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American Revolution One of the central myths that many Americans entertain about the Revolutionary War is that victory over the British redcoats was quick and easy. A united, freedom-loving country rose up in righteous anger at the King's tyrannical actions, grabbed their trusty flintlocks, hid behind trees and walls, defeated the dull British soldiers who were sitting ducks in their scarlet uniforms, and established the United States of America. Throughout the story, there is a …

…right of revolution. To launch a revolution, and fight a war for political principles was a new development in the world. Certainly, in the eighteenth century, Europeans fought wars for dynastic ambition or economic gain. The American Revolution's emphasis on self-rule and the right of revolution was a standing challenge to the existing European order that would not go unnoticed. The world of kings and lords, hierarchy and inequality, would never be the same again.