DATES
April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783
 
PURPOSE
As they were being taxed without being represented, many British subjects living in the 13 colonies desired to be independent from Great Britain.
 
COMBATANTS

• 13 British colonies; Native Americans; Kingdom of France; Kingdom of Spain; Dutch Republic.

• British Empire; Native Americans; Colonial loyalists; German auxiliaries.

 
TIMELINE
The military phase of the Revolutionary War spanned from the Battles of Lexington and Concord (1) in 1775 to the signing of the Treaty of Paris (2) in 1783. As with all conflicts and skirmishes before and since, there were many incidents that took place prior to the fighting which led to the actual war itself. The Revolutionary Era is generally considered to have commenced with the passage of the Stamp Act (3) in 1765 and ending with the ratification of the Bill of Rights (4) in 1791.
 
EXPLORE MORE
For study on key figures and related documents, consider checking out the French-Indian War (5) (1754-1763); the Sugar Act (6) (1764), Stamp Act (7) (1765) and Townshend Acts (8) (1767-1768); the Boston Massacre (9) (1770); the Boston Tea Party (10) (1773) and the Intolerable Acts (11) (1774); the Continental Congress (12) (1774-1781); American Founders (and their papers) (13) (1774-1815); the Committee of Five (14) (1776); the Declaration of Independence (15) (1776); Articles of Confederation (16) (1777-1781); The Federalist Papers (17) (1777-1778); the Treaty of Paris (18) (1783); Constitutional Convention and Ratification) (19) (1787-89).

FOOTNOTES
  (1) https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/april-19/
  (2) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/treaty-of-paris
  (3) https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/articles-and-essays/timeline/1764-to-1765/
  (4) https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights
  (5) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/french-indian-war
  (6) https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/articles-and-essays/timeline/1764-to-1765/
  (7) https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/articles-and-essays/timeline/1764-to-1765/
  (8) https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/articles-and-essays/timeline/1766-to-1767/
  (9) https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/march-05/
(10) https://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/teaparty.htm
(11) https://blogs.loc.gov/picturethis/2019/12/in-the-aftermath-of-the-boston-tea-party-british-and-american-perspectives/
(12) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/continental-congress
(13) https://guides.loc.gov/american-founders-papers
(14) https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history
(15) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration
(16) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/articles
(17) https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text
(18) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/treaty-of-paris
(19) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/convention-and-ratification
 
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
(a) https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/american-revolution-1763-1783/
(b) https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/American_Revolutionary_War
(c) https://www.nps.gov/subjects/americanrevolution/timeline.htm
(d) https://www.amrevmuseum.org/
(e) https://www.dar.org/
(f) https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/american-revolution-faqs