American Revolutionary War

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The American Revolutionary War was a war fought between Great Britain and the original Thirteen Colonies in North America from 1775 to 1783. Most of the fighting was in North America and some other places. The Continental Army, the rebel army, was led by George Washington and helped by France and Spain. They defeated the British Army after the British moved their attention to other matters.

After the war ended, the Thirteen Colonies became independent, which meant that the British Empire was no longer in charge of them. They became the first 13 states of a new country which they called the United States.

Before the American Revolutionary War, another war occurred called the French and Indian War. The French and Indian war was fought between France and Britain and started in 1754. Britain lost a lot of money from this, so they began taxing Americans to gain it back.

The war started after years of problems between the British Empire and the colonists of North America after the French and Indian War (also called the Seven Years' War). People in the Thirteen Colonies disliked many of the actions of the British government, such as the Intolerable Acts. For many years, the British government decided the countries that could trade with the colonies instead of letting the colonies decide for themselves. Many colonists wanted free trade.

In 1765, the British Parliament needed money to pay back the debt for the French and Indian War. They passed a Law called the Stamp Act. This law said that colonists had to buy stamps for legal papers, newspapers, and even playing cards, as other British people did. The money from the stamps went to the King. The colonies did not follow this law. The colonies kept refusing to do what the King wanted. The Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre caused people to become more angry about the situation. The British sent more soldiers (who were called Red Coats by the colonists to insult them) to keep control of the colonies and they sometimes had to fight. In 1774, the British passed the Coercive Acts, rebelliously named the Intolerable Acts, to punish the colonists in Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

Not all colonists wanted to leave the British Empire. The Loyalists, or Tories, stayed loyal to Great Britain. They were not going to change their views. The Patriots, or Whigs, wanted independence. Before the Revolutionary War, most people in America were Loyalists; but after it, most people were Patriots.

Many colonists wrote letters showing how they felt. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, a famous pamphlet about independence from Britain. Other colonial leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson wanted independence.