Today's Essential Question: How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower somehow defeat a global super power?

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While the Revolution may seem mundane -- of course we had to declare independence! Taxation is bad! -- on closer examination, it's pretty weird. For one thing, colonists still considered themselves Englishmen: all their complaints were based on customs established in their home country. There were also deep personal and economic connections between American revolutionaries and the "evil" British oppressors (who were basically indistinguishable from the colonists they were sent to govern). About 3 in 10 colonists remained loyal to King George II up through the end of the Revolution. But somehow, in their struggle to regain traditional British freedoms, a new national identity arose.

Discontent in the Colonies

The French and Indian War had drained the British treasury. George III and his advisers insisted that colonists pay the costs of their own defense.
Parliament passes new taxes on the colony. The Sugar Act of 1764 taxed imports, while the Stamp Act of 1765 taxed items like newspapers. Colonists resented the taxes as an attack on their rights, protesting "No taxation without representation!"
A series of violent clashes intensified the colonists' anger. In March 1770, British soldiers in Boston opened fire on a crowd that was pelting them with stones and snowballs. Colonists called the death of five protesters the Boston Massacre.
In December 1773, a handful of colonists hurled a cargo of British tea into the harbor to protests a tax on tea -- this incident became known as the Boston Tea Party.
As tensions rose, representatives from 12 colonies gathered in Philadelphia in 1774 for the First Continental Congress.

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In April 1775, the crisis between the colonists and the British exploded into war.
After battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, Americans set up a Continental Army with George Washington in command.
In 1776, Congress voted to declare independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's political philosophy heavily influenced by Enlightenment thinkers, especially John Locke. The Declaration of Independence announced that people have "certain inalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Because Parliament had trampled colonists' natural rights, he argued, the colonists had the right to rebel and set up a new government to protect them.

The document spelled out the political principle of popular sovereignty, the idea that all government power comes from the people.

Note: The fight for freedom and liberty mainly supported the interests of white landowning males. The colonists had no intention of extending this justice to the growing number of African American slaves, or granting full rights to women.

The American Revolution

At first, the American cause looked bleak, as the colonists themselves were divided. 3 out of 10 colonists were Loyalists, and supported Britain. Many others refused to fight for either side.
The British had trained soldiers and lots of money to support the war, while the Americans lacked military resources. Still, the colonists had the advantage of battling for their own independence on familiar home ground. Simply put, they cared more about winning.
The first turning point in the war came in 1777, when Americans triumphed over the British at the Battle of Saratoga. This victory persuaded France to join the Americans against its old rival, Britain.
Hard times continued, however. In the brutal winter of 1777-1778, Continental troops at Valley Forge suffered from cold, hunger, and disease. Throughout this crisis and others, George Washington was patient, courageous, and determined. He held the ragged American army together.

Finally, in 1781, with the help of a French fleet, Washington forced the surrender of a British army at the Battle of Yorktown, in Virginia. With the defeat, the British war effort crumbled.

Listen to "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Town)" from Hamilton to get the perspective of American soldiers who fought in the Battle of Yorktown.

Two years later, American, British, and French diplomats signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the war.

A New U.S. Constitution

The Articles of Confederation were the new nation's first constitution, but it was too weak to rule effectively.
George Washington, James, Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin, among others, drafted the Constitution of the United States in the summer of 1787. This framework for a strong, flexible government has remained in place for more than 200 years.
The Constitution embodied Enlightenment ideals -- like the separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
To prevent any branch of government from becoming too powerful, the Constitution set up a series of checks and balances.
The Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments to the Constitution, recognized the idea that citizens have basic rights that the government must protect. These included freedom of religion, speech, and the press.
The United States stood out as a leader to Europeans who took up the cry for liberty and freedom in their own rebellions. Demands to written constitutions and a limit to royal power would bring great changes across the world in the decades ahead.