In 1775, thirteen of George III's North American colonies fiercely and famously rebelled. Localized at first, the trouble spread and eventually took on the character of a world war. By 1783, Britain had been forced to acknowledge the loss of these colonies and a new polity--the United States of America--was born. Conway examines the causes of the conflict and develops an understanding of the war itself that is both global and contemporary. He places the Anglo-American struggle in its broadest possible context by taking account of its Caribbean, European, Indian, and even African dimensions.

The American war against British imperial rule (1775-1783) was the world's first great popular revolution. Ideologically defined by the colonists' formal Declaration of Independence in 1776, the struggle has taken on something of a mythic character. From the Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere's ride to raise the countryside of New England against the march of the Redcoats; and from the American travails of Bunker Hill (1775) to the final humiliation of the British at Yorktown (1781), the entire contest is now emblematic of American national identity. Stephen Conway shows that, beyond mythology, this was more than just a local conflict: rather a titanic struggle between France and Britain. The Thirteen Colonies were merely one frontline of an extended theatre of operations, with each superpower aiming to deliver the knockout blow. This bold new history recognizes the war as the Revolution but situates it on the wider, global canvas of European warfare.

The bitter and often bloody fight which accompanied the emergence of the United States of America as an independent force on the world stage has always been a subject of much debate and controversy. Historian Jeremy Black challenges many traditional assumptions and conveys vividly the immediacy of events such as the battles of Bunker Hill and Saratoga and the sieges of Charleston and Yorktown, as well as less famous incidents, while also offering an original and thorough assessment of the campaign in its American, colonial and European contexts. Combining a chronological survey of the war with a thematic examination of the major issues, The War for American Independence, 1775–1783 is a comprehensive account of a remarkable campaign.

This book is an attempt to trace the military history of the American people during the era of the American Revolution, 1763-1789. It is more an effort to examine military policy and attitudes toward war than it is an exercise in battles and campaigns. By enlarging upon the traditional dates of the War of Independence (1775-1783), I have sought, additionally, to examine the causes and the consequences of the Revolution as they relate to things military. - Preface.

Kids love stories about underdogs, and the American Revolution is among the most famous of these tales. Desperate to be an independent country free from Britain, the rebel colonists relied on their cunning wit and visionary leadership to win an impossible war. And then they faced the real hardship—creating a country out of a victorious but chaotic society. Using engaging text, hands-on activities, and links to primary sources, The American Revolution: Experience the Battle for Independence shows readers how rebel soldiers fought in horrific conditions while their families faced their own hardships for the sake of freedom. Students examine wartime propaganda to discover the truth about events leading up to the war, and engage in vibrant debate, strategic planning, and literary deconstruction to understand the official documents upon which America is founded. Building a marshmallow cannon and creating real colonial food are some of the projects that engage readers’ design skills. Essential questions require readers to activate their critical thinking skills to discover the truth about the most important moment in American history. The American Revolution meets Common Core State Standards for literacy in history and social studies; Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

Amid a great collection of scholarship and narrative history on the Revolutionary War and the American struggle for independence, there is a gaping hole; one that John Ferling's latest book, Whirlwind, will fill. Books chronicling the Revolution have largely ranged from multivolume tomes that appeal to scholars and the most serious general readers to microhistories that necessarily gloss over swaths of Independence-era history with only cursory treatment. Written in Ferling's engaging and narrative-driven style that made books like Independence and The Ascent of George Washington critical and commercial successes, Whirlwind is a fast-paced and scrupulously told one-volume history of this epochal time. Balancing social and political concerns of the period and perspectives of the average American revolutionary with a careful examination of the war itself, Ferling has crafted the ideal book for armchair military history buffs, a book about the causes of the American Revolution, the war that won it, and the meaning of the Revolution overall. Combining careful scholarship, arresting detail, and illustrative storytelling, Whirlwind is a unique and compelling addition to any collection of books on the American Revolution.

The War fo Independence had a substantial impact on the lives of all Americans, establishing a nation and confirming American identity. The War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society focuses on a conflict which was both civil war and revolution and assesses how Americans met the challenges of adapting to the ideals of Independence and Republicanism. The war effected political reconstruction and brought economic self sufficiency and expansion, but it also brought oppression of dissenting and ethnic minorities, broadened the divide between the affluent and the poor and strengthened the institution of slavery. Focusing on the climate of war itself and its effects on the lives of those who lived through it, this book includes discussion of: *Recruitment and Society *The Home Front *Constraints on Liberty *Women and family during the war years *African Americans and Native Americans The War for Independence is a fascinating account of the wider dimension to the meaning of the American Revolution.

A rising-star historian offers a significant new global perspective on the Revolutionary War with the story of the conflict as seen through the eyes of the outsiders of colonial society Winner of the Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award • Winner of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey History Prize • Finalist for the George Washington Book Prize Over the last decade, award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal has revitalized the study of early America’s marginalized voices. Now, in Independence Lost, she recounts an untold story as rich and significant as that of the Founding Fathers: the history of the Revolutionary Era as experienced by slaves, American Indians, women, and British loyalists living on Florida’s Gulf Coast. While citizens of the thirteen rebelling colonies came to blows with the British Empire over tariffs and parliamentary representation, the situation on the rest of the continent was even more fraught. In the Gulf of Mexico, Spanish forces clashed with Britain’s strained army to carve up the Gulf Coast, as both sides competed for allegiances with the powerful Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek nations who inhabited the region. Meanwhile, African American slaves had little control over their own lives, but some individuals found opportunities to expand their freedoms during the war. Independence Lost reveals that individual motives counted as much as the ideals of liberty and freedom the Founders espoused: Independence had a personal as well as national meaning, and the choices made by people living outside the colonies were of critical importance to the war’s outcome. DuVal introduces us to the Mobile slave Petit Jean, who organized militias to fight the British at sea; the Chickasaw diplomat Payamataha, who worked to keep his people out of war; New Orleans merchant Oliver Pollock and his wife, Margaret O’Brien Pollock, who risked their own wealth to organize funds and garner Spanish support for the American Revolution; the half-Scottish-Creek leader Alexander McGillivray, who fought to protect indigenous interests from European imperial encroachment; the Cajun refugee Amand Broussard, who spent a lifetime in conflict with the British; and Scottish loyalists James and Isabella Bruce, whose work on behalf of the British Empire placed them in grave danger. Their lives illuminate the fateful events that took place along the Gulf of Mexico and, in the process, changed the history of North America itself. Adding new depth and moral complexity, Kathleen DuVal reinvigorates the story of the American Revolution. Independence Lost is a bold work that fully establishes the reputation of a historian who is already regarded as one of her generation’s best. Praise for Independence Lost “[An] astonishing story . . . Independence Lost will knock your socks off. To read [this book] is to see that the task of recovering the entire American Revolution has barely begun.”—The New York Times Book Review “A richly documented and compelling account.”—The Wall Street Journal “A remarkable, necessary—and entirely new—book about the American Revolution.”—The Daily Beast “A completely new take on the American Revolution, rife with pathos, double-dealing, and intrigue.”—Elizabeth A. Fenn, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Encounters at the Heart of the World