Encyclopedia
The
American Revolution was a political movement that ended
British control of the south-eastern coastal area of
North America, resulting in the formation of the
United States of America in 1776 and sparking the
American Revolutionary War.
The Revolution also involved a series of broad intellectual and social shifts that occurred in American society as new republican ideals took hold in the population. In some states , sharp political debates broke out over the role that
democracy should play in government. The American shift to republicanism and gradually expanding democracy was an upheaval of the traditional social hierarchy; the new republican ethic formed the core of American political values.
Most historians agree that the revolutionary era began in 1763, when Britain defeated
France in the
French and Indian War and the military threat to the colonies from France ended. The end of the Revolution is usually marked by the Treaty of Paris in 1783, with the recognition of the United States as an independent nation. However, references to the "revolutionary era" sometimes stretch to 1789, when the new national government under
George Washington began operating.
Interpretations about the effect of the revolution vary. At one end of the spectrum is the older view that the American Revolution was not "revolutionary" at all, that it did not radically transform colonial society but simply replaced a distant government with a local one. The more recent view pioneered by historians such as
Bernard Bailyn, Gordon Wood and Edmund Morgan is that the American Revolution was a unique and radical event that produced deep changes and had a profound impact on world affairs, based on an increasing belief in the principles of republicanism, such as peoples' natural rights, and a system of laws chosen by the people.
Origins: Republican ideology
Intellectually, the Americans were primarily influenced by the "country" party in English politics, which denounced the corruption surrounding the "court" party in
London. This approach produced a political ideology called "republicanism", which was widespread in America by 1775. Influenced greatly by the Radical Whigs, whose critique of British government emphasized that
corruption was to be feared, the colonists associated the "court" with luxury and inherited aristocracy, which Americans increasingly condemned. Corruption was the greatest possible evil, and
civic virtue required men to put civic goals ahead of their personal desires. Men had to volunteer to fight for their country. For women, "republican motherhood" became an ideal, as 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. The "
Founding Fathers" were strong advocates of republicanism, especially
Samuel Adams,
Patrick Henry,
George Washington,
Alexander Hamilton,
Thomas Jefferson,
James Madison,
Thomas Paine,
Benjamin Franklin, and
John Adams.
A second stream of thought growing in significance was the liberalism of
John Locke, including his theory of the "social contract". It implied the natural right of the people to overthrow their leaders, should those leaders betray the agreements implicit in the sovereign-follower relationship. Historians find little trace of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's influence in America. In terms of writing state and national constitutions, the Americans used
Montesquieu's analysis of the ideally "balanced" British Constitution. But first and last came a commitment to republicanism, as shown by many historians such as
Bernard Bailyn and Gordon S. Wood.
Origins: Taxation without Representation
By 1763, Great Britain possessed a vast holding on the North American continent. In addition to the thirteen colonies, sixteen smaller colonies were ruled directly by royal governors. Victory in the
Seven Years' War had given Great Britain
New France ,
Spanish Florida, and the
Native American lands east of the
Mississippi River. A war against France's former Indian allies —
Pontiac's Rebellion solidified the western frontier. At this time, the colonists considered themselves loyal subjects of the British Crown, with the same historic rights and obligations as subjects in Britain.
The British government sought to tax its vast North American possessions, primarily to help pay for its past wars, most of the costs of which occurred in Europe. The new tax policies that were implemented served to stabilize the Empire's finances. The policies also aimed to curtail smuggling, especially in the colonies of the West Indies, and to ensure exclusive trade with Britain . The problem was that Britain refused to consult with the colonies about taxes, thereby violating the historic British principle of "
no taxation without representation." London said the Americans were "virtually" represented, and did not need to be consulted; but most Americans rejected that theory.
In theory, Great Britain already regulated the economies of the colonies through the Navigation Acts according to the doctrines of mercantilism, which said that anything that benefited the Empire was good policy. Widespread evasion of these laws had long been tolerated. Now, through the use of open-ended search warrants , strict enforcement became the practice. In 1761,
Massachusetts lawyer
James Otis argued that the writs violated the constitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case, but
John Adams later wrote, "American independence was then and there born."
