The American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765-1783) was the rebellion by which thirteen British colonies won independence and founded a republic grounded in claims about liberty and self-government.
Definition
The political and military revolution of the late eighteenth century in which the thirteen British North American colonies declared and secured independence and created the United States.
Scope
This topic examines the imperial crisis between Britain and its North American colonies, the ideological arguments over rights and representation, the War of Independence, the Declaration of Independence, and the establishment of a new constitutional order. It also addresses the Revolution's social dimensions—slavery, the status of women, Loyalists, and Native peoples—and the historiographical contest between ideological, social, and 'history from below' interpretations.
Core questions
- What turned colonial grievances into a movement for independence?
- How important were ideology and political ideas relative to economic and social interests?
- How radical or conservative was the Revolution in its social effects?
- Whom did the Revolution include or exclude—enslaved people, women, Native nations, Loyalists?
Key concepts
- representation and consent
- republicanism
- natural rights
- constitutionalism
- Loyalism
Key theories
- Ideological origins
- Bernard Bailyn argued that the Revolution grew from a distinctive political ideology rooted in British 'country' opposition thought, with colonists genuinely fearing a conspiracy against their liberties.
- The Revolution as social radicalism
- Gordon Wood argued that the Revolution was deeply radical, dissolving monarchical and hierarchical assumptions and transforming American society toward democracy and equality of condition.
History
Tensions over taxation and authority after 1763 escalated through events such as the Stamp Act crisis and the Boston Tea Party into war in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Victory in 1783 was followed by the framing of the Constitution. Historiography moved from earlier political narratives to Bailyn's ideological synthesis and to social histories foregrounding ordinary and marginalized people.
Debates
- Ideological versus social causes
- Historians dispute whether ideas about liberty and rights or material and social interests best explain the Revolution's origins and course.
- How radical was the Revolution
- Scholars disagree over whether the Revolution profoundly transformed society, as Wood argues, or left hierarchies—above all slavery—largely intact.
Key figures
- Bernard Bailyn
- Gordon Wood
- Edmund Morgan
- Gary Nash
- Pauline Maier
Related topics
Seminal works
- bailyn1967
- wood1992
- morgan1956
Frequently asked questions
- When did the American Revolution happen?
- The revolutionary crisis built from the 1760s; armed conflict ran from 1775 to 1783, and independence was declared in 1776. Historians extend the story into the constitutional settlement of the late 1780s.
- Did the American Revolution end slavery?
- No. While some Northern states began gradual abolition and revolutionary ideals were invoked against slavery, the institution persisted and expanded, a tension central to recent scholarship.