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There are many stories to the

American Revolution. There is the

British side and the Colonists side, both

which tell completely different stories. It

is essential that people reject the one

single story (not because it's false but

because it is limited), so they can learn

about all of the stories of the Revolution.

Every side is just as important as the

other.

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After leaving Britain the Colonists wanted to create a new form of government. They left Britain because of the taxation without representation by the Parliament. Contrary to popular belief, once their new country formed nothing really changed, people were still being taxed without representation. Another reason for the Colonists leaving was because there was no right to vote. The only men allowed to vote had to be white and have property. But once they left Britain nothing changed, only white men with land were allowed to vote. It wasn't until 50 years later that all white men were allowed to vote. Then it wasn't until 1870 that American men could vote for their country.

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Although most people believe the Revolutionary War was fought in order to gain freedom from the British, that was not the only case. In fact, only a little percentage of the Regulator counties actually fought in the war. The reason for this is because they stayed neutral, not knowing if they wanted to become a new country and leave the British. All the Regulator counties were poor peasants which was the majority of the men in the Colonies. Other men, including the Regulators , fought only because they were mad about being taxed without representation, all the fights weren't just to gain freedom. In order to fight the Regulators started riots including the 1770 riots in Hillsborough, North Carolina. These riots also then helped to gain rights in the court systems for the poor.

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No one was quite sure what they were supposed to do.

No word had come from Concord or Boston to tell them.

They must assemble. They must be ready. But for what?

It was not suggested that they dispute the passage of the

royal troops to Concord. No, they would simply stand

there on the common, drawn up in military array,

displaying by their formal presence the invincible dislike

of Americans for what the British were up to. The British

believed that there was no problem in the area. They saw

no corruptness in the government, and thought the

King/Parliement was doing everything good.

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There were many riots, from groups of 100 up to 4000 men protested, beat, tarred and feathered the loyalists. The Governor of Massachusetts was met with a mob of 5000, 1000 of them armed, right outside his home.

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after the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, any toleration for Loyalists vanished

violence toward Loyalists increased, leading many to leave the country for Canada, Britain, or the West Indies.

the "Consequences of their [not] returning to a proper Sense of their Conduct, may prove deservedly fatal to yourselves"--Punishments

"a most infallible Symptom of the dangerous State of Liberty, when the chief Men of a free Country show a greater Regard to Popularity than to their own Judgment."---Corruptness in the British government

present unnatural dispute between Great Britain and her Colonies proceeded was apparent

"such Men there are who when you present this Paper to them will tell you they are true friends to America —declare those to be Enemies whom I believe & know to be our friends? I cannot be such a Fool— I dare not be such a Villain."

in response to a tarring and feathering,  "I was Informed that he had behaved disrespectfully towards the Sons of Liberty and Drank some Toasts which gave great offense Your Lordship will be the best Judge what is most Proper to be done, but I beg leave again most heartily to wish that Conciliatory Measures may Speedily take place or total Ruin and Destruction will soon follow, and America Lost and Gone."

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The Loyalists did not want to

break away from England

because they viewed the king

as a protector from the oppressive

acts of Parliament. However, the battle

of Lexington and Concord showed to be

a turning point in many of these views.

Their side of the story tells that on that day

British soldiers attacked them first and

killed some of their soldiers. Folllowing this

battle, and further mistreatment towards the

colonists, enough colonists recognized the

corrupt government they had been living

under needed to be changed and they decided it

was their DUTY to rebel. They did, creating the

Declaration of Independence, and eventually a

achieving success in the war.

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Importance of Ordinary People in The War

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Importance of Ordinary People in The War

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During the Revolution, nearly 400,000 Americans (and 5,000 African Americans) took part in the war for Independence. George Washington never had more than 20,000 troops under his command at one time; the royal British army had 50,000 regular troops combined with 30,000 German mercenaries. Not only this, but most of these American soldiers were young (mid-20's), landless, unskilled, and poor. Additionally, many women played roles in the war, who cooked, cared for the sick and injured, mended clothes, and sometimes even served in combat. Women also played a role by boycotting British goods, and buried the dead. Slaves helped achieve success for the colonies as well. Nearly 5,000 African Americans took part in the war, helping the colonies win over the British. Perhaps the single most important reason the colonies achieved victory was the breadth of major support for the revolution. Ordinary people, such as farmers, artisans, and laborers, put their lives on the line for the country, and helped the patriots achieve victory. Without these ordinary Americans playing a part in the war effort, the patriots would have failed miserably against the powerful British army.