The American Revolution occurred during 1775 and lasted until 1783. It was a battle inflicted upon the colonists by Great Britain. The colonies were tired of being taxed, housing imperial forces, as well as, having civil liberties taken away, which resulted in them pursuing their independence. The beginning of the revolution can be summed up by these major points: The Stamp Act, Sons and Daughters of Liberty, The First Continental Congress, The Battle of Lexington and Concord, The Loyalists, Patriots and Neutralists, The Differences between the Armies, and The Olive Branch Petition. The first attempt to tax the colonists was the Sugar Act, and because of boycotts, England began imposing other taxes on the colonies.
Monday, June 29, 2009
The American Revolution occurred during 1775 and lasted until 1783. It was a battle inflicted upon the colonists by Great Britain. The colonies were tired of being taxed, housing imperial forces, as well as, having civil liberties taken away, which resulted in them pursuing their independence. The beginning of the revolution can be summed up by these major points: The Stamp Act, Sons and Daughters of Liberty, The First Continental Congress, The Battle of Lexington and Concord, The Loyalists, Patriots and Neutralists, The Differences between the Armies, and The Olive Branch Petition. The first attempt to tax the colonists was the Sugar Act, and because of boycotts, England began imposing other taxes on the colonies.
The Stamp Act
The purpose of the Stamp Act was to pay taxes on printed material such as newspapers, legal documents, dice and playing cards. They all required a government stamp to prove that taxes had been paid. This idea was introduced by George Grenville, the British Prime Minister, and passed by the British Parliament in 1765. The Stamp Act was already in place in Great Britain, and it eventually moved into America. This tax would raise money to help pay the cost of maintaining British soldiers in the colonies. The colonist did not agree with this because they did not see a reason for the British to be stationed in America since the French were no longer a threat. Because the Americans did not elect members of Parliament, it violated the new principle of “No taxation without representation.” Another concern was that they did not have the money to pay the tax. Delegates from nine colonial assembles came together in America to form the Stamp Act Congress who rejected the idea. Parliament cancelled the Stamp Act, but held on to the principle of its right to tax the colonists and adapt new taxes.-Written By: Marcie Surratt
The Sons and Daughters of Liberty
The Sons and Daughters of liberty were originally created in response to the Stamp Act place by parliament. The groups both men and women alike, were willing to resort to any means in order to bring an end to British tyranny. The Sons of Liberty had many rituals, code words, metals, and symbols. Threats and intimidations were their weapons against tax collectors and was the Sons of Liberty who ransacked the houses of British officials. The daughters of liberty are considered to have performed equally important task but the often upheld boycotts particularly where tea was concerned. They also work to make homemade substitutes for goods when nonimportation became the decided course of action. Basically the Sons and Daughters of Liberty were willing to do whatever it took to gain justice from the British colonies even if it meant resorting to violence so, there is no doubt that had the American Revolution failed they would have been considered violent misfits.
-Written By: Shantavia Hobbs
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was initially assembled to decide on a course of action that would be followed due to the current circumstances in the colony, those being: taxation, and the issue of Parliament overstepping its bounds. The members of the Continental Congress are as follows: Colo. George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Edmund Pendleton, Colo. Benjamin Harrison, Richard Bland, and at the head of them Peyton Randolph. All colonies except Georgia sent delegates, who had all been chosen by the people of the colonies or by their legislature. There was much debate that went on during the meeting of the First Continental Congress. However, since no clear course of action could be found, the First Continental Congress decided to meet the following year if England remained stubborn.-Written By: Jorge Granda
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
Through out the American Revolutionary war their were many significant battles but the first engagements were the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The battle took place on April 19, 1775 in the province of Massachusetts Bay. An army of 700 British troops that were led by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith were ordered to destroy military supplies stored by the Massachusetts militia. Because of the highly effective intelligence gathering by the militia they knew about the attack weeks before. Even with this information the militia had to retreat and lost lexington. But when the British reached Concord there were fought back by the minutemen. After the British had been defeated they retreated to Boston.-Written By: Zach Funk
Loyalists, Patriots, and Neutralists
Throughout the American Revolution, the colonists divided into three separate groups based on where their beliefs stood with the British. There were the Patriots, the Loyalists, and the Neutralists. 
