The American Revolutionary War In APA format Essay Example

war over the face of the globe.

Historians also stress the importance of the direct assistance that the European allies gave to the Americans in their victory over the British. It is probably not going too far to say that America owes its independence to foreign intervention and aid, especially from France.

The French Alliance changed the face of the war for the British; the American war for independence was now in essence a world war. The French monarchy sent arms, clothing, and ammunition to America; it also sent soldiers and the French Navy. Most importantly, the French kept the United States government solvent by lending it the money to keep the Revolution alive. The magnitude of French support of the American Revolution can be glimpsed at the battle of Yorktown.

There, the majority of George Washington's 15,000 man Continental Army were French soldiers. Washington's men were clothed by the French, the rifles they used were French, and French gold paid their wages. Nor must we forget that it was the French Navy that trapped Cornwallis's soldiers at Yorktown by preventing English ships sent from New York from rescuing the British army.

Finally, the American Revolution was a war of ideas. Following ideas and values embedded in the Declaration of Independence, Americans went to war to defend the inalienable rights of man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that all men were created equal.

Underlying this theory of natural rights was the contract theory of government that postulated that government was a voluntary agreement between a ruler and the people and that when the ruler violated that

contract the people had the right of revolution. To launch a revolution, and fight a war for political principles was a new development in the world. The American Revolution's emphasis on self-rule and the right of revolution was a standing challenge to the existing European order that would not go unnoticed.

Reference:

Carp, E. W. (2000). The Wars of the American Revolution. The American Revolution:

Discussions of our Revolutionary Origins. Retrieved August 24, 2007 from http://revolution.h-net.msu.edu/essays/carp.html