This article is about political and social developments and the origins and aftermath of the war. For military actions see American Revolutionary War. For other uses see American Revolution (disambiguation). In this article inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies of British America that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" "Whigs" "Rebels" or "Revolutionaries". Colonists who supported the British in opposing the Revolution are usually referred to as "Loyalists" or "Tories". The geographical area of the thirteen colonies is often referred to simply as "America". John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire combining to become the United States of America. They first rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation and then expelled all royal officials. By 1774 each colony had established a Provincial Congress or an equivalent governmental institution to form individual self-governing states. The British responded by sending combat troops to re-impose direct rule. Through representatives sent in 1775 to the Second Continental Congress the new states joined together at first to defend their respective self-governance and manage the armed conflict against the British known as the American Revolutionary War (177583 also American War of Independence). Ultimately the states collectively determined that the British monarchy by acts of tyranny could no longer legitimately claim their allegiance. They then severed ties with the British Empire in July 1776 when the Congress issued the United States Declaration of Independence rejecting the monarchy on behalf of the new sovereign nation. The war ended with effective American victory in October 1781 followed by formal British abandonment of any claims to the United States with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

The American Revolution was the result of a series of social political and intellectual transformations in early American society and government collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. Americans rejected the oligarchies common in aristocratic Europe at the time championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a democratically-elected representative government responsible to the will of the people. However sharp political debates erupted over the appropriate level of democracy desirable in the new government with a number of Founders fearing mob rule.

Many fundamental issues of national governance were settled with the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788 which replaced the relatively weaker first attempt at a national government adopted in 1781 the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. In contrast to the loose confederation the Constitution established a strong federated government. The United States Bill of Rights (1791) comprising the first 10 constitutional amendments quickly followed. It guaranteed many "natural rights" that were influential in justifying the revolution and attempted to balance a strong national government with relatively broad personal liberties. The American shift to liberal republicanism and the gradually increasing democracy caused an upheaval of traditional social hierarchy and gave birth to the ethic that has formed a core of political values in the United States.12 Contents 1 Origins 1.1 Summary 1.1.1 Ideology behind the Revolution 1.2 Controversial British legislation 1.2.1 17331763: Navigation Acts Molasses Act and Royal Proclamation 1.2.2 17641766: More provocative legislation 1.2.3 17671773: Townshend Acts and the Tea Act 1.2.4 17741775: Quebec Act and the Intolerable Acts 1.3 American political opposition 2 Factions 2.1 King George III 2.2 Patriots 2.2.1 Role of women 2.2.2 Class and psychology 2.3 Loyalists 2.4 Neutrals 3 Other participants 3.1 Spain 3.2 France 3.3 Native Americans 3.4 African Americans 4 Military hostilities begin 4.1 Prisoners 5 Finance 6 Creating new state constitutions 7 Independence and Union 8 Defending the Revolution 8.1 British return: 17761777 8.2 American alliances after 1778 8.3 The British move South 17781783 8.3.1 Yorktown 1781 8.4 The war winds down 9 Peace treaty 9.1 Impact on Britain 10 Concluding the Revolution 10.1 Creating a "more perfect union" and guaranteeing rights 10.2 National debt 11 Impressions the Revolution made 11.1 Loyalist expatriation 11.2 Interpretations 11.3 As an example or inspiration 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 Bibliography 15.1 Reference works 15.2 Surveys of the era 15.3 Specialized studies 15.4 Primary sources 16 External links Origins Before the Revolution: The Thirteen Colonies are in pink

The American Revolution was predicated by a number of ideas and events that combined led to a political and social separation of colonial possessions from the home nation and a coalescing of those former individual colonies into an independent nation. Summary

The American revolutionary era began in 1763 after a series of victories by British forces at the conclusion of the French and Indian War ended the French military threat to British North American colonies. Adopting the policy that the colonies should pay an increased proportion of the costs associated with keeping them in the Empire Britain imposed a series of direct taxes followed by other laws intended to demonstrate British authority all of which proved extremely unpopular in America. Because the colonies lacked elected representation in the governing British Parliament many colonists considered the laws to be illegitimate and a violation of their rights as Englishmen. In 1772 groups of colonists began to create Committees of Correspondence which would lead to their own Provincial Congresses in most of the colonies. In the course of two years the Provincial Congresses or their equivalents rejected the Parliament and effectively replaced the British ruling apparatus in the former colonies culminating in 1774 with the coordinating First Continental Congress.3 In response to protests in Boston over Parliament's attempts to assert authority the British sent combat troops dissolved local governments and imposed direct rule by Royal officials. Consequently the Colonies mobilized their militias and fighting broke out in 1775. First ostensibly loyal to King George III the repeated pleas by the First Continental Congress for royal intervention on their behalf with Parliament resulted in the declaration by the King that the states were "in rebellion" and the members of Congress were traitors. In 1776 representatives from each of the original 13 states voted unanimously in the Second Continental Congress to adopt a Declaration of Independence which now rejected the British monarchy in addition to its Parliament. The Declaration established the United States which was originally governed as a loose confederation through a representative democracy selected by state legislatures (see Second Continental Congress and Congress of the Confederation). Ideology behind the Revolution In this c.1772 portrait by John Singleton Copley Adams points at the Massachusetts Charter which he viewed as a constitution that protected the peoples' rights.4 Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense published in 1776 Main articles: American Enlightenment Liberalism in the United States Republicanism in the United States and Freedom of religion in the United States Further information: A Summary View of the Rights of British America Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania and Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

The ideological movement known as the American Enlightenment was a critical precursor to the American Revolution. Chief among the ideas of the American Enlightenment were the concepts of liberalism democracy republicanism and religious tolerance. Collectively the belief in these concepts by a growing number of American colonists began to foster an intellectual environment which would lead to a new sense of political and social identity.

John Locke's (16321704) ideas on liberty greatly influenced the political thinking behind the revolution. John Locke's Two Treatises of Government published in 1689 influenced the thinking of later philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (17121778) as reflected in Rousseau's 1762 treatise entitled Du contrat social. The theory of the "social contract" influenced the belief among many of the Founders that among the "natural rights" of man was the right of the people to overthrow their leaders should those leaders betray the historic rights of Englishmen.567 In terms of writing state and national constitutions the Americans used Montesquieu's analysis of the "balanced" British Constitution.

A motivating force behind the revolution was the American embrace of a political ideology called "republicanism" which was dominant in the colonies by 1775. The republicanism was inspired by the "country party" in Britain whose critique of British government emphasized that corruption was a terrible reality in Britain.8 Americans feared the corruption was crossing the Atlantic; the commitment of most Americans to republican values and to their rights energized the revolution as Britain was increasingly seen as hopelessly corrupt and hostile to American interests. Britain seemed to threaten the established liberties that Americans enjoyed.9 The greatest threat to liberty was depicted as corruptionnot just in London but at home as well. The colonists associated it with luxury and especially inherited aristocracy which they condemned.10

The Founding Fathers were strong advocates of republican values particularly Samuel Adams Patrick Henry John Adams Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson Thomas Paine George Washington James Madison and Alexander Hamilton11 which required men to put civic duty ahead of their personal desires. Men had a civic duty to be prepared and willing to fight for the rights and liberties of their countrymen and countrywomen. John Adams writing to Mercy Otis Warren in 1776 agreed with some classical Greek and Roman thinkers in that "Public Virtue cannot exist without private and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics." He continued: "There must be a positive Passion for the public good the public Interest Honour Power and Glory established in the Minds of the People or there can be no Republican Government nor any real Liberty. And this public Passion must be Superior to all private Passions. Men must be ready they must pride themselves and be happy to sacrifice their private Pleasures Passions and Interests nay their private Friendships and dearest connections when they Stand in Competition with the Rights of society."12 For women "republican motherhood" became the ideal exemplified by Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren; the first duty of the republican woman was to instill republican values in her children and to avoid luxury and ostentation. Thomas Paine's best-seller pamphlet Common Sense appeared in January 1776 after the Revolution had started. It was widely distributed and loaned and often read aloud in taverns contributing significantly to spreading the ideas of republicanism and liberalism bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Britain and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army. Paine provided a new and widely accepted argument for independence by advocating a complete break with history. Common Sense is oriented to the future in a way that compels the reader to make an immediate choice. It offered a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny.13 Dissenting (i.e. Protestant non-Church of England) churches of the day were the "school of democracy14 President John Witherspoon of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) wrote widely circulated sermons linking the American Revolution to the teachings of the Hebrew Bible. Throughout the colonies dissenting Protestant congregations (Congregationalist Baptist and Presbyterian) preached Revolutionary themes in their sermons while most Church of England ministers preached loyalty to the King.15 Religious motivation for fighting tyranny reached across socioeconomic lines to encompass rich and poor men and women frontiersmen and townsmen farmers and merchants.14 The classical authors read in the Enlightenment period taught an abstract ideal of republican government that included hierarchical social orders of king aristocracy and commoners. It was widely believed that British liberties relied on the balance of power between these three social orders maintaining the hierarchical deference to the privileged class.16 Historian Bernard Bailyn wrote that: "Puritanism and the epidemic evangelism of the mid-eighteenth century had created challenges to the traditional notions of social stratification by preaching that the Bible taught all men are equal that the true value of a man lies in his moral behavior not his class and that all can be saved.".17 Controversial British legislation The Revolution was in some ways incited by a number of pieces of legislation originating from the British Parliament that for Americans were illegitimate acts of a government that had no right to pass laws on Englishmen in the Americas who did not have elected representation in that