In 1763,
Patrick Henry argued the Parson's Cause case. Clerical pay had been tied to the price of tobacco by
Virginia legislation. When the price of tobacco skyrocketed after a bad crop in 1758, the
Virginia legislature passed the Two-Penny Act to stop clerical salaries from inflating as well but in 1763,
King George III vetoed the Two-Penny Act. Patrick Henry defended the law in court and argued "that a King, by disallowing Acts of this salutary nature, from being the father of his people, degenerated into a Tyrant and forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience."
In 1764, 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 colonists had a new slogan, "
no taxation without representation," meaning only their colonial assemblies, and not
Parliament, could levy taxes on them. Committees of correspondence were formed in the colonies to coordinate resistance to paying the taxes. In previous years, the colonies had shown little inclination towards collective action. Prime Minister
George Grenville's policies were bringing them together.
Stamp Act 1765
Trouble came in three waves. The first wave hit in 1765 and was characterized by massive unrest and rioting throughout the 13 colonies. Parliament under Grenville passed the Stamp Act as a way to finance the quartering of 10,000 troops in North America. Colonists complained the main role of the soldiers troops was to defend the government against the colonists. The Stamp Act taxed everyone by requiring all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards in the colonies to carry a tax stamp purchased from royal officials.
Colonial protest was widespread. Secret societies known as the
Sons of Liberty were formed in every colony, and used propaganda, intimidation, and mob violence to prevent the enforcement of the Stamp Act. The furor culminated with the "Stamp Act Congress", bringing together delegates from the colonies who sent a formal protest to Parliament in October 1765. Parliament repealed the hated Stamp Act but pointedly passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its authority over the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” It's interesting to note, however, that not one single "stamp" was issued during the whole that the stamp act was in effect.
The second wave of protest came in 1767, when Parliament passed the Townshend Acts. This was a tax on everyday goods shipped to the colonies from Britain, including glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. There was no rioting this time; instead colonial leaders organized boycotts of these British imports. Merchants stopped importing the items, which proved a major blow to merchants and manufacturers in England. In June 1768, the
Liberty, a ship belonging to colonial merchant
John Hancock and suspected of smuggling, was seized by customs officials in Boston. Angry protests on the street led customs officials, fearing for their safety, to report to London that Boston was in a state of insurrection. The British sent more soldiers to Boston. Tensions continued to mount, culminating in the "
Boston Massacre" on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers of the
29th Regiment of Foot fired into an angry mob, killing five. Local agitators, especially
Samuel Adams, used the event to stir up popular resistance, but, after the trial of the soldiers, who were defended by
John Adams, tensions diminished.
The Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770, and it was still possible that further troubles with the colonies might be avoided. However, the third wave of protest came because the British government deliberately left one tax from the Townshend Acts in place as a symbolic gesture of their right to tax the colonies—the tax on tea. For the revolutionaries, who stood firmly on the principle that only their colonial representatives could levy taxes on them, it was still "one tax too many". Protests up and down the colonies resulted in no tea being brought in, except in Boston. Outraged Bostonians on Dec. 16, 1773, staged the
Boston Tea Party, in which men disguised in Indian costumes dumped the tea into Boston Harbor. The King decided that act of defiance had to be punished severely.
Western land dispute
The
Proclamation of 1763 restricted American movement across the
Appalachian Mountains. Regardless, groups of settlers continued to move west. The proclamation was soon modified and was no longer a hindrance to settlement, but its promulgation without consulting Americans angered the colonists. The Quebec Act of 1774 extended
Quebec's boundaries to the
Ohio River, and seemed to turn the west over to the
Catholics in Quebec. By then, however, the Americans had scant regard for new laws from London—they were organizing at the local and colonial level for war.
Crises, 1772–1775
While there were many causes of the American Revolution, it was a series of specific events, or crises, that finally triggered the outbreak of war.
