The Fight For Freedom: The American Revolution

The Fight for Freedom The American Revolution was a time of great change in the world. The biggest empire in the world, Great Britain, was being heckled by its American colonies and had to go overseas with troops to take care of it. The American colonists split up into three sides when the war started, the Patriots, the Loyalists, and the Fence-Sitters. The American Revolution was as much a civil war as it was a war against a foreign nation (Tindall, Shi 236). The Patriots and Loyalists both lived in the American colonies but often found themselves in conflict with each other, and that is why it can be considered a civil war. The American Revolution was a time of change, and two sides stood up for what they believed in. Patriots and Loyalists
Writers on both sides hoped to sway fence-sitters their way with their writings and pamphlets. The first writing to really fuel the fire was Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. In Common Sense, Paine argues for American Independence from Great Britain, and makes the case for a Democratic Republic in America. A Democratic-Republic is a system in which the top officials are elected into office, not a monarchy like Great Britain had. Common Sense was published in January of 1776 and quickly added a spark for the Patriots. James Chalmers, a Maryland planter and Loyalist, wrote his own pamphlet in response to Common Sense. Plain Truth was published in 1776 denouncing the Patriot cause and calling Paine “a political quack” (ushistory.org). Plain Truth never fired things up the way Common Sense did, and the “American patriots won the war of propaganda. Committees of Correspondence persuaded many fence-sitters to join the patriot cause” (ushistory.org). The battle for the Fence-sitters was one of the most important battles, and the Patriots came out victorious. The Loyalists and Patriots will forever be remembered in American History. In the eyes of Americans, the Patriots are looked at as true heroes, and they are people Americans should thank for their freedom while the Loyalists are looked at as traders. There was truly a “civil war” in America during the Revolution with all the brutal fights and beatings, families and friends splitting apart, and the literature published during the war. The Americans won the war at the end, getting independence from Great Britain, and would go on to become the most powerful nation in the