American War of Independence?

Question

A Brit asking this!
How many Americans believe that the War of Independence was in fact the first American Civil War! Bearing in mind that many Americans fought on the side of Britain.
Please don't get "Uptight" Just a query!

Very interesting views on the subject. Thanks.
To m1a1mikegolf, any war that involves people from the same Country engaging in war against each other, by its nature makes it a civil war. Wether it is a British one or American is by the by.
I believe it was a civil war rather than a war of Independence.

Answer 1

Absolutely. I would actually also argue that it was a Civil War not just here on the continent but also in Britain. Many Americans have not been taught that there were many voices supporting American independence in Britain, including a number of important MPs. Since History is "written by the victors" we rarely hear about the Loyalists in our history texts. Conventional wisdom on the subject is that 1/3 of the Colonists were in favor of independence, 1/3 were Loyalists, and 1/3 did not really care. We also hear little of the Loyalists fleeing to Canada after the war either because they still wishes to be British subjects or feared reprisals from the victorious Americans.

Answer 2

I think that although you are correct in thinking that the American Revolution (War of Independence) could be classified as the first American Civil War, most people don't view it as such. I think the main reasoning that this occurs is because the America as we see it wasn't officially founded until after we won the American Revolution.

I can't imagine to many people getting uptight over this one, except maybe a few overzealous American History scholars, but then, they're uptight already, so who cares? :-)

Answer 3

I think you cannot call it an American Civil War, a British Colonial Civil war perhaps, because the U.S. had not been founded yet. But you are right, There were large portions of the population that Hated the revolutionaries.

Answer 4

It was a civil war in the fact that it was a war of independence from England only. Since the United States didn't exist yet, it was not a US civil war such as we had in 1860's.

To DT - The US civil war was not intended to "disintegrate" the US either; it was a war to allow the secession of the Southern States from the Union, which they should have been allowed to do.

Answer 5

It was clearly a civil war. The colonies rebelled against the central British government, formed their own government and army, and proceeded to wage war to win independence as a sovereign nation.

Many of the colonists were sympathetic to British rule, which motivated them to fight on the British side.

Good question. I had never considered the war for independence this way before. Thanks!

Answer 6

American Revolution

Answer 7

Well, under the technical definition of the word...yes, I suppose it could be considered a civil war, seeing as it was fought between British subjects.

Answer 8

In that context it would be a British Civil War since we were all British subjects.

Answer 9

I twas not a "civil war" because the war in America did not involve an attempt to disintegrate England. There was no fighting in England.

Answer 10

It was not a 'civil war' - it was the first war for colonial independence.