American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War was between the colonists living in America and England. The colonists wanted their freedom because they were not happy with the British government's laws and taxes.

One of those taxes was the Stamp Act. After the French and Indian Wars, Britain needed to cover the costs of the war, so they started this tax. The Stamp Act of 1765 required all colonists to pay a tax on any printed material, such as newspapers, magazines, and cards. All of these required a stamp to show the tax had been paid.

Although this act only lasted a year, England also placed other taxes on items like tea, paper, glass, and metal. This angered the colonists, and some even refused to pay them.

Eventually, the colonists declared that they would no longer pay these taxes and that Britain could not pass anymore laws in the colonies. This caused problems between the colonists and the British. At first, the colonists tried to separate peacefully from England, but it didn't work. Soon afterwards, the colonists signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the colonies were separate from England.

This angered the British who decided to attack America and force the colonists to submit.

George Washington led the American troops in many difficult battles that lasted years. These battles seemed fairly hopeless at first. However, the Americans had the support of both the French and the Spanish, who regularly sent supplies to them. Remember that both France and Spain had lost land in America to the British in earlier wars. This meant that both countries were anxious to defeat England. Their support was a tremendous help to the rag-tag army fighting against one of the most powerful countries in the world. In the end, American troops defeated the British and won independence for America.