In June 1772, in what became known as the
Gaspée Affair, a British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations was burned by American patriots. Soon afterwards, Governor
Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts reported that he and the royal judges would be paid directly by London, thus bypassing the colonial legislature. In late 1772, Samuel Adams set about creating new Committees of Correspondence that would link together patriots in all 13 colonies and eventually provide the framework for a rebel government. In early 1773 Virginia, the largest colony, set up its Committee of Correspondence, including Patrick Henry and
Thomas Jefferson.
Most serious of all was the
Boston Tea Party. The "Tea Act", passed by Parliament in 1773, allowed the
British East India Company to sell tea without the usual colonial tax, thereby allowing it to undercut the prices of the colonial merchants. Americans were outraged that it imposed a monopoly, again without consultation. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty dressed up like Indians and dumped all the tea into the Boston harbor.
London immediately responded with the
Intolerable Acts, called by the British the "Coercive Acts" or "Punitive Acts", a series of laws, passed by Parliament in early 1774. Even worse Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act which stripped the people of the colony of self government, with local officials to be replaced by new royal officials. General
Thomas Gage was brought in to replace Hutchinson, effectively putting the colony under martial law. Gage discovered he was powerless outside Boston, as the people seized control in every town. Patriot calls for an intercolonial conference were answered by the First Continental Congress which began meeting in
Philadelphia and which soon became a de facto national government. All the colonies joined in boycotts of British merchandise, which was a heavy blow to the British business community.
The Intolerable Acts included:
- The Massachusetts Government Act, which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings;
- The Administration of Justice Act, which ordered that all British soldiers to be tried be arraigned in Britain, not the colonies;
- The Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until the British had been compensated for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party ; and
- The Quartering Act of 1774, which compelled the residents of Boston to house British regulars sent in to control the vicinity.
- The Quebec Act, while technically not one of the Coercive Acts, further upset the colonists by nullifying land claims and sending in Roman Catholics to the country outside of the Protestant colonies.
The First Continental Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, which declared the Intolerable Acts to be unconstitutional, called for the people to form
militias, and called for Massachusetts to form a Patriot government.
In response, primarily to the Massachusetts Government Act, the people of
Worcester set up an armed picket line in front of the local courthouse and refused to allow the British magistrates to enter. Similar events occurred, soon after, all across the colony. British troops were sent from England, but by the time they arrived, the entire colony of Massachusetts, with the exception of the heavily garrisoned city of Boston, had thrown off British control of local affairs.
Fighting begins at Lexington: 1775
The
Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19, 1775, when the British sent a regiment to confiscate arms and arrest revolutionaries in
Concord. It was the first fighting of the American Revolutionary War, and immediately the news aroused the 13 colonies to call out their militias and send troops to besiege Boston. By late spring 1776, with George Washington as commander, the Americans forced the British to evacuate Boston. The patriots were in control everywhere in the 13 states , and the states were ready to declare independence. While there still were many Loyalists, they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials had fled.
The
Second Continental Congress convened in 1775, after the war had started. 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." There would be no negotiations whatsoever until 1783.
Patriots
The revolutionaries, known as Patriots, Whigs, Congress Men or Americans included a full range of social and economic classes, but a unanimity regarding the need to defend the rights of Americans. After the War, Patriots such as George Washington,
James Madison, John Adams,
Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay for example, were deeply devoted to republicanism while also eager to build a rich and powerful nation, while Patriots such as Patrick Henry,
Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson represented democratic impulses and the agrarian plantation element that wanted a localized society with greater political equality.
Loyalists and neutrals
While there is no way of knowing the actual numbers, most likely 20% to 30% of the colonists remained loyal to the British Crown; these became known as Loyalists . Loyalists were older, less willing to break with old loyalties, often connected to the Anglican church, and included many established merchants with business connections across the Empire, for example
Thomas Hutchinson of Boston. Recent immigrants who had not been fully Americanized were also inclined to support the King, such as recent Scottish settlers in the back country.
