The War of Independence

Publisher Marketing: "The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution." - John Adams, 1818 The American Revolution is replete with seminal moments that every American learns in school, from the "shot heard 'round the world" to the Declaration of Independence, but the events that led up to the fighting at Lexington & Concord were borne out of 10 years of division between the British and their American colonies over everything from colonial representation in governments to taxation, the nature of searches, and the quartering of British regulars in private houses. From 1764-1775, a chain of events that included lightning rods like the Townshend Acts led to bloodshed in the form of the Boston Massacre, while the Boston Tea Party became a symbol of nonviolent protest. The political and military nature of the Revolutionary War was just as full of intrigue. While disorganized militias fought the Battles of Lexington & Concord, George Washington would lead the Continental Army in the field while men like Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia and Benjamin Franklin negotiated overseas in France. Benedict Arnold would become one of his nation's most vital war heroes and its most notorious traitor, French forces would play a crucial role at the end of the war, and the Treaty of Paris would conclude the Revolution with one last great surprise. Contributor Bio:  Fiske, John John Fiske (1842-1901), born Edmund Fisk Green, was an American philosopher and historian, born at Hartford, Connecticut. He graduated from Harvard College in 1863 and at the Harvard Law School in 1865. He practiced as a lawyer for a brief interval, before dedicating himself to popularisation and philosophical interpretation of Darwin's work and producing many books and essays on this subject. In books such as Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, Fiske aimed to show that "in reality there has never been any conflict between religion and science, nor is any reconciliation called for where harmony has always existed. " Fiske was a popular lecturer on these topics in his early career. Later he turned to historical writings, publishing books such as The Discovery of America (1892). Amongst his other works are: Myths and Myth-Makers (1873), The Unseen World (1876), The Destiny of Man, Viewed in the Light of His Origin (1884), American Political Ideas Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History (1885), The Beginnings of New England (1889), Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to its Origins (1890), The Meaning of Infancy (1909), and The War of Independence.