The American Revolution, also known as the American Revolutionary War and the War of Independence, lasted from 1775 to 1783. It stemmed from growing tensions between England’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government representing England, as well as cost sharing imposed on English colonies by successive governments in London for debts attributed to former wars (Foner, 2012). The “cost sharing” encompassed a variety of measures including taxation on goods produced in the colonies, efforts to stem widespread smuggling and “The Stamp Act” of 1765 requiring a stamp on all printed material. This act managed to insult every free colonist, but was particularly resented by those who wrote, published and read books and newspapers and followed political matters. Many colonial leaders saw the costs associated with “membership” in the English empire as a threat to freedom, as well as an effort to undermine the colonies’ liberty.
Many factors contributed to the length of the American Revolutionary War, including logistics and geography, tactical and strategic faux pas by the British and small victories by the Americans, and the intervention of the French and Spanish, who had their own interests in ensuring a British defeat in North America. After France and Spain joined the war, American popular support for the war remained high; this support may have been a contributing factor allowing the colonies to battle for as long as they did.
Logistics and Geography
Geography played a major role in the American Revolution, because the North American landscape was unusually harsh it gave the colonials an advantage and was a major factor to the outcome of the war. New England experienced cold winters; summer in the South was damp and s...
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Foner, E. (2011). Give Me Liberty!: An American History (Seagull 3rd ed., Vol. One). W.W. Norton & Company.
Lutz, A. (2013). American Revolution: Social and Economic Impact. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/american-revolution-social-and-economic-impact.html#lesson
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The Revolutionary War: 1775-1783. (2013). The American Revolution (1754-1781). Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/revolution/section7.rhtml
There were many factors that led up to the American Revolutionary War, one of these factors were the laws and acts being passed at the time. The British Parliament attempted to limit the power the American Colonist had at the time by taking away from their income. How they did this one may ask? The simple answer is taxes. One of the many taxes imposed was the stamp act. During this time the American colonies were being oppressed by the British one of the first signs of this was the Stamp Act. The act stated that almost anything written had to be stamped and tax...
The relations between England and the British North American colonies could always be considered precarious. Prior to 1750 British essentially followed a policy of benign neglect and political autonomy in the American colonies. (Davidson p.97) The colonies were for the most part content with benign neglect policy, relishing in a “greater equality and representative government”(Davidson p.95) within the colonies. Competition among European Imperial nations began to effect British policy toward North America colonies causing rapid shifts from 1750 to 1776. During this period, the British Empire made a series of policy decision that sealed the fate of the British North American colonies and lead to the American Revolution.
Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: an American history. Seagull fourth ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. Print.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Fourth ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 247-316. Print.
Foner, E. (2012). Give me Liberty! An American History (Seagull 3rd ed.). New York: W.W.Norton & Company, Inc.
In the world’s lens during the 1760s, the British empire had a clear and prominent control over the colonies. However, by the mid-1770s the Americans became enraged enough to declare war against the British for independence. Due to Britain’s massive imperial presence around the globe, the British civilians had a strong inclination for a successful outcome. Instead, the colonists pulled a surprising victory from what should have been a swift defeat. While the British had an abundance of advantages, they lost the Revolutionary War because the British army underestimated the colonists’ perseverance for freedom.
The American Revolution was a conflict that arose from growing tensions between Great Britain and the Thirteen North American colonies. It was a long bloody war and one of the most well-known, and because of that it has many interpretations, and these interpretations have made it a challenge to be able to come to a single understanding of the war. In this week’s readings, two different views on the same war are given. The American Yawp describes the American colonies point of view on the revolution while the History Lesson discusses how British wanted to control America but instead drove them to rebel and fight for their independence. The colonists saw the war for their independence as a revolution, but through British eyes, events and people were, not surprisingly, seen quite differently.
Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: an American history. Seagull 4th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2014.
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Foner, E. (2008). Give me Liberty: An American History. New York, Ny: WW. Norton &
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2007.
Foner, E. (2013). Give me liberty! an american history. (Seagull 4th ed., Vol. 2, p. 708).
4.de Toqueville, Alexis. Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty: An American History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), 358.
28.) Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. 4th ed. (W.W. Norton, 2012), 920.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty. 3rd ed. Vol. Two. New York: Norton &, 2011. Print.