government. For the British policy makers saw these laws as necessary to rein in colonial subjects who in the name of economic development that was designed to benefit the home nation had been allowed near-autonomy for too long. 17331763: Navigation Acts Molasses Act and Royal Proclamation Eastern North America in 1775. The British Province of Quebec the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic coast and the Indian Reserve as defined by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The 1763 "Proclamation line" is the border between the red and the pink areas while the orange area represents the Spanish claim. Main articles: Navigation Acts Molasses Act and Royal Proclamation of 1763 Further information: Parson's Cause The British Empire at the time operated under the mercantile system where all trade was concentrated inside the Empire and trade with other empires was forbidden. The goal was to enrich Britain--its merchants and its government. Whether the policy was good for the colonists was not an issue in London but Americans became increasingly restive with mercantilist policies18 Britain implemented mercantilism by trying to block American trade with the French Spanish or Dutch empires using the Navigation Acts which Americans avoided as often as they could. The royal officials responded to smuggling with open-ended search warrants (Writs of Assistance). In 1761 Boston lawyer James Otis argued that the writs violated the constitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case but John Adams later wrote "Then and there the child Independence was born."19 In 1762 Patrick Henry argued the Parson's Cause in the Colony of Virginia where the legislature had passed a law and it was vetoed by the king. Henry 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".20 Following their victory in the French and Indian War in 1763 Great Britain took control of the French holdings in North America outside the Caribbean. The British sought to maintain peaceful relations with those Indian tribes that had allied with the French and keep them separated from the American frontiersmen. To this end the Royal Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains as this was designated an Indian Reserve.21 Disregarding the proclamation some groups of settlers continued to move west and establish farms.22 The proclamation was soon modified and was no longer a hindrance to settlement but the fact that it had been promulgated without their prior consultation angered the colonists.23 17641766: More provocative legislation Main articles: Sugar Act Currency Act Quartering Acts Stamp Act 1765 and Declaratory Act Further information: No taxation without representation and Virtual representation Britain did not expect the colonies to contribute to the interest or the retirement of debt incurred during its wars but they did expect a portion of the expenses for colonial defense to be paid by the Americans. Estimating the expenses of defending the continental colonies and the British West Indies to be approximately 200000 annually the British goal after the end of this war was that the colonies would be taxed for 78000 of this amount. The colonists objected chiefly on the grounds not that the taxes were high (they were low)24 but that they had no representation in the Parliament. Parliament insisted it had the right to levy any tax without colonial approval to demonstrate that it had authority over the colonies.25 The colonists did not object to the principle of contributing to the cost of their defense (colonial legislatures spent large sums raising and outfitting militias during the French and Indian War) but they disputed the need for the Crown to station regular British troops in North America. In the absence of a French threat colonists believed the colonial militias (which were funded by taxes raised by colonial legislatures) to be sufficient to deal with any trouble with natives on the frontier. Officer positions were in high demand among the British aristocracythe rank of captain or major sold for thousands of pounds and could be resold once an officer purchased an even higher rank.26 The British wanted all the commissions for themselves and were unwilling to commission colonial officers (who would pay nothing for their commissions) and further asserted that officers with colonial commissions must submit to the authority of any regular British officer regardless of rank. This effectively negated the will or the legal authority of the colonies to contribute to defense through their militias. With some 1500 well-connected British officers who would have become redundant in the aftermath of the Seven Years War London would have had to discharge them if they did not assign them to North America.27 Therefore the main reason for Parliament imposing taxes was to prove its supremacy and the main use of the tax funds would be patronage for ambitious British officers.28 The slogan "No taxation without representation" summed up this American position. London responded that the colonists were "virtually represented"; but most Americans rejected this.29 In 1764 Parliament enacted the Sugar Act and the Currency Act further vexing the colonists. Protests led to a powerful new weapon the systematic boycott of British goods. The following year the British enacted the Quartering Acts which required British soldiers to be quartered at the expense of residents in certain areas. Colonists objected to this as well. In 1765 the Stamp Act was the first direct tax levied on the colonies by British Prime Minister George Grenville and the Parliament. All official documents newspapers almanacs and pamphlets decks of playing cardswere required to have the stamps. The colonists still considered themselves loyal subjects of the British Crown with the same historic rights and obligations as subjects in Britain.30 Nevertheless representatives of all 13 colonies protested vehemently as popular leaders such as Patrick Henry in Virginia and James Otis in Massachusetts rallied the people in opposition. A secret group the "Sons of Liberty" formed in many towns and threatened violence if anyone sold the stamps and no one did.31 In Boston the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice-admiralty court and looted the home of the chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765. Moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a "Declaration of Rights and Grievances" stating that taxes passed without representation violated their Rights of Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise. In London the Rockingham government came to power and Parliament debated whether to repeal the stamp tax or send an army to enforce it. Benjamin Franklin made the case for repeal explaining the colonies had spent heavily in manpower money and blood in defense of the empire in a series of wars against the French and Indians and that further taxes to pay for those wars were unjust and might bring about a rebellion. Parliament agreed and repealed the tax but in the Declaratory Act of March 1766 insisted that parliament retained full power to make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever".20 17671773: Townshend Acts and the Tea Act Main articles: Townshend Acts and Tea Act Further information: Massachusetts Circular Letter Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party Burning of the Gaspe In 1767 the Parliament passed the Townshend Acts which placed a tax on a number of essential goods including paper glass and tea. Angered at the tax increases colonists organized a boycott of British goods. In Boston on March 5 1770 a large mob gathered around a group of British soldiers. The mob grew more and more threatening throwing snowballs rocks and debris at the soldiers. One soldier was clubbed and fell. All but one of the soldiers fired into the crowd. 11 people were hit; three civilians were killed at the scene of the shooting and two died after the incident. The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre. Although the soldiers were tried and acquitted (defended by John Adams) the widespread descriptions soon became propaganda to turn colonial sentiment against the British. This in turn began a downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and the Province of Massachusetts.32 This 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard.33 In June 1772 in what became known as the Gaspe Affair a British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations was burned by American patriots including John Brown. Soon afterward Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts reported that he and the royal judges would be paid directly from London thus bypassing the colonial legislature. On December 16 1773 a group of men led by Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke American Indians boarded the ships of the government-favored British East India Company and dumped an estimated 10000 worth of tea from its holds (approximately 636000 in 2008) into the harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a significant part of American patriotic lore.34 17741775: Quebec Act and the Intolerable Acts A 1774 etching from The London Magazine copied by Paul Revere of Boston. Prime Minister Lord North author of the Boston Port Act forces the Intolerable Acts down the throat of America whose arms are restrained by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield while Lord Sandwich pins down her feet and peers up her robes. Behind them Mother Britannia weeps helplessly. Main articles: Quebec Act and Intolerable Acts The Quebec Act of 1774 extended Quebec's boundaries to the Ohio River shutting out the claims of the 13 colonies. By then however the Americans had little regard for new laws from London; they were drilling militia and organizing for war.35 The British government responded by passing several Acts which came to be known as the Intolerable Acts which further darkened colonial opinion towards the British. They consisted of four laws enacted by the British parliament.36 The first was the Massachusetts Government Act which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings. The second Act the Administration of Justice Act ordered that all British soldiers to be tried were to be arraigned in Britain not in the colonies. The third Act was 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 British never received such a payment). The fourth Act was the Quartering Acts of 1774 which allowed royal governors to house British troops in the homes of citizens without requiring permission of the owner. Lord North argued in 1775 for the British position that Englishmen paid on average 25 shillings annually in taxes whereas Americans paid only sixpence.37 The colonists countered that North's argument failed to take into consideration the taxes collected by colonial governments and allocated for local purposes. The colonists believed especially considering the economic restraints the British were keen to enforce in the colonies that any additional tax burden from London was excessive. American political opposition Further information: Suffolk Resolves Declaration of Rights and Grievances Continental Association Petition to the King (1774) Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Conciliatory Resolution Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms Olive Branch Petition and Hutchinson Letters Affair American political opposition was initially through the colonial assemblies such as the Stamp Act Congress which included representatives from across the colonies. In 1765 the Sons of Liberty were formed which used public demonstrations violence and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable. While openly hostile to what they considered an oppressive Parliament acting illegally colonists persisted in sending numerous petitions and pleas for intervention from a monarch to whom they still claimed loyalty. In late 1772 Samuel Adams in Boston set about creating new Committees of Correspondence which linked Patriots in all 13 colonies and eventually provided the framework for a rebel government. In early 1773 Virginia the largest colony set up its Committee of Correspondence on which Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson served.38 A total of about 7000 to 8000 Patriots served on Committees of Correspondence at the colonial and local levels comprising most of the leadership in their communitiesthe Loyalists were excluded. The committees became the leaders of the American resistance to British actions and largely determined the war effort at the state and local level. When the First Continental Congress decided to boycott British products the colonial and local Committees took charge examining merchant records and publishing the names of merchants who attempted to defy the boycott by importing British goods. They promoted patriotism and home manufacturing advising Americans to avoid luxuries and lead more simple lives. The committees gradually extended their power over many aspects of American public life. They set up espionage networks to identify disloyal elements displaced the royal officials and helped topple the entire imperial system in each colony. In late 1774 in early 1775 they supervised the elections of provincial conventions which took over the