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American Revolution  Table of Contents

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Causes and Effects of the American Revolution

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Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Causes

The British Empire established colonies in the Americas.

Britain and France engaged in the French and Indian War, battling
over land in North America. After the British won the war, they
gained possession of France’s North American territories east of the
Mississippi River. Up until this point the British had left the
American colonies mostly on their own, but under the rule of King
George III, Great Britain began to exert more control over the
colonies.

Stamp Act warning

Image: Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden
Foundations

The French and Indian War put the British crown in debt. In order
to increase revenues for the costs of defending the expanding
British Empire, Britain taxed the colonies. It imposed the Sugar Act
in 1764, and, one year later, it added the Stamp Act. Colonists
protested the added taxes. The Stamp Act was repealed.

In another effort to raise money and exert its authority over the
colonies, Britain established the Townshend Acts in 1767. This
series of acts placed taxes on tea, lead, paint, paper, and glass
imported to the colonies. The acts were resisted through violence,
deliberate refusal to pay, and hostility toward British agents.

Colonial opposition to the British grew, and the British sent troops
to Boston, Massachusetts. As punishment for the colonists’
resistance, the British Parliament enacted four measures known as
the Intolerable Acts. Meant to divide the colonies, the act united the
colonies and provided justification for organizing the First
Continental Congress in 1774.

After representatives for the colonists called on Britain to cancel the

Intolerable Acts, Britain responded by sending more troops.
Fighting ensued, and the colonies officially declared independence
on July 4, 1776.

Effects

The Peace of Paris, a collection of treaties signed by both sides,

ended the war. Britain recognized the United States of America as
an independent country and ceded territory to the new United
States.

A new plan of government, the Articles of Confederation, were

written in 1776–77 and adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777.
The articles were not fully ratified by the states until March 1, 1781.
This new government organization served as a bridge between the
initial government by the Continental Congress and the federal
government provided under the Constitution of the United States.

signing the U.S. Constitution

Image: Architect of the Capitol

The Constitution was written in 1787 to amend the Articles of

Confederation. The Constitution organized the country’s basic
political institutions and formed the three branches of government:
judicial, executive, and legislative.

Home  World History  Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts  American Revolution

American Revolution: Facts & Related Content

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Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As American Revolutionary War • War of Independence •

United States War of Independence

Date 1775 - September 3, 1783

Location United States

Participants Dutch Republic • France • loyalist • Spain • United Kingdom

• United States • American colonies

Did You Know?

The American Revolution was the United States' longest military conflict before
the Vietnam War.

Charles Cornwallis did not himself surrender at Yorktown; rather, claiming

illness, he sent his deputy, Charles O'Hara.

Roughly 5,000 members of the Continental Army, 5 percent of the total number,
were black.

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Related Topics and References

Topics

United States American colonies Founding Fathers

British Empire Articles of Confederation

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Timeline


Battles of Lexington Siege of Boston Battle of Bunker Hill
and Concord c. April 19, 1775 - March 1776 June 17, 1775
April 19, 1775

Read More: American Revolution Timeline

Key People

Jane McCrea George Washington Thomas Jefferson

North American colonist president of United States president of United States

John Laurens Benjamin Franklin John Adams

American army officer American author, scientist, president of United States
and statesman

Alexander Hamilton George III James Monroe

United States statesman king of Great Britain president of United States

Thomas Paine Tadeusz Kościuszko Marquis de Lafayette

British-American author Polish general and statesman French noble

Samuel Adams Charles III Patrick Henry

American politician king of Spain American statesman

Alexander McGillivray Paul Revere Benedict Arnold

Creek chief United States military officer American general
and silversmith

Charles Cornwallis, Frederick North, Lord

1st Marquess and 2nd North
Earl Cornwallis prime minister of United
British general and statesman Kingdom

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