The American Revolution began as a constitutional conflict between Great Britain and its North American colonies before becoming a war for independence. Between 1763 and 1783, resistance to taxation, imperial control and military occupation produced a new republic founded on natural rights, but the Revolution left slavery, Indigenous sovereignty and political equality largely unresolved.
The American Revolution was not caused by one tax, one battle or one political leader. It developed over more than a decade as British officials attempted to reorganise their empire and colonial resistance became increasingly coordinated.
At first, most colonists did not seek independence. They considered themselves British subjects and claimed the traditional rights of Englishmen. The conflict became revolutionary when many Americans concluded that those rights could no longer be protected within the British Empire.
The Revolution created the United States and transformed political language throughout the Atlantic world. It also exposed profound contradictions: a movement that proclaimed liberty included enslavers, occupied Indigenous lands and excluded women from formal political power.
The colonial religious and ideological background of the Revolution is explored in Introduction to Puritanism and Expansionism.