operation of colonial governments.39 In response to the Massachusetts Government Act Massachusetts and other colonies formed local governments called Provincial Congresses. In 1774 the First Continental Congress convened consisting of representatives from each of the Provincial Congresses or their equivalents to serve as a vehicle for deliberation and collective action. Standing Committees of Safety were created by each Provincial Congress or equivalent for the enforcement of the resolutions by the Committees of Correspondence Provincial Congress and the Continental Congress. Some British colonies in North America remained loyal to the Crown. These colonies included Quebec Nova Scotia Newfoundland in present-day Canada the former Spanish colonies of West Florida and East Florida and Bermuda. Factions The population of the 13 Colonies was far from homogeneous particularly in their political views and attitudes. Loyalties and allegiances varied widely not only within regions and communities but also within families and sometimes shifted during the course of the Revolution. King George III The war became a personal issue for the king fueled by his growing belief that British leniency would be taken as weakness by the Americans. The king also sincerely believed he was defending Britain's constitution against usurpers rather than opposing patriots fighting for their natural rights.40 Patriots Main article: Patriot (American Revolution) Further information: Sons of Liberty At the time revolutionaries were called "Patriots" "Whigs" "Congress-men" or "Americans". They included a full range of social and economic classes but were unanimous regarding the need to defend the rights of Americans and uphold the principles of republicanism in terms of rejecting monarchy and aristocracy while emphasizing civic virtue on the part of the citizens. Role of women Abigail Adams Main article: Women in the American Revolution Women contributed to the American Revolution in many ways and were involved on both sides. While formal Revolutionary politics did not include women ordinary domestic behaviors became charged with political significance as Patriot women confronted a war that permeated all aspects of political civil and domestic life. They participated by boycotting British goods spying on the British following armies as they marched washing cooking and tending for soldiers delivering secret messages and in a few cases like Deborah Samson fighting disguised as men. Above all they continued the agricultural work at home to feed their families and the armies. They maintained their families during their husbands' absences and sometimes after their deaths.41 American women were integral to the success of the boycott of British goods42 as the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth. Women had to return to knitting goods and to spinning and weaving their own cloth skills that had fallen into disuse. In 1769 the women of Boston produced 40000 skeins of yarn and 180 women in Middletown Massachusetts wove 20522 yards (18765 m) of cloth.41 A crisis of political loyalties could disrupt the fabric of colonial America womens social worlds: whether a man did or did not renounce his allegiance to the King could dissolve ties of class family and friendship isolating women from former connections. A womans loyalty to her husband once a private commitment could become a political act especially for women in America committed to men who remained loyal to the King. Legal divorce usually rare was granted to Patriot women whose husbands supported the King.4344 Class and psychology Looking back John Adams concluded in 1818: "The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people....This radical change in the principles opinions sentiments and affections of the people was the real American Revolution."45 In terms of class Loyalists tended to have longstanding social and economic connections to British merchants and government; for instance prominent merchants in major port cities such as New York Boston and Charleston tended to be Loyalists as did men involved with the fur trade along the northern frontier.citation needed In addition officials of colonial government and their staffs those who had established positions and status to maintain favored maintaining relations with Great Britain. They often were linked to British families in England by marriage as well.citation needed By contrast Patriots by number tended to be yeomen farmers especially in the frontier areas of New York and the backcountry of Pennsylvania Virginia and down the Appalachian mountains.citation needed They were craftsmen and small merchants. Leaders of both the Patriots and the Loyalists were men of educated propertied classes. The Patriots included many prominent men of the planter class from Virginia and South Carolina for instance who became leaders during the Revolution and formed the new government at the national and state levels.citation needed To understand the opposing groups historians have assessed evidence of their hearts and minds. In the mid-20th century historian Leonard Woods Labaree identified eight characteristics of the Loyalists that made them essentially conservative; traits to those characteristic of the Patriots.46 Older and better established men Loyalists tended to resist innovation. They thought resistance to the Crownwhich they insisted was the only legitimate governmentwas morally wrong while the Patriots thought morality was on their side. Loyalists were alienated when the Patriots resorted to violence such as burning houses and tarring and feathering. Loyalists wanted to take a centrist position and resisted the Patriots' demand to declare their opposition to the Crown. Many Loyalists especially merchants in the port cities had maintained strong and long-standing relations with Britain (often with business and family links to other parts of the British Empire). Many Loyalists realized that independence was bound to come eventually but they were fearful that revolution might lead to anarchy tyranny or mob rule. In contrast the prevailing attitude among Patriots who made systematic efforts to use mob violence in a controlled manner was a desire to seize the initiative.4748 Labaree also wrote that Loyalists were pessimists who lacked the confidence in the future displayed by the Patriots.46 Historians in the early 20th century such as J. Franklin Jameson examined the class composition of the Patriot cause looking for evidence of a class war inside the revolution.49 In the last 50 years historians have largely abandoned that interpretation emphasizing instead the high level of ideological unity.50 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: the Patriots viewed independence as a means to gain freedom from British oppression and taxation and above all to reassert what they considered to be their rights as English subjects. Most yeomen farmers craftsmen and small merchants joined the Patriot cause to demand more political equality. They were especially successful in the Pennsylvania but less so in New England where John Adams attacked Thomas Paine's Common Sense for the "absurd democratical notions" it proposed.5152 Loyalists Main article: Loyalist (American Revolution) While there is no way of knowing the actual numbers historians have estimated that about 1520% of the population remained loyal to the British Crown; these were known at the time as "Loyalists" "Tories" or "King's men". The Loyalists never controlled territory unless the British Army occupied it.53 Loyalists were typically older less willing to break with old loyalties often connected to the Church of England and included many established merchants with business connections across the Empire as well as royal officials such as Thomas Hutchinson of Boston. The revolution sometimes divided families; for example the Franklins. William Franklin son of Benjamin Franklin and governor of the Province of New Jersey remained Loyal to the Crown throughout the war and never spoke to his father again. Recent immigrants who had not been fully Americanized were also inclined to support the King such as recent Scottish settlers in the back country; among the more striking examples of this see Flora MacDonald.53 After the war the great majority of the 450000500000 Loyalists remained in America and resumed normal lives. Some such as Samuel Seabury became prominent American leaders. Estimates vary but about 62000 Loyalists relocated to Canada and others to Britain (7000) or to Florida or the West Indies (9000). This made up approximately 2% of the total population of the colonies.54 When Loyalists left the South in 1783 they took thousands of blacks with them as slaves to the British West Indies.54 Neutrals A minority of uncertain size tried to stay neutral in the war. Most kept a low profile. However the Quakers especially in Pennsylvania were the most important group that was outspoken for neutrality. As Patriots declared independence the Quakers who continued to do business with the British were attacked as supporters of British rule "contrivers and authors of seditious publications" critical of the revolutionary cause.55 Other participants Spain Spain did not officially recognize the U.S. but became an informal ally when it declared war on Britain on June 21 1779. Bernardo de Glvez y Madrid general of the Spanish forces in New Spain also served as governor of Louisiana. He led an expedition of colonial troops to force the British out of Florida and keep open a vital conduit for supplies.56 France In early 1776 France set up a major program of aid to the Americans and the Spanish secretly added funds. Each country spent one million "livres tournaises" to buy munitions. A dummy corporation run by Pierre Beaumarchais concealed their activities. Americans obtained some munitions through Holland as well as French and Spanish ports in the West Indies.57 Native Americans Most Native Americans rejected pleas that they remain neutral and supported the British Crown. In its trying to prohibit colonial settlement west of the Applachian Mountains Great Britain was supporting the tribes. The great majority of the 200000 Native Americans east of the Mississippi distrusted the colonists and supported the British cause hoping to forestall continued colonial encroachment on their territories.58 Those tribes that were more closely involved in colonial trade tended to side with the revolutionaries although political factors were important as well. Although there was little major Native American participation during the war except for four of the Iroquois nations the British provided Indians with funding and weapons to attack American outposts. Some Indians tried to remain neutral seeing little value in joining a European conflict and fearing reprisals from whichever side they opposed. A few such as the Oneida and Tuscarora peoples in New York supported the American cause.59 The British provided arms for the Indians under Loyalist leadership to raid frontier settlements from the Carolinas to New York. They killed many scattered settlers especially in Pennsylvania. In 1776 Cherokee war parties attacked American colonists all along the southern frontier of the uplands.60 While the Cherokee could launch raids numbering a couple hundred warriors as seen in the Chickamauga Wars they could not mobilize enough forces to fight a major invasion without allies. The most prominent Native American leader siding with the King was Joseph Brant of the powerful Mohawk nation part of the Iroquois Confederacy based in New York. In 1778 and 1780 he led 300 Iroquois warriors and 100 white Loyalists in multiple attacks on small frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania killing many settlers and destroying villages crops and stores.61 The Seneca Onondaga and Cayuga of the Iroquois Confederacy also allied with the British against the Americans. In 1779 the Continentals retaliated with an American army under John Sullivan which raided and destroyed 40 empty Iroquois villages in central and western New York.62 Sullivan's forces systematically burned the villages and destroyed about 160000 bushels of corn that comprised the winter food supply. Facing starvation and homeless for the winter the Iroquois fled to the Niagara Falls area and to Canada mostly to what became Ontario. The British resettled them there after the war providing land grants as compensation for some of their losses.63 At the peace conference following the war the British ceded lands which they did not really control and did not consult about it with their Indian allies. They "transferred" control to the Americans of all the land east of the Mississippi and north of Florida. The historian Calloway concludes: Burned villages and crops murdered chiefs divided councils and civil wars migrations towns and forts choked with refugees economic disruption breaking of ancient traditions losses in battle and to disease and hunger betrayal to their enemies all made the American Revolution one of the darkest periods in American Indian history.64 The British did not give up their forts in the West (what is now the Ohio to Wisconsin) until 1796; they kept alive the dream of forming a satellite Indian nation there which they called a Neutral Indian Zone. That goal was one of the