American Revolution

The American Revolution is the series of events, ideas, and changes that resulted in the political separation of thirteen colonies in North America from the British Empire and the creation of the United States of America. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) was one part of the revolution, but the revolution began before the first shot was fired at Lexington and Concord and continued after the British surrender at Yorktown. "The Revolution was effected before the War commenced," wrote John Adams. "The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people."

America after the war

• Shays' Rebellion - 1786
• Northwest Indian War (1785-1795)
• The Constitutional Convention of 1787

The American Revolution entrenched several noteworthy innovations: the separation of church and state, which ended the special privileges of the Anglican Church in the South and the Congregationalist Church in New England; a discourse of liberty, individual rights and equality which would prove highly appealing in Europe; the idea that government should be by consent of the governed (including the right of rebellion against tyranny); the delegation of power through written constitutions; and the notion that colonial peoples of the Americas could become self-governing nations in their own rights.

Related Topics:
Separation of church and state - Anglican - Congregationalist - New England

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