Native Americans mostly rejected American pleas that they remain neutral. Most groups aligned themselves with the Empire. There were also incentives provided by both sides that helped to secure the affiliations of regional peoples and leaders, and the tribes that depended most heavily upon colonial trade tended to side with the revolutionaries, though political factors were important as well. The most prominent Native American leader siding with the Loyalists was Mohawk
Joseph Brant, who led frontier raids on isolated settlements in Pennsylvania and
New York until an American army under
John Sullivan secured New York in 1779, forcing all the Loyalist Indians permanently into
Canada.
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.
After the war, the great majority of Loyalists remained in America and resumed normal lives. Some, such as
Samuel Seabury, became prominent American leaders. A minority of about 50,000 to 75,000 Loyalists relocated to Canada, Britain or the
West Indies. When the Loyalists left the
South in 1783, they took about 75,000 of their slaves with them to the British West Indies.
Class differences among the Patriots
Historians such as J. Franklin Jameson in the early 20th century examined the class composition of the Patriot cause, looking for evidence that there was a class war inside the revolution. In the last 50 years historians have largely abandoned that interpretation, emphasizing instead the high level of ideological unity. Just as there were rich and poor Loyalists, the Patriots were a 'mixed lot', with the richer and better educated more likely to become officers in the Army. Ideological demands always came first: the Patriots viewed independence as a means of freeing themselves from British oppression and taxation and, above all, reasserting what they considered to be their rights. Most yeomen farmers, craftsmen and small merchants joined the patriot cause as well, demanding more political equality. They were especially successful in Pennsylvania and less so in New England, where John Adams attacked Thomas Paine's
Common Sense for the "absurd democratical notions" it proposed.
Women
The boycott of British goods would have been entirely unworkable without the willing participation of American women: women made the bulk of household purchases, and the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth. And since cloth was still a basic necessity, women would have to return to spinning and weaving—skills that had fallen into disuse. In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts, wove 20,522 yards of cloth.
As the Revolution progressed and economic disruption deepened, women participated directly in the food riots and
tarring and feathering that was the people's response to price gouging by merchants, Loyalist and Patriot alike. In August 1777, Thomas Boyleston, a Patriot merchant who was withholding coffee and sugar from the market waiting for prices to rise, was confronted by a crowd of 100 or more women, who seized the keys to his warehouse and distributed the coffee themselves while a large crowd stood by and watched, dumbfounded.
Creating new state constitutions
By summer 1776, the Patriots had control of all the territory and population; the Loyalists were powerless. All thirteen states had overthrown their existing governments, closing courts and driving British agents and governors from their homes. They had elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any legal framework; new constitutions were needed in each state to replace the superseded royal charters. They were states now, not colonies.
On January 5, 1776,
New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution, six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Then, in May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. Virginia,
South Carolina, and
New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4.
Rhode Island and
Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown.
The new states had to decide not only what form of government to create, they first had to decide how to select those who would craft the constitutions and how the resulting document would be ratified. In states where the wealthy exerted firm control over the process, such as Maryland, Virginia,
Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, the result was constitutions that featured
- Substantial property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions ;
- Bicameral legislatures, with the upper house as a check on the lower;
- Strong governors, with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority;
- Few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government;
- The continuation of state-established religion.
In states where the less affluent had organized sufficiently to have significant power—especially Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New Hampshire—the resulting constitutions embodied
- universal white manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office ;
- strong, unicameral legislatures;
- relatively weak governors, without veto powers, and little appointing authority;
- prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts;
- disestablishment of religion.
Whether conservatives or radicals held sway in a state did not mean that the side with less power accepted the result quietly. In Pennsylvania, the landowners horrified by their new constitution , while in Massachusetts, voters twice rejected the constitution that was presented for ratification; it was ultimately ratified only as a result of the legislature tinkering with the third vote. The radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution were to last only fourteen years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and 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.
Independence, 1776
Main article: American Revolutionary WarOn January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published a political pamphlet entitled
Common Sense arguing that the only solution to the problems with Britain was republicanism and independence from Great Britain.
On July 4, 1776, the
United States Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Second Continental Congress. The war began in 1775, while the declaration was issued in 1776. Until this point, the colonies sought favorable peace terms; a majority did not approve of an outright push for independence.