causes of the War of 1812.6566 African Americans Further information: Slavery in the United States Free blacks in the North and South fought on both sides of the Revolution but most fought for the colonial rebels. Crispus Attucks who died in a conflict in Boston in 1770 is considered the first martyr of the American Revolution. Both sides offered freedom and re-settlement to slaves who were willing to fight for them especially targeting slaves whose owners supported the opposing cause. Many African-American slaves became politically active during these years in support of the King as they thought Great Britain might abolish slavery in the colonies. Tens of thousands used the turmoil of war to escape and the southern plantation economies of South Carolina and Georgia especially were disrupted. During the Revolution the British tried to turn slavery against the Americans67 but historian David Brion Davis explains the difficulties with a policy of wholesale arming of the slaves: But England greatly feared the effects of any such move on its own West Indies where Americans had already aroused alarm over a possible threat to incite slave insurrections. The British elites also understood that an all-out attack on one form of property could easily lead to an assault on all boundaries of privilege and social order as envisioned by radical religious sects in Britains seventeenth-century civil wars.68 Davis underscored the British dilemma: "Britain when confronted by the rebellious American colonists hoped to exploit their fear of slave revolts while also reassuring the large number of slave-holding Loyalists and wealthy Caribbean planters and merchants that their slave property would be secure".69 The colonists accused the British of encouraging slave revolts.70 American advocates of independence were commonly lampooned in Britain for what was termed their hypocritical calls for freedom at the same time that many of their leaders were planters who held hundreds of slaves. Samuel Johnson snapped "how is it we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the slave drivers of the Negroes"71 Benjamin Franklin countered by criticizing the British self-congratulation about "the freeing of one Negro" (Somersett) while they continued to permit the Slave Trade.72 Phyllis Wheatley a black poet who popularized the image of Columbia to represent America came to public attention when her Poems on Various Subjects Religious and Moral appeared in 1773.73 During the war slaves escaped from across New England and the mid-Atlantic area to British-occupied cities such as New York. The effects of the war were more dramatic in the South. In Virginia the royal governor Lord Dunmore recruited black men into the British forces with the promise of freedom protection for their families and land grants. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines throughout the South causing dramatic losses to slaveholders and disrupting cultivation and harvesting of crops. For instance South Carolina was estimated to lose about 25000 slaves or one third of its slave population to flight migration or death. From 1770-1790 the black proportion of the population (mostly slaves) in South Carolina dropped from 60.5 percent to 43.8 percent; and in Georgia from 45.2 percent to 36.1 percent.74 When the British evacuated its forces from Savannah and Charleston it also gave transportation to 10000 slaves carrying through on its commitment to them.75 They evacuated and resettled more than 3000 "Black Loyalists" to Nova Scotia Upper and Lower Canada. Others sailed with the British to England or were resettled in the West Indies of the Caribbean. More than 1200 of the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia later resettled in the British colony of Sierra Leone where they became leaders of the Krio ethnic group of Freetown and the later national government. Many of their descendants still live in Sierra Leone as well as other African countries.76 Some slaves understood Revolutionary rhetoric as promising freedom and equality. Both British and American governments made promises of freedom for service and many slaves fought in one or the other armies. Starting in 1777 northern states started to abolish slavery beginning with Vermont which ended it under its new state constitution. By court cases Massachusetts effectively ended slavery before the end of the century. Usually states instituted abolition on a gradual schedule with no government compensation of the owners and many states such as New York New Jersey and Connecticut required long apprenticeships of former slave children before they gained freedom and came of age as adults. In the first two decades after the war the legislatures of Virginia Maryland and Delaware made it easier for slaveholders to manumit their slaves.77 Numerous slaveholders in the Upper South took advantage of the changes: the proportion of free blacks went from less than one percent before the war to more than 10 percent overall by 1810.78 In Virginia alone the number of free blacks climbed: from less than one percent in 1782 to 4.2 percent in 1790 and 13.5 percent in 1810.78 In Delaware three-quarters of blacks were free by 1810.79 After this time few slaves were freed in the South except those who were favorites or the master's children. The demand for slaves rose with the growth of cotton as a commodity crop especially after the invention of the cotton gin which enabled the widespread cultivation of short-staple cotton in the upland regions. Although the international slave trade was prohibited the slave population in the United States increased by the formation of families and survival of children throughout the South. As the demand for slave labor in the Upper South decreased due to changes in crops planters began selling their slaves to traders and markets to the Deep South in an internal slave trade; it would cause the forced migration of an estimated one million slaves during the following decades breaking up countless families as young males were most in demand. Military hostilities begin Join or Die by Benjamin Franklin was recycled to encourage the former colonies to unite against British rule Further information: Shot heard round the world Boston campaign and Invasion of Canada (1775) The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19 1775 when the British sent a force of roughly 1000 troops to confiscate arms and arrest revolutionaries in Concord Massachusetts.80 They clashed with the local militia marking the first fighting of the American Revolutionary War. The news aroused the 13 colonies to call out their militias and send troops to besiege Boston. The Battle of Bunker Hill followed on June 17 1775. While a British victory it was at a great cost; about 1000 British casualties from a garrison of about 6000 as compared to 500 American casualties from a much larger force.8182 The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775 after the war had started. The Congress created the Continental Army and extended the Olive Branch Petition to the crown as an attempt at reconciliation. King George III refused to receive it issuing instead the Proclamation of Rebellion requiring action against the "traitors". In the winter of 1775 the Americans invaded Canada. General Richard Montgomery captured Montreal but a joint attack on Quebec with the help of Benedict Arnold failed. In March 1776 with George Washington as the commander of the new army the Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston. The revolutionaries were now in full control of all 13 colonies and 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.83 Prisoners Main article: Prisoners in the American Revolutionary War In August 1775 George III declared Americans in arms against royal authority to be traitors to the Crown. The British government at first started treating captured rebel combatants as common criminals and preparations were made to bring them to trial for treason. American Secretary Lord Germain and First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Sandwich were especially eager to do so with a particular emphasis on those who had previously served in British units (and thereby sworn an oath of allegiance to the crown). Many of the prisoners taken by the British at Bunker Hill apparently expected to be hanged but British authorities declined to take the next step: treason trials and executions. The dilemma was that tens of thousands of Loyalists were under American control and American retaliation would have been easy. The British built much of their strategy around using these Loyalists. After the surrender at Saratoga in October 1777 furthermore there were thousands of British and Hessian soldiers in American hands. Therefore no Americans were put on trial for treason. The British maltreated the prisoners they held resulting in more deaths to American sailors and soldiers than combat operations.84 At the end of the war both sides released their surviving prisoners.85 Finance Britain's war against the Americans French and Spanish cost about 100 million. The Treasury borrowed 40% of the money it needed.86 Heavy spending brought France to the verge of bankruptcy and revolution while the British had relatively little difficulty financing their war keeping their suppliers and soldiers paid and hiring tens of thousands of German soldiers. Britain had a sophisticated financial system based on the wealth of thousands of landowners who supported the government together with banks and financiers in London The efficient British tax system collected about 12 percent of the GDP in taxes during the 1770s.87 In sharp contrast Congress and the American states had no end of difficulty financing the war.88 In 1775 there was at most 12 million dollars in gold in the colonies not nearly enough to cover current transactions let alone on a major war. The British made the situation much worse by imposing a tight blockade on every American port which cut off almost all imports and exports. One partial solution was to rely on volunteer support from militiamen and donations from patriotic citizens. Another was to delay actual payments pay soldiers and suppliers in depreciated currency and promise it would be made good after the war. Indeed in 1783 the soldiers and officers were given land grants to cover the wages they had earned but had not been paid during the war. Not until 1781 when Robert Morris was named Superintendent of Finance of the United States did the national government have a strong leader in financial matters. Morris used a French loan in 1782 to set up the private Bank of North America to finance the war. Seeking greater efficiency Morris reduced the civil list saved money by using competitive bidding for contracts tightened accounting procedures and demanded the federal government's full share of money and supplies from the states.89 Congress used four main methods to cover the cost of the war which cost about 66 million dollars in specie (gold and silver).90 Congress made two issues of paper money in 1775-1780 and in 1780-81. The first issue amounted to 242 million dollars. This paper money would supposedly be redeemed for state taxescitation needed but the holders were eventually paid off in 1791 at the rate of one cent on the dollar.citation needed By 1780 the paper money was "not worth a Continental" as people said and a second issue of new currency was attempted. The second issue quickly became nearly worthlessbut it was redeemed by the new federal government in 1791 at 100 cents on the dollar.citation needed At the same time the states especially Virginia and the Carolinas issued over 200 million dollars of their own currency.citation needed In effect the paper money was a hidden tax on the people and indeed was the only method of taxation that was possible at the time.citation needed The skyrocketing inflation was a hardship on the few people who had fixed incomesbut 90 percent of the people were farmers and were not directly affected by that inflation. Debtors benefited by paying off their debts with depreciated paper.91 The greatest burden was borne by the soldiers of the Continental Army whose wagesusually in arrearsdeclined in value every month weakening their morale and adding to the hardships suffered by their families.citation needed Beginning in 1777 Congress repeatedly asked the states to provide money. But the states had no system of taxation either and were little help. By 1780 Congress was making requisitions for specific supplies of corn beef pork and other necessitiesan inefficient system that kept the army barely alive.9293 Starting in 1776 the Congress sought to raise money by loans from wealthy individuals promising to redeem the bonds after the war. The bonds were in fact redeemed and 1791 at face value but the scheme raised little money because Americans had little specie and many of the rich merchants were supporters of the Crown.citation needed Starting in 1776 the French secretly supplied the Americans with money gunpowder and munitions in order to weaken its arch enemy Great Britain. When France officially entered the war in 1778 the subsidies continued and the French government as well as bankers in Paris and Amsterdam loaned large sums to the American war effort. These loans were repaid in full in the 1790s.94 