Table of Contents
Fast Facts
Top Questions
Read Next
Quizzes
American Revolution
United States history
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum - American Revolution
- American Battlefield Trust - American Revolution Timeline
- Humanities LibreTexts - American Revolution
- University of Oxford - Faculty of History - American Revolutions
- Econlib - Benefits of the American Revolution: An Exploration of Positive Externalities
- HistoryWorld - The American Revolution
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Date:
- 1775 - September 3, 1783
- Location:
- United States
- Participants:
- Dutch Republic France loyalist Spain United Kingdom United States American colonies
Top Questions
What was the American Revolution?
How did the American Revolution begin?
What were the major causes of the American Revolution?
Which countries fought on the side of the colonies during the American Revolution?
How was the American Revolution a civil war?
American Revolution, also called United States War of Independence or American Revolutionary War, (1775–83), insurrection by which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after having long adhered to a policy of salutary neglect. Until early in 1778 the conflict was a civil war within the British Empire, but ...(100 of 5767 words)