Talk:American Revolution

What date was this Wiki page created?
I am writing an essay and need to do a citation, but need the date lol. 97.124.145.114 (talk) 04:05, 5 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I would use the time of the most recent edit (September 11, 2023) since the article is nowhere near the same as it's original creation. There is a cite feature located though in the left hand side of the page though. &mdash; JJ Be rs  08:09, 7 October 2023 (UTC)
 * From the history section it looks like this is the edit and editor that set the textual page in motion. November 18, 2003. Good luck with the essay. Randy Kryn (talk) 10:58, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 October 2023
It is listed in the right side bar that the American Revolution began in 1765. This is not true as stated within the article itself. LeoAStudent (talk) 23:37, 10 October 2023 (UTC)
 * LeoAStudent, please re-read the first sentence of the article. Drmies (talk) 23:39, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

Subjective wording in Causes Summary
As of Feb 8, 2024. Most notably noted on first and first half of the second paragraphs, as well as first half of last one. It's the first time I see italics used to stress certain words in wikipedia in the literary sense. I cannot edit this since it's a topic I'm currently researching and have little knowledge on the entire process. 77.49.154.115 (talk) 16:50, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 February 2024
Please return the page to how it originally was prior to today. Someone removed the following from the beginning of the “Origin” section:

Summary of the Causes of the American Revolution

By and large, the people who chose to come to America were a freedom-loving, independent-minded people to begin with (and they were the type of people energetic enough to take action). For example, the Pilgrims and the Puritans felt that the Church of England had corrupted the teachings of the Bible, and were willing to accept the enormous risks that coming to America entailed in order to gain religious freedom (and be left alone by England).[5][6][7]

Americans were a literate people. Unlike most people around the world, Americans could read and write. That began with the Puritans, who came beginning in the 1630s, and were great believers in education. The Puritans wanted their children to be able to read the Bible, themselves. They didn’t want their children to have to take the minister’s word for it. The Puritans wanted them to be able to read it. The literacy rate in Massachusetts was higher in colonial times than it is today. As John Adams put it, “A native of America who cannot read and write … is as rare as a comet or an earthquake.” By the time of the American Revolution, there were 40 newspapers in America (at a time when America had only two cities with over 20,000 people in them). America’s high literacy rate (particularly in Puritan New England) led to an attitude of freedom and independence. Americans’ ability to read enabled them to think for themselves, make their own decisions and run their own lives (the objectives of freedom and democracy). America’s independence and freedom can be traced directly back to the Puritans teaching their children how to read.[8][9][10][11]

The American colonies, for the better part of the first century and a half, were under a British policy referred to as Salutary Neglect, in which trade restrictions and customs duties were largely unenforced. England did this intentionally. This era of lax regulation enabled the colonies to thrive economically and become good customers for British manufacturers, thus benefiting both England and the colonies.[12][13][14]

The colonies got used to running their own affairs and solving their own problems.[15][16][17]

However, in the decade leading up to the American Revolution, this changed. England (whose national debt had doubled as a result of the French and Indian War) imposed direct taxes on the colonies (as opposed to just duties on imported products), began limiting the right to a jury trial, and began issuing Writs of Assistance (which were essentially blanket search warrants, enabling British customs officials to search anyone’s house, anytime, anywhere). In addition, thousands of British soldiers were sent to America, and Americans were required to house them. Americans felt that they had the same rights as any other British subjects, such as the right to taxation with representation (but not without), the right to a jury trial, and the right to be secure in their own homes against government intrusion. Americans complained bitterly that their “rights as Englishmen” were being trampled upon.[18][19][20][21][22]

It has been said that if the average American before the revolution had been asked, “What do you want from the British government?” that the answer would have been: “Leave me alone!” That “Leave-me-Alone” sentiment pervades all three of America’s founding documents. Most of the Declaration of Independence consists of a long list of grievances against the British government, all of which can be summed up in three words: Leave me alone. The Bill of Rights is another long list of things that the government cannot do to its citizens, which can also be summed up in three words: Leave me alone. And, the Constitution is a document that is designed to create a government that will have enough power to do what it has to do, but otherwise will leave its citizens alone.[23][24][25][26] 24.1.163.179 (talk) 19:02, 9 February 2024 (UTC)


 * , the deleting editor, if they want to explain the deletion in a bit more detail here. I do agree with their edit summary though, that section doesn't sound very WP:IMPARTIAL. There is some useful information that can be salvaged, but I honestly don't feel up for the task of completely rewriting this section. Restoring the section and tagging it with Template:Tone or Template:Essay-like also works. Liu1126 (talk) 23:07, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. It appears that this is not an uncontroversial edit. As such, a consensus needs to be built here before using the "edit request" template. PianoDan (talk) 23:25, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Discussion at WT:MOSCAPS § Founding Fathers of the United States
You are invited to join the discussion at WT:MOS § Founding Fathers of the United States on whether the expression "founding fathers" should be in lower or upper case. Thanks. Allreet (talk) 22:30, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Length and Chronology
Irregardless of Length, can we all agree that the lead should have some degree of chronology at least in terms of history? Organizing the history into a chronology was my main goal in revising the lead. I wanted to remove excess detail but I feel that it is not my place to do so in total without the consent of other editors. FictiousLibrarian (talk). 05:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Your good faith edits to the lead have much to commend, but seemed to remove too much. Before implementing can a few other editors have a look? Thanks. I particularly liked how you added the European Enlightenment in the first paragraph. Very ambitious edit, and will get back to this discussion tomorrow, but would like to call in at least a few editors,, , , thanks. Randy Kryn (talk) 05:46, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * u|Randy Kryn, thanks for pinging me. At a glance, I believe the first paragraph as proposed by u|FictitiousLibrarian is a marked improvement, though you're correct about the excised detail being important. Accordingly, it would make for a good second sentence. Overall, I agree the lead is too long and a better chronology is in order. The origins—three lengthy paragraphs on events leading up to the revolution—should be summarized into one and the remaining detail left to the Origins section. Without getting into other specifics, I'd say even the nine remaining paragraphs are a bit much, especially considering their lengths. I'd favor aiming for shorter graphs and perhaps 1-2 less. A final thought: we need to balance our inclination to tell a more complete story with visitors' desire to get the gist. The aim should be to draw readers into the body, whereas a dense lead tends to drive them away. Allreet (talk) 15:44, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * "we need to balance our inclination to tell a more complete story" Honestly, the lead of articles can not cover more than a few details from the body. The proposed length is at most 3 or 4 short paragraphs, which are not enough to fully place events or people in their historical context. That is why we link to other Wiki-articles on related topics. Dimadick (talk) 16:56, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 May 2024
Please change "1765–1791" to "1775–1791"

The American Revolution did not start in 1765, it started on April 19, 1775. This is according to the University of Rochester., and The Library Of Congress, along with many others. Watwily (talk) 00:00, 30 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Might be a bug but the citations doesn't show anything. Weird... ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 11:09, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Here are the two links:
 * "Three things you didn’t know about the American Revolution" (University of Rochester)
 * "The American Revolution, 1763 - 1783: Overview" (Library of Congress) TFD (talk) 01:22, 31 May 2024 (UTC)