Creating new state constitutions Following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775 the Patriots had control of most of Massachusetts; the Loyalists suddenly found themselves on the defensive. In all 13 colonies Patriots had overthrown their existing governments closing courts and driving British governors agents and supporters from their homes. They had elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any legal framework; new constitutions were used in each state to supersede royal charters. They declared they were states now not colonies.95 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.96 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 results were constitutions that featured: Substantial property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications);95 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. Benjamin Rush 1783 In states where the less affluent had organized sufficiently to have significant powerespecially Pennsylvania New Jersey and New Hampshirethe 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; Whether conservatives or radicals held sway in a state did not mean that the side with less power accepted the result quietly. The radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution lasted only 14 years. In 1790 conservatives gained power in the state legislature called a new constitutional convention and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution 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.1 Independence and Union Johannes Adam Simon Oertel. Pulling Down the Statue of King George III N.Y.C. ca. 1859. The painting is a romanticised version of the Sons of Liberty destroying the symbol of monarchy in Bowling Green following the reading on the New York City commons of the United States Declaration of Independence to the Continental Army and residents on July 9th 1776 by George Washington. Further information: Lee Resolution Articles of Confederation Committee of Five and United States Declaration of Independence In April the North Carolina Provincial Congress issued the Halifax Resolves explicitly authorized its delegates to vote for independence.97 In May Congress called on all the states to write constitutions and eliminate the last remnants of royal rule. By June nine colonies were ready for independence; one by one the last four Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland and New York fell into line. Richard Henry Lee was instructed by the Virginia legislature to propose independence and he did so on June 7 1776. On the 11th a committee was created to draft a document explaining the justifications for separation from Britain. After securing enough votes for passage independence was voted for on July 2. The Declaration of Independence drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the committee was slightly revised and unanimously adopted by the entire Congress on July 4 marking the formation of a new nation which called itself the United States of America.98 The Second Continental Congress approved a new constitution the "Articles of Confederation" for ratification by the states on November 15 1777 and immediately began operating under their terms. The Articles were formally ratified on March 1 1781. At that point the Continental Congress was dissolved and on the following day a new government of the United States in Congress Assembled took its place with Samuel Huntington as presiding officer.99100 Defending the Revolution Main article: American Revolutionary War George Washington rallying his troops at the Battle of Princeton British return: 17761777 Further information: New York and New Jersey campaign Staten Island Peace Conference Saratoga campaign and Philadelphia campaign After Washington forced the British out of Boston in spring 1776 neither the British nor the Loyalists controlled any significant areas. The British however were massing forces at their naval base at Halifax Nova Scotia. They returned in force in July 1776 landing in New York and defeating Washington's Continental Army at the Battle of Brooklyn in August one of the largest engagements of the war. After the Battle of Brooklyn the British requested a meeting with representatives from Congress to negotiate an end to hostilities. A delegation including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin met Howe on Staten Island in New York Harbor on September 11 in what became known as the Staten Island Peace Conference. Howe demanded a retraction of the Declaration of Independence which was refused and negotiations ended until 1781. The British then quickly seized New York City and nearly captured General Washington. They made the city their main political and military base of operations in North America holding it until November 1783. New York City consequently became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network.101102 The British also took New Jersey pushing the Continental Army into Pennsylvania but in a surprise attack in late December 1776 Washington crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey and defeated Hessian and British armies at Trenton and Princeton thereby regaining New Jersey. The victories gave an important boost to pro-independence supporters at a time when morale was flagging and have become iconic events of the war. Washington at Valley Forge issue of 1928 In 1777 as part of a grand strategy to end the war the British sent an invasion force from Canada to seal off New England which the British perceived as the primary source of agitators. In a major case of mis-coordination the British army in New York City went to Philadelphia which it captured from Washington. The invasion army under Burgoyne waited in vain for reinforcements from New York and became trapped in northern New York state. It surrendered after the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777. From early October 1777 until November 15 a pivotal siege at Fort Mifflin Philadelphia Pennsylvania distracted British troops and allowed Washington time to preserve the Continental Army by safely leading his troops to harsh winter quarters at Valley Forge. American alliances after 1778 Further information: France in the American Revolutionary War and Spain in the American Revolutionary War The capture of a British army at Saratoga encouraged the French to formally enter the war in support of Congress as Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778 significantly becoming the first country to officially recognize the Declaration of Independence. On February 6 1778 a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance were signed between the United States and France.103 William Pitt spoke out in parliament urging Britain to make peace in America and unite with America against France while other British politicians who had previously sympathised with colonial grievances now turned against the American rebels for allying with British international rival and enemy.104 Later Spain (in 1779) and the Dutch (1780) became allies of the French leaving the British Empire to fight a global war alone without major allies and requiring it to slip through a combined blockade of the Atlantic. The American theater thus became only one front in Britain's war.105 The British were forced to withdraw troops from continental America to reinforce the valuable sugar-producing Caribbean colonies which were considered more important. Because of the alliance with France and the deteriorating military situation Sir Henry Clinton the British commander evacuated Philadelphia to reinforce New York City. General Washington attempted to intercept the retreating column resulting in the Battle of Monmouth Court House the last major battle fought in the north. After an inconclusive engagement the British successfully retreated to New York City. The northern war subsequently became a stalemate as the focus of attention shifted to the smaller southern theater.106 The British move South 17781783 Further information: Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War and Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War The British strategy in America now concentrated on a campaign in the southern colonies. With fewer regular troops at their disposal the British commanders saw the "southern strategy" as a more viable plan as the south was perceived as being more strongly Loyalist with a large population of recent immigrants as well as large numbers of slaves who might be captured or run away to join the British.107 Beginning in late December 1778 the British captured Savannah and controlled the Georgia coastline. In 1780 they launched a fresh invasion and took Charleston as well. A significant victory at the Battle of Camden meant that royal forces soon controlled most of Georgia and South Carolina. The British set up a network of forts inland hoping 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 with a severely weakened army. Behind them much of the territory they had already captured dissolved into a chaotic guerrilla war fought predominantly between bands of Loyalist and American militia which negated many of the gains the British had previously made.108 Yorktown 1781 The siege of Yorktown ended with the surrender of a second British army marking effective British defeat Main article: Siege of Yorktown The southern British army marched to Yorktown Virginia where they expected to be rescued by a British fleet which would take them back to New York.109 When that fleet was defeated by a French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake the southern British army became trapped at Yorktown.110 In October 1781 under a combined siege by the French and Continental armies under Washington the British under the command of General Cornwallis surrendered their second army of the war. Cornwallis refused to attend the surrender ceremonies and sent a subordinate.111 The war winds down Support for the conflict had never been strong in Britain where many sympathized with the rebels but now it reached a new low.112 Although King George III personally wanted to fight on his supporters lost control of Parliament and no further major land offensives were launched in the American Theater.106113 Washington could not know that after Yorktown the British would not reopen hostilities. They still had 26000 troops occupying New York City Charleston and Savannah together with a powerful fleet. The French army and navy departed so the Americans were on their own in 1782-83.114 The treasury was empty and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive almost to the point of mutiny or possible coup d'tat. The unrest among officers of the Newburgh Conspiracy was personally dispelled by Washington in 1783 and Congress subsequently created the promise of a five years bonus for all officers.115 Peace treaty Main article: Treaty of Paris (1783) The peace treaty with Britain known as the Treaty of Paris gave the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes though not including Florida (On September 3 1783 Britain entered into a separate agreement with Spain under which Britain ceded Florida back to Spain.) The British abandoned the Indian allies living in this region; they were not a party to this treaty and did not recognize it until they were defeated militarily by the United States. Issues regarding boundaries and debts were not resolved until the Jay Treaty of 1795.116 Since the blockade was lifted and the old imperial restrictions were gone American merchants were free to trade with any nation anywhere in the world and their business flourished. Impact on Britain Losing the war and the 13 colonies was a shock to the British system. The war revealed the limitations of Britain's fiscal-military state when it discovered it suddenly faced powerful enemies with no allies and dependent on extended and vulnerable transatlantic lines of communication. The defeat heightened dissension and escalated political antagonism to the King's ministers. Inside parliament the primary concern changed from fears of an over-mighty monarch to the issues of representation parliamentary reform and government retrenchment. Reformers sought to destroy what they saw as widespread institutional corruption. The result was a powerful crisis 1776-1783. The peace in 1783 left France financially prostrate while the British economy boomed thanks to the return of American business. The crisis ended after 1784 thanks to the King's shrewdness in outwitting Charles James Fox (the leader of the Fox-North Coalition) and renewed confidence in the system engendered by the leadership of the new Prime Minister William Pitt. Historians conclude that loss of the American colonies enabled Britain to deal with the French Revolution with more unity and better organization than would otherwise have been the case.117118 Concluding the Revolution Main articles: Philadelphia Convention and United States Bill of Rights See also: Annapolis Convention and Federalist Papers Creating a "more perfect union" and guaranteeing rights After the war finally ended in 1783 there was a period of prosperity with the entire world at peace. The national government still operating under the Articles of Confederation was able to settle the issue of the western territories which were ceded by the states to Congress. American