’ by the American forces led by General Horatio Gates (Volo, 21). Another heavy defeat of the British forces at Saratoga led to the British forces to surrender. The American victory at Saratoga would become a turning point for the Revolutionary War as France openly entered the war offering their support for the Americans. The American Revolution War which had begun as a civil conflict between the colonial British government and the 13 American colonies had now escalated into an international war. The French hoped to regain their lost possessions such as Canada by aiding the Americans. Spain also united with America and France as it hoped recover its lost possessions in the Mediterranean, and Gibraltar. Holland also joined forces with France to fight the British, which was a major trade rival.
The British lost hope and its command overseas was greatly weakened. In 1781, the British surrendered and in 1783, the Peace Treaty was signed in Paris with Britain acknowledging the independence of its American colonies. The success of the American forces in the War resulted in the creation of a new nation and Britain losing part of its empire. Britain faced a huge financial burden as a result of fighting in the war. Britain had spent huge amounts of money fighting the Revolutionary war and as a result it incurred huge debts. It had to raise taxes so as to recover from the financial troubles it was in. The war had a negative effect to Britain given that the trade that the country mainly relied on for its wealth was severely interrupted. The naval invasions by the other countries that participated in the war led to Britain facing problems with its trade industry (Alden, 13). The war also affected the reputation of Britain to the outside world. Its army and navy had been regarded as the greatest and the most-drilled in the world but with the defeat in the war, the army appeared weak and mortal.
The Revolutionary War had effects on other parts of the world. Ireland, for example, learned valuable lessons from the war and attempted to stage a revolution against the British rule. For a very long time, Ireland was against the British rule and hence saw that time as a perfect opportunity to seek their independence. The people of Ireland began organizing boycotts against British goods while others started organizing volunteer armies. Britain saw that these movements would result into a full war and offered to listen to their grievances. Britain withdrew all the restrictions it had imposed on Ireland and allowed them free trade with the other British colonies. Britain’s failure in the war had huge implications on the politics of the country. Many people demanded constitutional reforms with demand to expand universal human suffrage being part of the reforms (Robertson, 10). Even though Britain had lost the war, it took measures to strengthen its other colonies and maintain its influence in Europe.
The American Revolution war played a key role in the creation of the American identity (Kellogg, 15). For a long time, the colonists had their suspicions and doubts about each other but with the fight for independence, these doubts were removed. People united and joined forces to fight the revolutionary war. This unity was important for the maintaining of their freedom. The 13 colonies put aside their differences and fought the French-Indian war despite the various sides in which the war was being fought. The colonists joined forces with the British to fight the French in the war. The colonists further rallied behind one another to oppose the taxes imposed upon them by the British government. A sense of unity and identity as Americans in war was further enhanced when the colonist saw the need of gaining their independence from Britain given the oppressive rule they had been subjected to. The colonists were mainly from mixed races (Germans, French, Jewish, Scottish etc.) but stood together in fighting to protect their rights. With the rejection of the Olive Brach petition sent to King George 111, the colonists aspired for complete independence from Britain. British victimization and negligence resulted in colonial identification. The ethnic diversity in the colonies and the great distance between America and the mother nations of the colonists resulted in the creation of an American identity (Kellogg, 18).
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Works cited
Alden, John R. The American Revolution, 1775-1783. New York: Harper, 1954. Print.
Carter, Alden R. The American Revolution: War for Independence. New York: F. Watts, 1992. Print.
Kellogg, William O. American History: The Easy Way. Hauppauge (N.Y.: Barron's, 2003. Print.
Robertson, William. The History of America. London: Printed for A. Strahan, 1788. Internet resource.
Volo, James M. A History of War Resistance in America. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2010. Internet resource.
