A Nation in the Making
"Everything that is right and reasonable
pleads for separation." Thomas Paine

The American Revolution (1775-1783). The thirteen American colonies wanted to be free from rule by Great Britain. Freedom would make it possible to create a new kind of government without a king! In the democracy envisioned by our country's earliest leaders, Americans would govern themselves based on certain principles or ideals.

Few people at the time thought that the American Revolution would succeed and the Americans could win a war against the world's greatest empire. At the beginning of the war, there was no regular American army, just a militia made up of civilians—and most of them were farmers! Naturally, they were not used to long campaigns or battles with British Regulars, and thousands quit. General Washington begged the Continental Congress to provide a regular army of men enlisted for a long term, but Congress felt that step would violate civil liberties. It was only after so many American defeats threatened the war effort that Congress agreed to offer extra pay to officers and privates and pledged to see the war to an end.

The American Revolution raised many questions about the role of government and the place of the military within it. Remember, there was no President until 1789, and no Congress as we know it today. A nation was truly in the making—and it might have failed. But with the great energy and sense of common purpose that defines us, Americans eventually forced the British to sue for peace and grant America its independence.