The American Revolution
Thirteen colonies secede and found a republic on stated principles.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 8 years
- Known to
- ± 1 year
- Era
- Early Modern, Holocene
Colonial resistance to taxation without representation becomes war in 1775, and the Declaration of Independence in 1776 asserts that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Victory at Yorktown in 1781, with decisive French support, secures independence by 1783. The Constitution of 1787 creates a federal republic with separated powers — and protects slavery, a contradiction its authors understood and deferred.