1765-1783 is when the American Revolution occurred – where their was a colonial revolt. The American Patriots eventually wound up defeating the British in the American Revolutionary war (1775-1783) with the assistance of France.

July 2, 1776 – the Continental Congress voted to declare independence for the thirteen American colonies from Britain.

July 4, 1776 – the independence is actually declared.

The American Revolution started with the Stamp Act Congress is 1765 where the American colonies proclaimed “no taxation without representation,” as they had no representatives in the British Parliament. That is why they rejected the Parliament’s authority to tax them. Protests steadily increased leading to the Boston Massacre in 1770, burning of the Gaspee in Rhode Island in 1772 and eventually the Boston Tea Party in December 1773. The British Parliament basically rescinded Massachusetts’ rights to self government causing the other colonies to rally behind Massachusetts. Eventually the scuffles lead to an outright war and increased tensions between the American Patriots (those who wanted independence) and the Loyalists (those who wanted to remain a part of Britain). (I wanted to note too that the American Patriots briefly attempted (unsuccessfully) to invade Canada thinking they’d find like-minded colonists). The battle that effectively ended the war in the fall of 1781 was when a combined American and French force captured a second British army at Yorktown. September 3, 1783 was when the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing the United States’ separation from Britain.

Throughout my grade-school through high-school days, I thought of history as kind of boring. But once I got into college, I started to discover how interesting history could be. While doing some research for this topic, I was reminded of some facts I had forgotten about and and learned some things I either completely and absolutely forgot about or just flat out never learned, as is the case for many of the other topics I have researched or currently am researching for other topics for this blog. In high school, I played in my school’s band and orchestra. One year my high school’s orchestra would go on a trip somewhere, another year the band would and the third year our choir did. I went on two trips – one with the band and one with the orchestra. The orchestra went to Washington, D.C. And surrounding areas. This was the year before I went to Germany as an exchange student and I remember the orchestra director emphasizing how important it is to know our history and to see the places where some of the important events happened. I now agree with him. I had teachers who never really ignited my interest in history until my college days.

Nowadays Independence Day, otherwise referred to as the “4^th of July,” is celebrated with fireworks, parades, speeches, picnics, family reunions, etc. However, I wonder how many people recall what they’ve learned about the struggles our ancestors faced in gaining independence? I know that wasn’t always the case for me.

From me to you: Happy Independence Day, and happy history learning!