settlers moved rapidly into those areas with Vermont Kentucky and Tennessee becoming states in the 1790s.119 However the national government had no money to pay either the war debts owed to European nations the private banks or to Americans who had been given millions of dollars of promissory notes for supplies during the war. Nationalists led by Washington Alexander Hamilton and other veterans feared that the new nation was too fragile to withstand an international war or even internal revolts such as the Shays' Rebellion of 1786 in Massachusetts. Calling themselves "Federalists" the nationalists convinced Congress to call the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.120 It adopted a new Constitution that provided for a much stronger federal government including an effective executive in a check-and-balance system with the judiciary and legislature.121 After a fierce debate in the states over the nature of the proposed new government the Constitution was ratified in 1788. The new government under President George Washington took office in New York in March 1789.122 As assurances to those who were cautious about federal power amendments to the Constitution guaranteeing many of the inalienable rights that formed a foundation for the revolution were spearheaded in Congress by James Madison and later ratified by the states in 1791. National debt Further information: United States public debt and Alexander Hamilton The national debt after the American Revolution fell into three categories. The first was the $12 million owed to foreignersmostly money borrowed from France. There was general agreement to pay the foreign debts at full value. The national government owed $40 million and state governments owed $25 million to Americans who had sold food horses and supplies to the revolutionary forces. There were also other debts that consisted of promissory 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 would pay these debts eventually. The war expenses of the individual states added up to $114 million compared to $37 million by the central government.123 In 1790 at the recommendation of first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton Congress combined the remaining state debts with the foreign and domestic debts into one national debt totaling $80 million. Everyone received face value for wartime certificates so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.124 Impressions the Revolution made Loyalist expatriation About 60000 to 70000 Loyalists left the newly founded republic; some left for Britain and the remainder called United Empire Loyalists received British subsidies to resettle in British colonies in North America especially Quebec (concentrating in the Eastern Townships) Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.125 The new colonies of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and New Brunswick were created by Britain for their benefit. However about 80% of the Loyalists stayed and became loyal citizens of the United States and some of the exiles later returned to the U.S.126 Interpretations Interpretations about the effect of the Revolution vary. Though contemporary participants referred to the events as "the revolution"127 at one end of the spectrum is the view that the American Revolution was not "revolutionary" at all contending that it did not radically transform colonial society but simply replaced a distant government with a local one.128 More recent scholarship pioneered by historians such as Bernard Bailyn Gordon Wood and Edmund Morgan accepts the contemporary view of the participants that the American Revolution was a unique and radical event that produced deep changes and had a profound impact on world affairs based on an increasing belief in the principles of the Enlightenment as reflected in how liberalism was understood during the period and republicanism. These were demonstrated by a leadership and government that espoused protection of natural rights and a system of laws chosen by the people.129 As an example or inspiration Further information: Atlantic Revolutions After the Revolution genuinely democratic politics became possible.130 The rights of the people were incorporated into state constitutions. Thus came the widespread assertion of liberty individual rights equality and hostility toward corruption which would prove core values of liberal republicanism to Americans. The greatest challenge to the old order in Europe was the challenge to inherited political power and the democratic idea that government rests on the consent of the governed. The example of the first successful revolution against a European empire and the first successful establishment of a republican form of democratically elected government provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations with directly elected representative government.131 The Dutch Republic also at war with Britain at that time was the next country after France to sign a treaty with the United States on October 8 1782.103 On April 3 1783 Ambassador Extraordinary Gustaf Philip Creutz representing King Gustav III of Sweden and Benjamin Franklin Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the U.S.103 The American Revolution was the first wave of the Atlantic Revolutions that took hold in the French Revolution the Haitian Revolution and the Latin American wars of independence. Aftershocks reached Ireland in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in the Netherlands.132 The Revolution had a strong immediate impact in Great Britain Ireland the Netherlands and France. Many British and Irish Whigs spoke in favor of the American cause. The Revolution along with the Dutch Revolt (end of the 16th century) and the English Civil War (in the 17th century) was one of the first lessons in overthrowing an old regime for many Europeans who later were active during the era of the French Revolution such as Marquis de Lafayette. The American Declaration of Independence had some impact on the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789.133134 The spirit of the Declaration of Independence led to laws ending slavery in all the Northern states and the Northwest Territory with New Jersey the last in 1804long before the British Parliament acted in 1833 to abolish slavery in its colonies.135 See also Timeline of the American Revolution Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War Second American Revolution Founding Fathers of the United States US Presidents on US postage stamps List of plays and films about the American Revolution Notes a b Wood The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992) Greene and Pole (1994) chapter 70 Brinkley The Sparck of Rebellion (2010) Alexander Revolutionary Politician 103 136; Maier Old Revolutionaries 4142. Wraight Rousseau's The Social Contract (2008) Charles W. Toth Liberte Egalite Fraternite: The American Revolution and the European Response. (1989) p. 26. page 101 Philosophical Tales by Martin Cohen (Blackwell 2008) name Weintraub2005>Stanley Weintraub Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom Britain's Quagmire 1775-1783 (2005) chapter 1 Bailyn The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1992) pp. 125-37 Wood The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992) pp. 35 174-5 Shalhope Toward a Republican Synthesis (1972) pp.49-80 Adams quoted in Paul A. Rahe Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution. Volume: 2 (1994) P. 23. Ferguson The Commonalities of Common Sense (2000) pp. 465504 a b Bonomi p. 186 Chapter 7 Religion and the American Revolution William H. Nelson The American Tory (1961) p. 186 BailynThe Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1992) pp. 273-4 299300 BailynThe Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1992) p. 303 Max Savelle Seeds of Liberty: The Genesis of the American Mind (2005) pp. 204-211 Stephens Unreasonable Searches and Seizures (2006) p. 306 a b Miller (1943) Colin G. Calloway The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America (2006) pp 92-98 W. J. Rorabaugh Donald T. Critchlow Paula C. Baker (2004). "America's promise: a concise history of the United States". Rowman & Littlefield. p.92. ISBN 0742511898 Woody Holton "The Ohio Indians and the coming of the American revolution in Virginia" Journal of Southern History Aug 1994 Vol. 60 Issue 3 pp 453-78 Englishmen paid on average twenty-five shillings annually in taxes whereas Americans paid only sixpence. Miller Origins of the American Revolution (1943) p. 89 Middlekauff p. 62 Shy Toward Lexington (2008) pp 69-73 Shy Toward Lexington 73-78 Bernhard Knollenberg Origin of the American Revolution: 1759-1766 (1960) pp 76-87 William S. Carpenter "Taxation Without Representation" in Dictionary of American History Volume 7 (1976); Miller (1943) Greene and Pole (1994) chapter 11 Maier From Resistance to Revolution (1991) pp. 77-112 Hiller B. Zobel The Boston Massacre (1996) Alfred F. Young The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution (Boston: Beacon Press 1999; ISBN 0-8070-5405-4; ISBN 978-0-8070-5405-5) 18385. Benjamin L. Carp Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America (2010) Greene and Pole (1994) chapter 15 Miller (1943) pp. 35376 Miller p.89 Greene and Pole (1994) chapters 2224 Mary Beth Norton et al. A People and a Nation (6th ed. 2001) vol 1 pp 144-145 Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy "'If Others Will Not Be Active I must Drive': George III and the American Revolution." Early American Studies 2004 2(1): pp 1-46. P. D. G. Thomas "George III and the American Revolution." History 1985 70(228): 16-31 says the king played a minor role before 1775. a b Berkin Revolutionary Mothers (2006) p. 59-60 Greene and Pole (1994) chapter 41 Kerber Women of the Republic (1997) chapters 4 and 6 Mary Beth Norton Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women (1980) John Ferling Setting the World Ablaze: Washington Adams Jefferson and the American Revolution (2002) p. 281 a b Labaree Conservatism in Early American History (1948) pp. 164-5 Hull et al Choosing Sides (1978) pp. 34466 Burrows and Wallace The American Revolution (1972) pp. 167305 J. Franklin Jameson The American Revolution Considered as a Social Movement (1926); other historians pursuing the same line of thought included Charles Beard Carl Becker and Arthur Schlesinger Sr.. Wood Rhetoric and Reality in the American Revolution (1966) pp. 332 Nash (2005) Resch (2006) a b Calhoon Loyalism and Neutrality (1992) p. 235 a b Greene and Pole (1994) chapters 2022 Gottlieb 2005 Thompson Buchanan Parker Spain: Forgotten Ally of the American Revolution North Quincy Mass.: Christopher Publishing House 1976. Jonathan Dull A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution (1985) pp. 5765 Greene and Pole (2004) chapters 19 46 and 51; Colin G. Calloway The American Revolution in Indian Country: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities (1995) Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution (2007) Tom Hatley The Dividing Paths: Cherokees and South Carolinians through the Era of Revolution (1993); James H. O'Donnell III Southern Indians in the American Revolution (1973) see Barbara Graymont "Thayendanegea" Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online Colin G. Calloway The American Revolution in Indian Country: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities (1995) Joseph R. Fischer A Well-Executed Failure: The Sullivan Campaign against the Iroquois JulySeptember 1779 (1997). Calloway (1995) p. 290 Smith Dwight L. (1989). "A North American Neutral Indian Zone: Persistence of a British Idea". Northwest Ohio Quarterly 61 (24): 4663.  