How long was the American Revolution fought?

Question

give me the dates it started and ended, it will be chosen as best answer...easy 10 points!!

Answer 1

~At first blush, the dates appear fairly easy to ascertain. On inspection though, it comes down to how you define your terms.

The first actual armed conflict was on April 19, 1775, at Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy and Cambridge. Those skirmishes from the British perspective were simply police actions resulting from the attempt to arrest traitors Sam Adams and John Hancock and to seize an illegal cache of arms reportedly held at Concord. Being fired on by the colonials was seen as acts of terrorism more than as acts of war. From the colonial perspective, the use of arms that day was not intended as an act of war so much as it was a knee-jerk reaction to the movement of British troops out of Boston. However, armed conflict escalated from that day on and the colonial goal slowly evolved into national independence (at least for the mere 1/3 of the colonists who ever supported the cause). The war was NOT a revolution. It was a civil war and a war for national independence.

The Second Continental Congress formally declared independence (and so, necessarily, declared war) with the adoption of the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776. [That other document dated July 4, 1776, although entitled "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America", was finalized as to language and approved by delegates from only 12 colonies on July 4. It was finally approved by New York on July 9. The 'unanimous' was not added to the title until July 19. The document was signed over the course of the following year. The engrossed copy of the July 4 document was returned to the Continental Congress on August 2 and signed by many of those in attendance that day. Delegates Robert Livingstone (New York) and John Dickinson (Pennsylvania) never did sign.] That is all well and good, but the July 4 declaration itself was unnecessary, redundant and added nothing but prose and verbiage to the Lee Resolution. Neither the July 2 resolution nor the July 4 declaration had any legal effect whatsoever as a matter of international law, but each did announce the intention and ultimate goal of the rebels.

No declaration of war was necessary by Parliament since the colonies were not nations against whom war could be declared. Parliament simply enacted such legislation as was necessary to put down the treason in British territories.

The last battle of significance was at Yorktown, where the siege by French and colonial forces started on September 28, 1781, and Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, with the British southern forces, about 1/3 of crown strength in the colonies. Thereafter, the British Parliament decided not to spend more money or send additional troops to the colonies. Small skirmishes continued to break out. The Treaty of Paris between Great Britain and the now recognized American states signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by the Continental Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784. Great Britain ratified the Treaty on April 9, 1784 (well past the deadline by which ratification was required by the terms of the treaty). Separate treaties were signed by Great Britain and France, Spain, and the Netherlands (the Treaty of Versailles, 1783). Technically, the war was not over until the exchange of ratifications on May 12, 1784, or at least until the treaty was ratified by the representative governments of the combatants. Add to that confusion:

The last battle between colonial and British forces was on August 27, 1782, on the Combahee River, South Carolina.

The final battle of the war was on November 10, 1782, and was contested in the Ohio Valley between colonial forces one one side and Loyalist forces and their Shawnee allies on the other.

On November 30, 1782, a preliminary peace treaty was signed.

On January 20, 1783, the British signed a preliminary treaty with France and Spain.

On February 4, 1783, Great Britain declared an end of hostilities.

On March 15, 1783, Washington convinced his officers from going forward with their planned rebellion against the Continental Congress.

On April 11, 1783, the Continental Congress declared and end to hostilities.

Take your choice, both as to the beginning and the end. Personally, I would go with the formal declaration of war on July 2, 1776, and the exchange of ratifications on May 12, 1784, but I'm kind of anal about technicalities like that.

Answer 2

Years Of The American Revolution

Answer 3

8 years

Answer 4

RE:
How long was the American Revolution fought?
give me the dates it started and ended, it will be chosen as best answer...easy 10 points!!

Answer 5

1775-1783

Answer 6

u really like history don't you huh?