The
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the
Articles of Confederation, formed the first governing document of the
United States of America, combining the colonies into a loose confederation of sovereign states. The Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles on November 15, 1777.
War
British return: 1776-1777
The British returned in force in August 1776, engaging the fledgling
Continental Army for the first time in the largest action of the Revolution in the
Battle of Long Island. They eventually seized
New York City and nearly captured General Washington. They made the city their main political and military base, holding it until 1783. They also held New Jersey, but in a surprise attack, Washington crossed the
Delaware into New Jersey and defeated British armies at
Trenton and
Princeton, thereby reviving the Patriot cause and regaining New Jersey. In 1777, the British launched two uncoordinated attacks. The army based in New York City defeated Washington and captured the national capital at Philadelphia. Simultaneously a second army invaded from Canada with the goal of cutting off New England. It was trapped and captured at
Saratoga, New York, in October 1777. The victory encouraged the French to officially enter the war, as Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778. Later
Spain and the
Dutch became allies of the French, leaving Britain to fight a major war alone without major allies. The American theatre thus became only one front in Britain's war.
Because of the alliance 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 northern states. After an inconclusive engagement, the British successfully retreated to New York City. The northern war subsequently degenerated into a stalemate, as the focus of attention shifted to the southern theatre.
British attack the South, 1779-1781
In late December 1778, the British captured
Savannah and started moving north into South Carolina. They captured
Charleston and set up a network of forts inland, believing the Loyalists would rally to the flag. Not enough Loyalists turned out, however, and the British had to fight their way north into North Carolina and Virginia, where they expected to be rescued by the British fleet. That fleet was defeated by a French fleet, however. Trapped at
Yorktown, Virginia, the British surrendered their main combat army to Washington in October 1781. Although King George III wanted to fight on, his supporters lost control of Parliament, and the war effectively ended for America.
Peace treaty
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. The Native American nations actually living in this region were not a party to this treaty and had to be militarily defeated by the United States before they recognized it. Issues regarding debts were not resolved until the
Jay Treaty of 1795.
Aftermath of war
For two percent of the inhabitants of the United States, defeat was followed by exile. Approximately fifty thousand
United Empire Loyalists fled to the remaining British colonies in North America, such as the Province of Quebec, ,
Upper Canada ,
Prince Edward Island and
Nova Scotia.
Worldwide influence
The most radical impact was the sense that all men have an equal voice in government and that inherited status carried no political weight in the new republic. Thus came the widespread assertion of liberty, individual rights and equality which would prove core values to Americans. The greatest challenge to the old order in Europe was the idea that government should be by consent of the governed and the delegation of power to the government through written constitutions. The example of the first successful revolution against a European empire provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations.
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 liberation. Aftershocks reached
Ireland in the
1798 rising, in the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in the
Netherlands.
The Revolution had a strong, immediate impact in Great Britain,
Ireland, the
Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs had been openly indulgent to the Patriots in America, and the Revolution was the first lesson in politics for many European radicals who would later take on active roles during the era of the French Revolution. Jefferson's Declaration had on the French
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789.
The thinkers of the
Age of Enlightenment only wrote that common people had the right to overthrow unjust governments. The American Revolution was a case of practical success, which provided the rest of the world with a 'working model'.
American republicanism played a crucial role in the development of European liberalism, as noted by the great German historian
Leopold von Ranke in 1848:
- By abandoning English constitutionalism and creating a new republic based on the rights of the individual, the North Americans introduced a new force in the world. Ideas spread most rapidly when they have found adequate concrete expression. Thus republicanism entered our Romanic/Germanic world.... Up to this point, the conviction had prevailed in Europe that monarchy best served the interests of the nation. Now the idea spread that the nation should govern itself. But only after a state had actually been formed on the basis of the theory of representation did the full significance of this idea become clear. All later revolutionary movements have this same goal…. This was the complete reversal of a principle. Until then, a king who ruled by the grace of God had been the center around which everything turned. Now the idea emerged that power should come from below.... These two principles are like two opposite poles, and it is the conflict between them that determines the course of the modern world. In Europe the conflict between them had not yet taken on concrete form; with the French Revolution it did.