Francis M. Carroll A Good and Wise Measure: The Search for the Canadian-American Boundary 17831842 (2001) p. 23 Revolutionary War: The Home Front The Library of Congress Davis p. 148 Davis p. 149 Schama pp. 28-30 p. 78-90 Stanley Weintraub Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom Britain's Quagmire 1775-1783 (2005) p. 7 Schama p. 75 Hochschild p.50-51 Peter Kolchin American Slavery: 1619-1877 New York: Hill and Wang 1993 p. 73 Kolchin American Slavery p. 73 Hill (2007) see also blackloyalist.com Kolchin American Slavery p. 77 a b Kolchin American Slavery p. 81 Kolchin American Slavery p. 78 Morrisey p.35 Harvey. "A few bloody noses" (2002) pp. 208-210 Urban p.74 Miller (1948) p. 87 Larry G. Bowman Captive Americans: Prisoners During the American Revolution (1976) John C. Miller Triumph of Freedom 17751783 (1948) p. 166. Paul Kennedy The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1987) pp. 81 119 John Brewer The sinews of power: war money and the English state 1688-1783 (1990) p 91 Curtis P. Nettels The Emergence of a National Economy 1775-1815 (1962) pp 23-44 Charles Rappleye Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution (2010) pp 225-52 Oliver Harry Chitwood A History of Colonial America (1961) pp 586-589 Ralph Volney Harlow "Aspects of Revolutionary Finance 1775-1783" American Historical Review Vol. 35 No. 1 (Oct. 1929) pp. 46-68 in JSTOR Erna Risch Supplying Washington's Army (1982) E. Wayne Carp To Starve the Army at Pleasure: Continental Army Administration and American Political Culture 1775-1783 (1990) E. James Ferguson The power of the purse: A history of American public finance 1776-1790 (1961) a b Nevins (1927); Greene and Pole (1994) chapter 29 Nevins (1927) Jensen The Founding of a Nation (1968) pp. 678-9 Maier American Scripture (1997) pp. 41-46 Greene and Pole (1994) chapter 30 Klos President Who Forgotten Founders (2004) Schecter Barnet. The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution. (2002) McCullough 1776 (2005) a b c Hamilton The Papers of Alexander Hamilton (1974) p. 28 Stanley Weintraub Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom Britain's Quagmire 1775-1783 (2005) p. 151 Mackesy The War for America (1993) p. 568 a b Higginbotham The War of American Independence (1983) p. 83 Crow and Tise The Southern Experience in the American Revolution (1978) p. 157-9 Henry Lumpkin From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South (2000) Harvey p.493-95 Harvey p.502-06 Harvey p.515 Harvey p.528 A final naval battle was fought on March 10 1783 by Captain John Barry and the crew of the USS Alliance who defeated three British warships led by HMS Sybille. Martin I. J. Griffin The Story of Commodore John Barry (2010) pp 218-23 Jonathan R. Dull The French Navy and American Independence (1975) p. 248 Richard H. Kohn Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment in America 1783-1802 (1975) pp 17-39 Miller (1948) pp. 61648 William Hague William Pitt the Younger (2004) Jeremy Black George III: Americas Last King(2006) Greene and Pole eds. Companion to the American Revolution pp. 557-624 Richard B. Morris The Forging of the Union: 1781-1789 (1987) pp 245-266 Morris The Forging of the Union: 1781-1789 pp 300-13 Morris The Forging of the Union 1781-1789 pp 300-22 Jensen The New Nation (1950) p. 379 Joseph J. Ellis His Excellency: George Washington (2004) p 204 W. Stewart Wallace ;The United Empire Loyalists: A Chronicle of the Great Migration (Toronto 1914) online edition Van Tine American Loyalists (1902) p 307 David McCullough John Adams (2001) Greene The American Revolution (2000) pp. 93-102 Wood The American Revolution: A History (2003) Wood The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992) pp. 278-9 Palmer (1959) Palmer (1959); Greene and Pole (1994) ch 5355 Palmer (1959); Greene and Pole (1994) chapters 4952 Center for History and New Media Liberty equality fraternity (2010) Greene and Pole p. 409 453-54 References Bailyn Bernard (1992). The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674443020. http://books.google.com/idEjJHUVVzDR8C&printsecfrontcover&dq%22The+Ideological+Origins+of+the+American+Revolution%22#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Becker Carl (1922). The Declaration of Independence: a Study in the History of Political Ideas. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company. ISBN 0394700600. http://files.libertyfund.org/files/1177/0034Bk.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Berkin Carol (2006). Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 9781400075324. http://www.amazon.com/Revolutionary-Mothers-Struggle-Americas-Independence/dp/1400075327. Retrieved 2010-10-03.  Boorstin Daniel J. (1953). The Genius of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226064913. http://books.google.com/idVw4U4GJJZBIC&printsecfrontcover&dq0226064913#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-03.  Brinkley Douglas (2010). "The Sparck of Rebellion". American Heritage Magazine 59 (4). ISSN 0002-8738. http://staging.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2010/4/2010433print.shtml. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Burrows Edwin G.; Wallace Michael (1972). "The American Revolution: The Ideology and Psychology of National Liberation". Perspectives in American History 6: 167305.  Calhoon Robert M. (1992). "Loyalism and Neutrality". In Greene Jack P.; Pole J.R.. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Limited. ISBN 9781557862440. OCLC 94003190. http://www.amazon.com/Blackwell-Encyclopedia-American-Revolution-Greene/dp/1557862443. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Center for History and New Media (2010). "Liberty equality fraternity: exploring the French Revolution. Chapter 3: Enlightenment and human rights". Fairfax Virginia: George Mason University. http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap3a.html. Retrieved 2010-10-11.  Chisick Harvey (2005). Historical Dictionary of the Enlightenment. pp. 3134. ISBN 9780810850972. http://books.google.com/id5N-wqTXwiU0C&printsecfrontcover&dqHistorical+Dictionary+of+the+Enlightenment#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Crow Jeffrey J.; Tise Larry E. eds (1978). The Southern Experience in the American Revolution. Chapel Hill North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807813133. http://www.questia.com/read/104464395. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Ferguson Robert A. (2000). "The Commonalities of Common Sense". The William and Mary Quarterly 57 (3): 465504. doi:10.2307/2674263. ISSN 0043-5597. JSTOR 2674263.  Fifth Virginia Convention (1776). "Preamble and Resolution of the Virginia Convention May 15 1776". New Haven CT: Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18thcentury/const02.asp. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Greene Jack P.; Pole J.R. eds (1992). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Limited. ISBN 9781557862440. http://www.amazon.com/Blackwell-Encyclopedia-American-Revolution-Greene/dp/1557862443. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Greene Jack P.; Pole J.R. eds (2003). A Companion to the American Revolution. Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Limited. ISBN 9781405116749. http://books.google.com/id7zml5Ob5PtkC&printsecfrontcover&dqA+Companion+to+the+American+Revolution#vonepage&q&ftrue. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Greene Jack P. (2000). "The American Revolution". The American Historical Review 105 (1): 93102. doi:10.2307/2652437. ISSN 1937-5239. JSTOR 2652437. http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/105.1/ah000093.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Griffin Martin Ignatius Joseph (1903). Commodore John Barry: "the father of the American navy". Philadelphia: self-published. http://books.google.com/idl8DZp4n220YC&dqintitle:john+intitle:barry. Retrieved 2010-10-04.  Hamilton Alexander (1974). Syrett Harold C.. ed. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton. XX. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231089198. http://books.google.com/idOqtBwNNRGi8C&pgPA28&lpgPA28&dq%22Treaty+of+Amity+and+Commerce%22+between+Sweden+and+United+States+1788#vonepage&q%22Treaty%20of%20Amity%20and%20Commerce%22%20between%20Sweden%20and%20United%20States%201788&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-04.  Higginbotham Don (1983). The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes Policies and Practice 17631789. Boston: Northeastern University Press. ISBN 9780025514607. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idxcacls;idnoheb01365.0001.001. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Hull N.E.H.; Hoffer Peter C.; Allen Steven L. (1978). "Choosing Sides: A Quantitative Study of the Personality Determinants of Loyalist and Revolutionary Political Affiliation in New York". Journal of American History 65 (2): 34466. doi:10.2307/1894084. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 1894084.  Jensen Merrill (2004). The Founding of a Nation: a History of the American Revolution 17631776. Indianapolis Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 0872207064. http://books.google.com/idpeTnoR-PdAC&printsecfrontcover&dqThe+Founding+of+a+Nation:+A+History+of+the+American+Revolution+1763%E2%80%931776#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Jensen Merrill (1950). The New Nation: a History of the United States during the Confederation 1781-1789. New York: Random House Inc.. ISBN 9780394705279. http://www.amazon.com/New-Nation-History-Confederation-1781-1789/dp/0394705270. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Kerber Linda K. (1997). Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America. Chapel Hill North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807846322. http://www.amazon.com/Women-Republic-Intellect-Revolutionary-Institute/dp/0807846325. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Klos Stanley L. (2004). President Who Forgotten Founders. Pittsburgh: Evisum Inc.. ISBN 9780975262757. http://books.google.com/idREu-AQAACAAJ&dq0975262750. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Labaree Leonard Woods (1948). Conservatism in Early American History (Anson G. Phelps lectureship on early American history). Ithaca New York: Cornell University Press. http://www.amazon.com/Conservatism-American-history-Phelps-lectureship/dp/B0007EHCJ6. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Lee Richard Henry (1776). "Lee's Resolutions". New Haven CT: Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18thcentury/lee.asp. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Mackesy Piers (1993). The War for America: 17751783. Lincoln Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 083281927. http://books.google.com/booksid6ABz6v0Pb0C&pgPR3&dq22The+War+for+America:+1775%E2%80%931783%22&hlen&eiTV2nTNHOFMSAlAfev4y0DA&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCwQ6AEwAA#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Maier Pauline (1997). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780679454922. http://books.google.com/idnm4rAQAAIAAJ&qAmerican+Scripture:+Making+the+Declaration+of+Independence&dqAmerican+Scripture:+Making+the+Declaration+of+Independence. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Maier Pauline (1991). From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain 17651776. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc.. ISBN 9780393308259. http://books.google.com/id-aQuIbSA19YC&printsecfrontcover&dq9780393308259#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Shalhope Robert E. (1972). "Toward a Republican Synthesis". The William and Mary Quarterly 29 (1): 4980. ISSN 0043-5597. http://www.littlejohnexplorers.com/republicanism/shalhope1.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Shy John (2008). Toward Lexington: The Role of the British Army in the Coming of the American Revolution. Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781597404143. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idxcacls;idnoheb00439. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Stephens Otis H.; Glenn Richard A. (2006). Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Rights and Liberties under the Law. Santa Barbara California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851095032. http://books.google.com/idYT5q2EKxrpIC&pgPR3&dq%22Unreasonable+Searches+and+Seizures:+Rights+and+Liberties+under+the+Law%22#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-07.  Warren Charles (1945). "Fourth of July Myths". The William and Mary Quarterly 2 (3): 237272. doi:10.2307/1921451. ISSN 0043-5597. JSTOR 1921451.  Wood Gordon S. (1966). "Rhetoric and Reality in the American Revolution". The William and Mary Quarterly 23 (1): 332. doi:10.2307/2936154. ISSN 0043-5597. JSTOR 2936154.  Wood Gordon S. (1993). The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 9780679736882. http://www.amazon.com/Radicalism-American-Revolution-Gordon-Wood/dp/0679736883. Retrieved 2010-10-04.  Wood Gordon S. (2003). The American Revolution: A History. New York: Modern Library. ISBN 9780812970418. http://books.google.com/id62pyqvDuDMUC&pgPP1&dq%22The+American+Revolution:+A+History%22#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Wraight Christopher D. (2008). Rousseau's The Social Contract: A Reader's Guide. London: Continuum Books. ISBN 9780826498601. http://books.google.com/idUcEjAQAAIAAJ&q%22Rousseau's+The+Social+Contract:+A+Reader's+Guide%22+Wraight+2008&dq%22Rousseau's+The+Social+Contract:+A+Reader's+Guide%22+Wraight+2008. Retrieved 2010-10-04.  Bibliography Reference works Barnes Ian and Charles Royster. The Historical Atlas of the American Revolution (2000) maps and commentary excerpt and text search Blanco Richard L.; Sanborn Paul J. (1993). The American Revolution 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.. ISBN 9780824056230. http://www.amazon.com/American-Revolution-1775-1783-Encyclopedia-Humanities/dp/082405623X. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Boatner Mark Mayo III (1974). Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (2 ed.). New York: Charles Scribners and Sons. ISBN 9780684315133. http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-American-Revolution-Library-Military/dp/0684315130. Retrieved 2010-10-02.  Cappon Lester J. Atlas of Early American History: The Revolutionary Era 1760-1790 (1976) Fremont-Barnes Gregory and Richard A. Ryerson eds. The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political Social and Military History (5 vol. 2006) 1000 entries by 150 experts covering all topics Greene Jack P. and J. R. Pole eds. A Companion to the American Revolution (2004) 777pp an expanded edition of Greene and Pole eds. