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In 1776, the 13 American colonies - refusing to pay unjust taxes
- declared their independence from Britain. The resulting years
of war are called the American Revolution; but many founding
fathers believed the real American Revolution was not
war with Britain, but the revolution in ideas
which preceded and caused the war. From 1760 to 1775, in the
course of fifteen years, many Americans were transformed from
loyal subjects into rebels against Britain. Together, the thirteen
colonies set out to create something new under the sun: a
government which derived its just authority from the consent
of the governed.
To
understand this unparalleled event, it is necessary to explore
the character and ideas of 18th Century Americans. What vision
caused them to rebel? How faithfully did they follow it?
In
1773, the Seven Years War with France had made Britain
the greatest power on earth. But the war had doubled her national
debt; interest payments alone consumed 5/8ths of Britain's annual
budget. To ease this burden, Britain made a fateful blunder
- she decided to impose and enforce taxes upon the American
Colonies.
In
1764, Britain imposed the Sugar Act. This was followed
by the Stamp Act and the Townshend Revenue Act,
and Americans openly rebelled. On April 17,1775, British and
American Forces first clashed at the Battle of Lexington.
The war continued for years, complicated by the fact that some
Americans wished to remain British subjects. To those colonists,
the American Revolution was a bloody civil war.
On
October 19, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
The 13 Colonies had won the war. They would now become the United
States of America; but their conflicts with Britain
were not over.
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