American colonists oppose efforts by the British Crown and Parliament to seize greater control in North America, escalating simmering tensions over land, taxes, and sovereignty into violent confrontation. After protestors dump tea in Boston Harbor, the British government enacts martial law in Massachusetts. Fighting at Lexington and Concord ignites a war that will last eight years.
Victory at Yorktown secures independence. Americans aspire for a more perfect union.
The war drags on and moves to new theaters: at sea, in Indian Country, and in the South.
Philadelphia falls, but the American victory at Saratoga allows France to enter the war.
