• “War of Independence”
• “American Revolution”
• “Revolutionary War”
In Britain:
• “American Revolutionary War”
• “Revolution of 1775”
• “American Insurrection”

John Adams’ estimate, 1775:
One-third of colonists Patriots (revolutionaries)
One-third of colonists Loyalists (“Tories”)
One-third of colonists neutral, undecided
Actually, fairly accurate (40%, 25%, 35%)

• “Patriots” were a militant, radical minority
– Claiming to represent the majority
• Key to patriot success:
– Change the percentages: attract the undecided
– Drive out or isolate Loyalists
– Just enough military success to sway opinion

War/Revolution was a civil war
– Colonists fought on both sides
– Every sociological category of people on both sides
• Women, African Americans, farmers, immigrants,
New Englanders, Native Americans, etc.
– Families split by fighting
• Ben Franklin’s son was a Loyalist
– NOT “the Americans” vs. “the British” in 1775
American/British distinction an *effect* of the war more than a *cause* of the war
Most colonists not of British ancestry (English,
Scottish, Welsh, Scots-Irish)

County militia flag from
Pennsylvania, 1775
Carried into battle against
British forces
“Grand Union Flag”
First national flag of the U.S.; carried into battle against
British forces, 1775

Patriot victory
– Wins political conflict with Loyalists
– Mixed record in conventional military terms (battlefield)
– Successful insurgency against British Empire
• Parliament decided to cut its losses and stop fighting
– British operations alienate loyalists and neutrals
• British Army encourages slaves to escape
– For most slaves, the British represented liberty
– Alienated many white Southern loyalists
– Diplomatic success: international aid
• French alliance the key to victory

British surrender to Washington (Library of Congress)

James Armistead
Virginia slave and
George
Washington’s double agent

• Britain recognizes U.S. independence
• U.S. boundaries extremely generous
– More than what U.S. diplomats had asked for!
– Includes territory Spain also claims
– Includes land claimed by Native American nations
• Separate peace, without consulting France
– U.S. violates its treaty with France
– France left to fight war w/ Britain, make its own treaty
– U.S. and France still allied after the war?
U.S. says no, France says yes

A map presented to Benjamin Franklin by the Royal Cartographer of France, showing the 1783 Treaty boundaries (Royalty-Free/CORBIS)

Questions addressed by Constitution (of 1787)
Loyalist refugees – “British” in the U.S.?
U.S.-Britain relationship
• Independence does not mean friendship
Official status = what are the states, exactly?
• 13 countries? One country?
• Plural: “the United States are”
Who owns the western territories?
Native American sovereignty
Nations, non-nations, or something else?