The American War of Independence
The war lasted more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs (for background see United States). Until early in 1778 the conflict was a civil war within the British Empire; afterwards it became an international war as France (in 1778), Spain (in 1779), and the Netherlands (in 1780) joined the colonies against Britain. From the beginning sea power was vital in determining the course of the war, lending to British strategy a flexibility that helped compensate for the comparatively small numbers of troops sent to America and ultimately enabling the French to help bring about the final British surrender at Yorktown.
Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/617805/American-Revolution
Refletive Questions
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What was the role of new taxes in the deterioration in relations between the American colonies and the British government?
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Did British policy on waging war against the American colonies have a unanimous support of the British parliament?
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How come the American settlers were able to beat one of the most well-organised army of one the most powerful country of the world?
Aftermath
Speech of Edmund Burke, member of parliament, who was clearly against the British policy on taxing the American colonies
A quite unusual commentary on the causes of the American War of Independence
The Treaty of Paris formally recognized the new nation in 1783, although many questions were left unsettled. The United States was going through a postwar depression and seeking not too successfully to meet its administrative problems under the Articles of Confederation.
The leaders in the new country were those prominent either in the council halls or on the fields of the Revolution, and the first three Presidents after the Constitution of the United States was adopted were Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Some of the more radical Revolutionary leaders were disappointed in the turn toward conservatism when the Revolution was over, but liberty and democracy had been fixed as the highest ideals of the United States.
(Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/American_Revolution.aspx#3)