In History classes today, the Patriot side of the Revolution is more prominent. The Patriots fought for independence from the British. They wanted independence because they believed the recent laws imposed by the British on the American Colonies violated their rights as British citizens. Examples of this were taxing without consent, quartering soldiers in citizens’ homes, and denying a right to trial. Most of the Patriots lived in the New England Colonies, specifically Massachusetts, and were loosely associated with Presbyterianism. The Patriots highly mistrusted the Loyalists, which caused difficulties throughout the Colonies.
The Loyalists were made up of colonists who were loyal to King George III. Some Loyalists chose not to fight against the British because they were either wealthy, or believed that the British were justified in their actions towards the Colonies. Even if they agreed that the colonists suffered from the British, they still wished for a peaceful settlement with the British government in the end. It was dangerous to be a Loyalist, many of them were attacked and killed by the Patriots. They were sometimes whipped, abused, arrested, had their property destroyed or confiscated, and even tarred and feathered by Patriot rebels. Originally, Loyalists were passive and relied on the British for their protection. However, after they were mistreated by the Patriots, about half of the Loyalists became active. Loyalists tended to be wealthy landowners, American clergymen, or people with close business and political ties to Britain. In addition, they were mostly better-educated in comparison to the Patriots. Loyalists populated New York City as well as the Southern Colonies and were loosely associated with Anglicanism. Around one-third of the colonists made up the Loyalists. 
The last group, Neutralists, were simply the people who didn’t want to fight, lived too far away to be able to fight, or believed in the principles of both the Loyalists and the Patriots.
In History classes today, the Patriot side of the Revolution is more prominent. The Patriots fought for independence from the British. They wanted independence because they believed the recent laws imposed by the British on the American Colonies violated their rights as British citizens. Examples of this were taxing without consent, quartering soldiers in citizens’ homes, and denying a right to trial. Most of the Patriots lived in the New England Colonies, specifically Massachusetts, and were loosely associated with Presbyterianism. The Patriots highly mistrusted the Loyalists, which caused difficulties throughout the Colonies.The Loyalists were made up of colonists who were loyal to King George III. Some Loyalists chose not to fight against the British because they were either wealthy, or believed that the British were justified in their actions towards the Colonies. Even if they agreed that the colonists suffered from the British, they still wished for a peaceful settlement with the British government in the end. It was dangerous to be a Loyalist, many of them were attacked and killed by the Patriots. They were sometimes whipped, abused, arrested, had their property destroyed or confiscated, and even tarred and feathered by Patriot rebels. Originally, Loyalists were passive and relied on the British for their protection. However, after they were mistreated by the Patriots, about half of the Loyalists became active. Loyalists tended to be wealthy landowners, American clergymen, or people with close business and political ties to Britain. In addition, they were mostly better-educated in comparison to the Patriots. Loyalists populated New York City as well as the Southern Colonies and were loosely associated with Anglicanism. Around one-third of the colonists made up the Loyalists. The last group, Neutralists, were simply the people who didn’t want to fight, lived too far away to be able to fight, or believed in the principles of both the Loyalists and the Patriots.-Written By: Chloe Jamerson
The Differences Between Armies
The American Revolutionary war pitted the forces of the English Army and Navy against the Continental Army, many of whom were part of the volunteer militia and were untrained. The full might of England greatly outweighed the colonials, and with the large size difference, the two sides came up with different tactics.
