Written declarations, not battles, drove the Revolution’s course

Evidence

Historians have uncovered nearly one hundred resolutions urging independence issued throughout 1776 by states and counties and towns, artisan and militia associations, and the provincial congresses of nine colonies. The tone, language, and form are consistent. In each, a narrative of self-defense against enslavement is built from fragmentary evidence. Each lists “abuses and usurpations” adding up to a tyrannical plot. These declarations also shared an aim: to ensure that the war that had begun against the British in 1775 resulted not in more petitions for a redress of grievances over taxation or better representation in Parliament but rather in independence. To see the conspiracy was to see the necessity of revolution. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 57 (#expands, via linked claim)

If dated from the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 rather than from the start of armed hostilities at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, then the Revolutionary War began badly for the Americans. Even proclaiming independence helped little at first. Congress expected otherwise, with its president, John Hancock, sending the news to Washington in a letter expressing the members’ conviction that “our Affairs may take a more favourable Turn” because of the Declaration. … No longer battling for liberty under the king, Americans would fight for liberty and independence. Public readings of the Declaration of Independence to the assembled troops on York Island (now Manhattan Island) and gathered crowds in cities and towns throughout the states often touched off impromptu celebrations marked by cheers, toasts, musket fire, and the destruction of such signs of British rule as the king’s arms or images of George III. But momentary enthusiasm did not change underlying realities. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 229 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

The American Revolution would not have been named as such if the larger army had won. American rebel forces avoided direct, open-field battles with the better-trained and better-organized British army, opting instead for fleeting skirmishes, picking off troops as they marched or attacking when the larger army passed through choke points—narrow passages or river crossings that spread the army out, diminishing their numerical advantage. Similar tactics were used against U.S. forces in Vietnam and the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. Today, U.S. forces grapple daily with sneak attacks by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 415 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Nearly a hundred independent 1776 declarations built conspiracist narratives toward revolution — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 57; The American Revolution succeeded through guerrilla tactics, not open-field battle — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 415; Declaring independence did not transform the war’s immediate military prospects — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 229

Broader Connections

• Nearly a hundred independent 1776 declarations built conspiracist narratives toward revolution #expands (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 57
• Declaring independence did not transform the war’s immediate military prospects #qualifies (0.80) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 229
• The American Revolution succeeded through guerrilla tactics, not open-field battle #contradicts (0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 415