Revolutionary War
America's founding conflict
The Revolutionary War was the conflict (1775–1783) in which thirteen American colonies won independence from Britain, establishing the United States.
In American usage, the Revolutionary War needs no modifier—it's the founding event.
The British call it the American Revolution or American War of Independence.
My ancestor fought in the Revolutionary War.
America's founding proclamation
- Continental CongressColonial era legislature
- Treaty of ParisMajor war-ending diplomatic pact
- Founding FathersRevolutionary-era American statesmen
- Benjamin FranklinColonial American polymath statesman
George Washington · John Adams · Thomas Jefferson · Paul Revere · Lexington and Concord · Bunker Hill · Saratoga · Yorktown
Colonial rebel military force
- MinutemenColonial instant-ready militia
- militiaNon-professional armed force
- infantryGround combat troops
- cavalryMounted military force
artillery · regiment · battalion · musket · bayonet · flintlock · cannon · fortification
Freedom from external control
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
- republicanismGovernment by elected officials
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
taxation · representation · liberty · rights · Patriots · Tories · colonial resistance · sedition
Absence of constraint
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- unalienable rightsFreedoms impossible to surrender
- equalitySame status for all
- democracyRule by the people
Enlightenment · social contract · natural law · self-determination · dissent · protest · radical · pamphleteer
Declaration of Independence
America's founding proclamation
- Continental CongressColonial era legislature
- Treaty of ParisMajor war-ending diplomatic pact
- Founding FathersRevolutionary-era American statesmen
George Washington · Benjamin Franklin · John Adams · Thomas Jefferson · Paul Revere · Lexington and Concord · Bunker Hill · Saratoga · Yorktown · Valley Forge
Continental Army
Colonial rebel military force
- MinutemenColonial instant-ready militia
- militiaNon-professional armed force
- infantryGround combat troops
cavalry · artillery · regiment · battalion · musket · bayonet · flintlock · cannon · fortification · siege
independence
Freedom from external control
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
- republicanismGovernment by elected officials
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
tyranny · taxation · representation · liberty · rights · Patriots · Tories · colonial resistance · sedition · treason
freedom
Absence of constraint
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- unalienable rightsFreedoms impossible to surrender
- equalitySame status for all
democracy · Enlightenment · social contract · natural law · self-determination · dissent · protest · radical · pamphleteer · propaganda
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, William III, Declaration of Independence
- American WarsWar of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II
- Colonial AmericaGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Declaration of Independence
- WarsWorld War I, WWI, civil war, cold war, Korean War
- 18th Century WarsSeven Years War, Great Northern War, War of Austrian Succession, War of Spanish Succession, French and Indian War
- Long IslandLong Island, Huntington, Hempstead, Montauk, Babylon
Revolutionary WarCivil War
Countrymen fighting countrymen
civil conflict · War of 1812 · internal conflict · civil strife · sectarian conflict
Revolutionary Warimperial conquest
Forcible expansion of empire
annexation · counterrevolution · war of conquest · colonization · colonial war
Revolutionary Warpeace
Freedom from disturbance
stability · status quo · continuity · evolutionary change · evolution
revolution, rebellion, revolt, insurrection, revolutionary, revolutionize, revolutionaries, revolutionized, revolutionizing