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (1994); comprehensive coverage of political and social themes and international dimension; thin on military Purcell L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution (1993); 1500 short biographies Resch John P. ed. Americans at War: Society Culture and the Homefront vol 1 (2005) articles by scholars Symonds Craig L. and William J. Clipson. A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution (1986) new diagrams of each battle Surveys of the era Axelrod Alan. The Real History of the American Revolution: A New Look at the Past (2009) well-illustrated popular history Bancroft George. History of the United States of America from the discovery of the American continent. (185478) vol 410 online edition classic 19th century narrative; highly detailed Black Jeremy. War for America: The Fight for Independence 1775-1783 (2001) 266pp; by leading British scholar Brown Richard D. and Thomas Paterson eds. Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution 1760-1791: Documents and Essays (2nd ed. 1999) Cogliano Francis D. Revolutionary America 17631815; A Political History (2nd ed. 2008) British textbook Ellis Joseph J. American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic (2008) excerpt and text search Higginbotham Don. The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes Policies and Practice 17631789 (1983) Online in ACLS Humanities E-book Project; comprehensive coverage of military and domestic aspects of the war. Jensen Merrill. The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 17631776. (2004) Knollenberg Bernhard. Growth of the American Revolution: 17661775 (2003) Lecky William Edward Hartpole. The American Revolution 17631783 (1898) older British perspective online edition Mackesy Piers. The War for America: 17751783 (1992) British military study online edition Middlekauff Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution 17631789 (Oxford History of the United states 2005). online edition Miller John C. Triumph of Freedom 17751783 (1948) online edition Miller John C. Origins of the American Revolution (1943) online edition to 1775 Rakove Jack N. Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America (2010) interpretation by leading scholar excerpt and text search Weintraub Stanley. Iron Tears: Rebellion in America 177583 (2005) excerpt and text search popular Wood Gordon S. Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different (2007) Wrong George M. Washington and His Comrades in Arms: A Chronicle of the War of Independence (1921) online short survey by Canadian scholar online Specialized studies Bailyn Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. (Harvard University Press 1967). ISBN 0-674-44301-2 Becker Carl. The Declaration of Independence: A Study on the History of Political Ideas (1922)online edition famous classic Berkin Carol.Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence (2006) Breen T. H. The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence (2005) Breen T. H. American Insurgents American Patriots: The Revolution of the People (2010) 337 pages; examines rebellions in 1774-76 including loosely organized militants took control before elected safety committees emerged. Chernow Ron. Washington: A Life (2010) detailed biography Crow Jeffrey J. and Larry E. Tise eds. The Southern Experience in the American Revolution (1978) Fischer David Hackett. Paul Revere's Ride (1995) Minutemen in 1775 Fischer David Hackett. Washington's Crossing (2004). 1776 campaigns; Pulitzer prize. ISBN 0-195-17034-2 Freeman Douglas Southall. Washington (1968) Pulitzer Prize; abridged version of 7 vol biography Kerber Linda K. Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (1979) Kidd Thomas S. God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (2010) McCullough David. 1776 (2005). ISBN 0-7432-2671-2; highly readable narrative of the year Maier Pauline. American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (1998) excerpt and text search Nash Gary B. The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America. (2005). ISBN 0-670-03420-7 Nevins Allan; The American States during and after the Revolution 17751789 1927. online edition Norton Mary Beth. Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women 17501800 (1980) Palmer Robert R. The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America 17601800. vol 1 (1959) online edition Resch John Phillips and Walter Sargent eds. War and Society in the American Revolution: Mobilization and Home Fronts (2006) Rothbard Murray Conceived in Liberty (2000) Volume III: Advance to Revolution 17601775 and Volume IV: The Revolutionary War 17751784. ISBN 0-945466-26-9 libertarian perspective Schecter Barnet. The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution. (2002). ISBN 0-8027-1374-2 Van Tyne Claude Halstead. American Loyalists: The Loyalists in the American Revolution (1902) online edition Volo James M. and Dorothy Denneen Volo. Daily Life during the American Revolution (2003) Wahlke John C. ed. The Causes of the American Revolution (1967) readings Wood Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution: How a Revolution Transformed a Monarchical Society into a Democratic One Unlike Any That Had Ever Existed. (1992) by a leading scholar Primary sources The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence (2001) Library of America 880pp Commager Henry Steele and Morris Richard B. eds. The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six: The Story of the American Revolution As Told by Participants (1975) (ISBN 0-06-010834-7) short excerpts from hundreds of official and unofficial primary sources Dann John C. ed. The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (1999) excerpt and text search recollections by ordinary soldiers Humphrey Carol Sue ed. The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 to 1800 (2003) 384pp; newspaper accounts excerpt and text search Jensen Merill ed. Tracts of the American Revolution 1763-1776 (1967). American pamphlets Jensen Merill ed. English Historical Documents: American Colonial Documents to 1776: Volume 9 (1955) 890pp; major collection of important documents Morison Samuel E. ed. Sources and Documents Illustrating the American Revolution 17641788 and the Formation of the Federal Constitution (1923). 370 pp online version Tansill Charles C. ed.; Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States. Govt. Print. Office. (1927). 1124 pages online version Martin Kallich and Andrew MacLeish eds. The American Revolution through British eyes (1962) primary documents External links Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution Pictures of the Revolutionary War: Select Audiovisual Records National Archives and Records Administration selection of images including a number of non-military events and portraits American Revolution Digital Learning Project New-York Historical Society PBS Television Series Smithsonian study unit on Revolutionary Money The American Revolution: Lighting Freedom's Flame US National Park Service website Honored Places: The National Park Service Teachers Guide to the American Revolution Haldimand Collection Letters regarding the war to important generals. Fully indexed "Military History of Revolution" with links to documents maps URLs American Independence Museum Black Loyalist Heritage Society Spanish and Latin American contribution to the American Revolution American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution at Northern Illinois University Libraries American Revolution study guide and teacher resources AmericanRevolution.Org Resource for pre collegiate historical educational institutions The American Revolution the History Channel (US cable television) website v d eOrigins of the American Revolution: writings American resolves declarations petitions essays and pamphlets prior to the Declaration of Independence (July 1776) Following the Stamp Act (1765) Virginia Resolves (May 1765)  Braintree Instructions (September 1765)  Declaration of Rights and Grievances (October 1765)  An Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies (1766) Following the Townshend Acts (1767) Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767)  Massachusetts Circular Letter (February 1768)  Boston Pamphlet (1772)  Sheffield Declaration (January 1773) Following the Coercive Acts (1774) Maryland Chestertown Resolves (May 1774)  Bush River Resolution (March 1775) Massachusetts Suffolk Resolves (September 1774) New York Orangetown Resolutions (July 1774) North Carolina Mecklenburg Resolves or Declaration (May 1775)  Liberty Point Resolves (June 1775)  Tryon Resolves (August 1775)  Halifax Resolves (April 1776) Virginia Fairfax Resolves (July 1774)  Hanover Resolves (July 1774)  Fincastle Resolutions (January 1775)  Virginia Declaration of Rights (June 1776) 1st Continental Congress Declaration and Resolves (October 1774)  Continental Association (October 1774)  Petition to the King (October 1774) 2nd Continental Congress Olive Branch Petition (July 1775)  Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 1775)  Lee Resolution (July 1776) Essays and pamphlets A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)  Novanglus (1775)  Common Sense (1776)  Thoughts on Government (1776) v d eBritish law and the American Revolution Royal Proclamations Acts of Parliament and other legal issues relating to the American Revolution Before 1763 Navigation Acts  Wool Act 1699  Hat Act (1732)  Molasses Act (1733)  Iron Act (1750) Grenville ministry (17631765) Royal Proclamation of 1763  Sugar Act (1764)  Currency Act (1764)  Quartering Act (1765)  Stamp Act 1765 Rockingham ministry (17651766) Repeal Act (March 1766)  Declaratory Act (March 1766)  Revenue Act (June 1766) Chatham and Grafton ministries (17661770) Townshend Acts (1767) North ministry (17701782) Repeal Act (1770)  Tea Act (1773)  Coercive Acts (1774)  Restraining Acts (March & April 1775)  Proclamation of Rebellion (August 1775)  Prohibitory Act (December 1775)  Taxation of Colonies Act 1778 Other legal issues Rights of Englishmen  Writ of assistance  Admiralty courts  Parson's Cause (1763)  Taxation without representation v d e United States  (Outline) History Timeline Pre-Columbian era  Colonial era (Thirteen Colonies  Colonial American military history)  American Revolution (War)  Federalist Era  War of 1812  Territorial acquisitions  Territorial evolution  MexicanAmerican War  Civil War  Reconstruction era  Indian Wars  Gilded Age  African-American Civil Rights Movement (18961954)  SpanishAmerican War  Imperialism  World War I  Roaring Twenties  Great Depression  World War II (Home front)  Cold War  Korean War  Space Race  African-American Civil Rights Movement (19551968)  Feminist Movement  Vietnam War  Post-Cold War (1991present)  War on Terror (War in Afghanistan  Iraq War) Topics Demographic  Discoveries  Economic  Inventions (before 1890  18901945  19461991  after 1991)  Military  Postal  Technological and industrial Federal government     Law Constitution   Federalism   Preemption   Separation of powers Bill of Rights   Civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Legislature - Congress Senate   Vice President   President pro tem House of Representatives   Speaker Executive - President Executive Office Cabinet / Executive departments Civil service Independent agencies Law enforcement  Public policy Judiciary - Supreme Court Federal courts Courts of appeal District courts Intelligence Intelligence Community   Central Intelligence Agency   Defense Intelligence Agency   National Security Agency Armed Forces Department of Defense   Air Force   Army   Marine Corps   Navy   National Guard Department of Homeland Security   Coast Guard Politics Divisions  Elections (Electoral College)  Foreign policy  Foreign relations  Ideologies  Local governments  Parties (Democratic Party  Republican Party  Third parties)  Political status of Puerto Rico  Red states and blue states  Scandals  State governments  Uncle Sam Geography Cities towns and villages  Counties  Extreme points  Islands  Mountains (Peaks  Appalachian  Rocky)  National Park System  Regions (Great Plains  Mid-Atlantic  Midwestern  New England  Northwestern  Southern  Southwestern  Pacific  Western)  Rivers (Colorado  Columbia  Mississippi  Missouri  Ohio  Rio Grande)  States  Territory  Water supply and sanitation Economy Agriculture  Banking  Communications  Companies  Dollar  Energy  Federal Budget  Federal Reserve System  Financial position  Insurance  Mining  Public debt  Taxation  Tourism  Trade  Transportation  Wall Street Society Topics Crime  Demographics  Education  Family structure  Health care  Health insurance  Incarceration  Languages (American English  Spanish  French)  Media  People  Public holidays  Religion  Sports Social class Affluence  American Dream  Educational attainment  Homelessness  Homeownership  Household income  Income inequality  Middle class  Personal income  Poverty  Professional and working class conflict  Standard of living  Wealth Culture Architecture  Art  Cinema  Cuisine  Dance  Fashion  Flag  Folklore  Literature  Music  Philosophy  Radio  Television  Theater Issues Abortion  Affirmative action  Anti-Americanism  Capital punishment  Drug policy  Energy policy  Environmental movement  Exceptionalism  Gun politics  Health care reform  Human rights  Immigration  Illegal Immigration  LGBT rights (Same-sex marriage)  Obesity  Racism  Terrorism Book  Category  Portal  WikiProject