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[[Image:american-revolution-map.gif|thumb|250px|Map depicting the 13 colonies]]

[[Image:american-revolution-map.gif|thumb|250px|Map depicting the 13 colonies]]

== Origins of the Revolution ==

== Origins of the Revolution ==

Following a successful campaign by the British in the [[French and Indian War]], in which they conquered [[French]] lands east of the [[Mississippi River]], the British governement decided to enact new taxes on its [[North America]]n colonies to repay expenses for their defense.  The colonies were upset about this because they were not granted seats in Parlaiment, and the famous phrase '''''"No Taxation Without Representation"''''' became the battle cry of the colonists.  Also, since Britain had to fight the war to protect its colonists, the [[Proclamation of 1763]] was enacted. This drew a line down the peaks of the [[Appalachain Mountains]], dividing the area between colonial settlements and territory for Native Americans. This angered many colonists, as their brothers and fathers had just fought and died to earn the land from France. The British also began actively enforcing the [[Navigation Acts]], which they had been previously lax on, which subjected American imports to higher tarrifs.  The [[Stamp Act of 1765]], which required certain trade goods to be affixed with a tax stamp, added further fuel to the fire and led to the creation of the [[Sons of Liberty]], a patriot group which actively resisted British authority.  The British continued with their taxation policies with the [[Townshend Acts]], which lead to the infamous [[Boston Tea Party]] and the British response of closing Boston Harbor.

Following a successful campaign by the British in the [[French and Indian War]], in which they conquered [[French]] lands east of the [[Mississippi River]], the British governement decided to enact new taxes on its [[North America]]n colonies to repay expenses for their defense.  The colonies were upset about this because they were not granted seats in Parlaiment, and the famous phrase '''''"No Taxation Without Representation"''''' became the battle cry of the colonists.  Also, since Britain had to fight the war to protect its colonists, the [[Proclamation of 1763]] was enacted. This drew a line down the peaks of the [[Appalachian Mountains]], dividing the area between colonial settlements and territory for Native Americans. This angered many colonists, as their brothers and fathers had just fought and died to earn the land from France. The British also began actively enforcing the [[Navigation Acts]], which they had been previously lax on, which subjected American imports to higher tarrifs.  The [[Stamp Act of 1765]], which required certain trade goods to be affixed with a tax stamp, added further fuel to the fire and led to the creation of the [[Sons of Liberty]], a patriot group which actively resisted British authority.  The British continued with their taxation policies with the [[Townshend Acts]], which lead to the infamous [[Boston Tea Party]] and the British response of closing Boston Harbor.

Relations were strained further, when in March of 1770, there was an altercation between British soldiers and a colonial mob that resulted in the death of five colonists.  This became known as the [[Boston Massacre]].

Relations were strained further, when in March of 1770, there was an altercation between British soldiers and a colonial mob that resulted in the death of five colonists.  This became known as the [[Boston Massacre]].

== The Revolution ==

== The Revolution ==

The war began in April 1775, when [[Paul Revere]]'s midnight ride alerted the [[Massachusetts]] militia that [[British]] troops under the command of General [[Thomas Gage]] were moving to seize an arms depot in [[Concord, Massachusetts]]. The militia held a bridge at nearby [[Battle of Lexington|Lexington]], and the "Shot heard 'round the world" was fired, although it is unknown which side fired first. After this short skirmish, and the subsequent [[Battle of Lexington]], delegates from the [[Thirteen Colonies]] met in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] and convened the [[Second Continental Congress]] to draft a [[Declaration of Independence]]. The Declaration was officially signed on July 4, 1776, officially severing American ties with England.

The war began in April 1775, when [[Paul Revere]]'s midnight ride alerted the [[Massachusetts]] militia that [[British]] troops under the command of General [[Thomas Gage]] were moving to seize an arms depot in [[Concord]], [[Massachusetts]]. The militia held a bridge at nearby [[Battle of Lexington|Lexington]], and the "Shot heard 'round the world" was fired, although it is unknown which side fired first. After this short skirmish, and the subsequent [[Battle of Lexington]], delegates from the [[Thirteen Colonies]] met in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] and convened the [[Second Continental Congress]] to draft a [[Declaration of Independence]]. The Declaration was officially signed on July 4, 1776, officially severing American ties with England.

The ideas in the [[Declaration of Independence]], drafted by 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson with help by other Founders, were very powerful. Invoking the authority of God frequently throughout the document, the Declaration contains the most striking legal statement of all time: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The phrase “that all men are created equal” was original to the Declaration of Independence and was quoted frequently by [[Abraham Lincoln]] (e.g., in the Gettysburg Address) and by other future Americans.

The ideas in the [[Declaration of Independence]], drafted by 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson with help by other Founders, were very powerful. Invoking the authority of God frequently throughout the document, the Declaration contains the most striking legal statement of all time: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The phrase “that all men are created equal” was original to the Declaration of Independence and was quoted frequently by [[Abraham Lincoln]] (e.g., in the Gettysburg Address) and by other future Americans.