Nowhere was the influence of the American Revolution more profound than in
Latin America, where American writings and the model of colonies, which actually broke free and thrived decisively, shaped their struggle for independence. Historians of Latin America have identified many links to the U.S. model.
National debt
The national debt after the American Revolution fell into three categories. The first was the $11 million owed to foreigners—mostly debts to France during the American Revolution. The second and third—roughly $24 million each—were debts owed by the national and state governments to Americans who had sold food, guns, and other resources to the revolutionary forces. Congress agreed with some debate that the power and the authority of the new government would pay for the foreign debts. There was also other debts that consisted of promissary notes issued during the Revolutionary War to soldiers, merchants, and farmers who accepted these payments on the premise that the new Constitution would create a government that was likely to pay off the debts of the Revolutionary war.
The war expenses of the individual states were another issue. In the 1790s, it was ascertained that the states had contributed $114,407,297 to fighting the war while the central government had contributed but $36,742,599. In 1790, Congress combined the state debts with the foreign and domestic debts into one national debt totalling $80 million. Everyone received face value for wartime certificates, so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.
See also
Bibliography
Reference Works
- Blanco, Richard. The American Revolution: An Encyclopedia 2 vol , 1850 pages
- Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. ; revised 1974. ISBN 0-811-70578-1; new expanded edition 2006 ed. by Harold E. Selesky
- Greene, Jack P. and J. R. Pole, eds. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution , 845pp; emphasis on political ideas; revised edition titled A Companion to the American Revolution
- Purcell, L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution ; 1500 short biographies
- Resch, John P., ed. Americans at War: Society, Culture and the Homefront vol 1
Surveys
- Cogliano, Francis D. Revolutionary America, 1763-1815; A Political History , British textbook
- Higginbotham, Don. The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763-1789 Online in ACLS History E-book Project.
- Lecky, William Edward Hartpole. The American Revolution, 1763-1783 , British perspective
- Mackesy, Piers. The War for America: 1775-1783 , British military study
- Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789
- Miller, John C. Triumph of Freedom, 1775-1783
- Miller, John C. Origins of the American Revolution
- Wood, Gordon S. The American Revolution: A History , short survey
- short survey by Canadian scholar
Specialized studies
- Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 1967. ISBN 0-674-44301-2
- Breen, T. H. The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence
- Crow, Jeffrey J. and Larry E. Tise, eds. The Southern Experience in the American Revolution
- Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing , 1775 campaigns; Pulitzer prize
- Fitzpatrick, Alan. Wilderness War on the Ohio ; second edition 2005, 628 pages. ISBN 9-776-1470-0
- Freeman, Douglas Southall. Washington: An abridgement ed by Richard Harwell ; see also vol 3-4-5 of original 7 volume biography
- Kerber, Linda K. Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America
- McCullough, David. 1776 . ISBN 0-743-22671-2
- Nash, Gary B. The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America. . ISBN 0-670-03420-7
- Nevins, Allan; The American States during and after the Revolution, 1775-1789 1927.
- Norton, Mary Beth. Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800
- Resch, John Phillips and Walter Sargent, eds. War And Society in the American Revolution: Mobilization And Home Fronts
- Saunt, Claudio. A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733-1816 ; Native American attitudes during years of the revolution.
- Van Tyne, Claude Halstead. American Loyalists: The Loyalists in the American Revolution
- Volo, James M. and Dorothy Denneen Volo. Daily Life during the American Revolution
- Wahlke, John C. ed. The Causes of the American Revolution 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. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. ISBN 0-679-40493-7
Primary Sources
- The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence , 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
- Humphrey; Carol Sue, ed. The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 to 1800 Greenwood Press, 2003
- Morison, S. E. ed. Sources and Documents Illustrating the American Revolution, 1764-1788, and the Formation of the Federal Constitution
Additional Resources
See:
List of plays and films about the American RevolutionExternal links
