American Revolution

To an extent, it is accurate to call the American Revolution a civil war. The definition of a civil war is a war between to opposing groups of citizens belonging to the same country. The American Revolution war split the colonies up between the patriots and loyalists. Both the colonists and British soldiers were all English and therefore became the opposing groups of citizens. In this case, the colonists were fighting their own countrymen in which they were apart of the same country. The British wanted to keep control over the colonies. However, the colonists thought of themselves as being independent from the crown, (royalty) and Great Britain.

The British passed laws that concerned the whole empire, including the colonies. However, the entire empire was not represented in Parliament. "Great Britain also had the authority to bind every part and every subject without the least distinction, whether such subjects have a right to vote or not, whether the law binds places within the realm or without," as said by Lord Mansfield in 1766. The British legislation felt that the colonists "were subjects, and owed allegiance and subjection to their mother country and King George thought the colonists were traitors. George mentioned that the Britons were the best and most prestigious of all the people. Britain also really couldn't afford to fight another war because she had just been fighting wars with Spain and France that caused them major debt. Therefore that later lead them to taxing imports and exports from other colonies such as tea. Many Englishmen felt that the colonists were starting this uprising for attention. They said that the colonists were immature and self-concerned. However, the British Parliament was not the only one's that did not want a war. Loyalists, one of the two opposing groups felt that avoiding a war would be most advantageous. "Agriculture, commerce, and industry would resume their wonted vigor....our trade would still have the protection of the greatest naval power in the world," as said be loyalist Charles Inglis in 1776. However, Britain hadn't forgotten about the Tories. Britain made sure that no wrong doings occurred to them during The Treaty of Paris. "No person shall on that account suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person, liberty, or property;" which was written in the Peace Treaty of 1783.

The Patriots on the other hand felt that the colonies would be better off without being under the influence of the British Parliament. They thought of King George as being a tyrant. "He has dissolved Representation Houses repeatedly...He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign