1776 – American Revolution

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE?

Just like today, families during the Revolutionary War lived differently depending on where they lived and how much money they had.

People who were poor often lived in one-room houses. Wealthier people would often live in two-story homes that typically had four rooms downstairs and two upstairs.

In many homes, the kitchen was in a separate building to prevent fires. Bathrooms were in a separate little building called the "privy", "outhouse", or "necessary".

During colonial times people did not have running water or electricity. They got light from the fireplace and from candles they would carry around with them.

WHAT WAS THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION?

The American Revolution was a war fought between the American colonies and Great Britain from 1775 to 1783. The war started because the colonists were angry at the British. They thought the British were taxing them unfairly. In 1776, the colonists decided they wanted to be free from Great Britain. They declared their independence and created the United States of America.

CAUSES OF THE WAR

Great Britain began establishing colonies in North America in the 1600s. After the expensive Seven Years' War, Britain taxed its colonies to help pay for it. These laws made the colonists very angry. In December 1773, some colonists dressed like Native Americans, boarded three ships in Boston, and threw crates of British tea into the harbor — the Boston Tea Party.

The British punished the colonists. Colonial leaders met in Philadelphia to demand the British stop. The British refused, and war followed. It lasted eight years and ended with American independence.