The English were trained in the traditional fighting sense that dated back centuries to the spear and shield style of fighting that Greeks and Romans used. It is a tactic that worked well with the muskets of the day, which were extremely inaccurate by today’s standards. The movements in formation are used to direct large groups of musket balls towards the enemy, much like a huge shotgun effect. The true mark of a good unit was how well it could take a volley of fire, rather than how well it could give one. Battles were won by mostly who survived, not by who killed the most troops. The distinctive uniforms of the era were designed to be associated with the fearsome reputation of English fighters, not just to make them stand out. The common strategy was to maneuver, fire, have the first rank of men drop back and load while the next rank fired, exchange volleys for a while, and then charge in with bayonets and sabers and finish off whoever was left. They used these older strategies of direct attack and inspiring fear because they were not expecting the Colonials to fight like Native Americans.
The colonials, many of whom had been born in America, were not accustomed to fighting like Alexander the Great, they had fought the Natives for years and had seen how well their guerilla strategies could hold off a larger and better equipped group. They used their surroundings to their advantage and did not have an identifiable uniform until late in the war. They also had the advantage of better firearms. The British used a style of musket commonly referred to as a “Brown Bess,” which was easier to load but less accurate than the American hunting rifles. The Americans compensated for this by staying out of range of the muskets and sniping at the Brits. Warnings were issued in England for officers to make sure they had their affairs in order, for they could be shot through the head when they thought they were out of range. Near the end of the war, the Continental Army adopted a mostly blue uniform and learned how to stand and fight like the British Army, and eventually beat them at their own game.
The English were trained in the traditional fighting sense that dated back centuries to the spear and shield style of fighting that Greeks and Romans used. It is a tactic that worked well with the muskets of the day, which were extremely inaccurate by today’s standards. The movements in formation are used to direct large groups of musket balls towards the enemy, much like a huge shotgun effect. The true mark of a good unit was how well it could take a volley of fire, rather than how well it could give one. Battles were won by mostly who survived, not by who killed the most troops. The distinctive uniforms of the era were designed to be associated with the fearsome reputation of English fighters, not just to make them stand out. The common strategy was to maneuver, fire, have the first rank of men drop back and load while the next rank fired, exchange volleys for a while, and then charge in with bayonets and sabers and finish off whoever was left. They used these older strategies of direct attack and inspiring fear because they were not expecting the Colonials to fight like Native Americans.The colonials, many of whom had been born in America, were not accustomed to fighting like Alexander the Great, they had fought the Natives for years and had seen how well their guerilla strategies could hold off a larger and better equipped group. They used their surroundings to their advantage and did not have an identifiable uniform until late in the war. They also had the advantage of better firearms. The British used a style of musket commonly referred to as a “Brown Bess,” which was easier to load but less accurate than the American hunting rifles. The Americans compensated for this by staying out of range of the muskets and sniping at the Brits. Warnings were issued in England for officers to make sure they had their affairs in order, for they could be shot through the head when they thought they were out of range. Near the end of the war, the Continental Army adopted a mostly blue uniform and learned how to stand and fight like the British Army, and eventually beat them at their own game.
The Olive Branch Petition
The second continental congress and mast of the colonists still wanted to avoid war with England. They decided to draft one last peace offering to King George to see if their grievances could be worked out. The radicals who wanted to separate from England were somewhat few in number and decided to let this idea go forward. A committee wrote the first draft but it was not approved. They then added John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson to help write the petition. Dickinson thought Jefferson’s version was too harsh and changed the wording. By the time the letter or petitions reached King George he did not receive it. The British had intercepted a letter from John Adams. He was very critical of John Dickinson and said war was inevitable. When the colonist found out that King George did not even receive their petition the tide back in the Americas began to change in favor of independence.-Written By: Brett Hamilton
As a result of the Olive Branch Petition, the colonists were considered to be committing treason against the British government. This angered the colonists and caused them to change not only their mindset as to how they wanted to be governed, but also their feelings about the British Empire. July 4th would not have been the holiday that it is today, if the events mentioned had not occurred and spawned other continuous factors that helped win the war for America to be it’s own country. In the end, the colonists were able to gain their independence from Great Britain and become what is now known as the United States.
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