America’s Revolutionary War was fought against Great Britain from 1775-1783. British control of the American colonies had been increasingly problematic for the American colonists, because the Parliament of Great Britain and the British Monarchy were both trying to establish their dominance over the colonies. Great Britain’s attempts to increase taxes and control land rights in the colonies came at a time when colonists were becoming more confident of their rights and abilities to control their own money and land.

When the Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4th, 1776, it solidified the colonists’ resistance to British control. The Revolutionary War had already been going on for a year, and the Declaration of Independence was simply a formal confirmation that the 13 colonies were united in their intent to become independent from Great Britain. The Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence were therefore the direct influences that caused the creation of the United States of America.

When a person asks, “What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?”, they are often surprised to find out that America fought Great Britain so that the colonies could control their own land, and so that they could end the high amounts of taxation imposed by the British government. The Revolutionary War did not end taxation or government control of private land, but instead it simply put a local government in charge of what the overseas British government was trying to control.

Photo Credit: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration