The Revolutionary War was an astounding occurrence in a world sill dominated by kings. It established the first important republic since Rome in the middle of what at the time was a wilderness far from Europe. It was the only one of the great revolutions which resulted in a democratic state, the rule of law, and civil liberties.
It was a war that the British could have easily avoided had King George and his advisors been willing to show some flexibility. Many in Britain objected to the War and a minority of Americans wanted independence even at the time the war began.
It was also a war that the American colonists won by the slimmest of margins against the most powerful country in the world. The Americans succeeded in their struggle only because they were aided by a French king who was opposed to offering the same liberties to his people that the Americans were demanding from their king.
The American Revolution is a struggle that has been somewhat lost because of the much greater scholarly interest in America on the Civil War. As a result, most American's view the war through simplistic primary school readings which obscure the tremendously complicated course of events that led to the War and creation of the American Republic. The American Revolution was the first of a series of modern revolutions.
It is often dismissed by modern more radical revolutionaries. It is, however, beyond a doubt the most successful of all the revolutions. English scholars, perhaps because Britain lost the War, have given it almost no scholarly attention. Among the consequences was a radical change in British colonial policy. In our modrn age, the American Revolution is often dismissed as not a really revolutionary struggle and authors often foicus on the seemingly more radical revolutions like the French Revolution or the various Marrxist revolutions. Our contention is that the American Revolution was the really revolutionary event--primarily because of the astonishing advance in human freedom, an element laking in the seemingly more radical other revolutions.
