The American Revolution: A Definition of Who We Are

Think of Mel Gibson and his cute son Heath Ledger in the film ‘The Patriot’. There is more to the ‘cuteness’ than meets the eye. If the viewer would ‘feel’ rather than just watch the spectacle on the screen, they would see the importance of being a part of the nation that is considered the world’s topmost freedom fighter.

The American Revolution took place a long, long time ago but it sent ripples even down to our present time. Who you are or what you do right now would not have been there in the first place if all the patriots had not lifted a finger to stand up for freedom. This revolution took place late 18th century and was, basically, a political movement. This brave movement ended the British power over the thirteen colonies, and eventually, gave birth to a new nation now called the United States of America.

From 1775-1783, the thirteen colonies waged war against the ‘red coats’ and sparked the American Revolutionary War. The result was: the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But the Declaration did not happen overnight. There were several social and intellectual shifts that happened which culminated into freedom.

The era of revolution began in 1763 when Britain started to impose taxation and the colonists thought that this was not legal. In addition to the thirteen colonies that they had then, there were sixteen other colonies which were smaller in comparison but were still ruled over by the so-called royal governors.

Protests against the unlawful taxation broke out; all because the people believed that the taxes were being used to pay for the wars that Britain fought in Europe. This taxation also fostered mercantilism which the people strongly felt against.

Since the protests in Boston about this taxation were unheard, war broke between Britain and the colonists in 1775. The people were then divided into the loyalists and the followers of the patriots. The good thing was, 80-90 percent of the population was following the patriots’ ideals.

There is no one cause for the outbreak of the American Revolution. In fact, there were several events that took place and which were believed to be the catalyst of the war. In 1772, the Gaspee Affair (a warship of Britain) was burned down by patriots. Shortly after, Thomas Hutchinson, governor of Massachusetts bypassed the legislature of the colony by declaring that he should be paid directly by London.

Soon, more and more colonies started to feel the longing for freedom. Committees of Correspondence were set up within the thirteen colonies to improve the communication between all of them. To top it all, the ‘Tea Act’ was passed by the Parliament allowing British East India Company to sell without tax.

Britain, of course, would not take these blows without protecting their interest. London, soon after, created the ‘Intolerable Acts’ in 1774 which was a series of laws that prevented the colonies from having their own local government.

The Intolerable Acts included the following:

1. The Massachusetts Government Act—this went as far as restricting meetings in towns.
2. The Administration of Justice Act—this allowed British soldiers to be tried only in Britain and never in the colonies.
3. The Boston Port Act—which closed the Boston port until the loss in the Boston Tea Party was recovered.
4. The Quartering Act (1774)—implemented that British who were sent to rule over a certain colony should be housed by the people.

The first ‘fight’ to take place was in April 19, 1775 and was called the Battle of Lexington and Concord. This spurred the thirteen colonies into action and before long, several other wars broke out.

France was a reliable and strong ally when they were most needed. The military and naval alliance was formed with them on 1778. This led to the capture of two British armies in separate occasions, the first in Saratoga in 1777 and the second in Yorktown in 1781.

With this, the revolution ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 which declared and recognized the United States as a free nation.

Looking at all these, these are actually just history in a nutshell. The most important thing, though, is to have the deepest appreciation for the people before us…who died or shed blood fighting for what we sometimes just take for granted—freedom.