The American Revolution was not a sudden and violent overturning
of the political and social framework, such as later occurred in
France and Russia, when both were already independent nations.
Significant changes were ushered in, but they were not
breathtaking. What happened was accelerated evolution rather than
outright revolution. During the conflict itself people went on
working and praying, marrying and playing. Most of them were not
seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and many of the more
isolated communities scarcely knew that a war was on.
America's War of Independence heralded the birth of three modern
nations. One was Canada, which received its first large influx of
English-speaking population from the thousands of loyalists who
fled there from the United States. Another was Australia, which
became a penal colony now that America was no longer available for
prisoners and debtors. The third newcomer-the United States-based
itself squarely on republican principles.
Yet even the political overturn was not so revolutionary as one
might suppose. In some states, notably Connecticut and Rhode
Island, the war largely ratified a colonial self-rule already
existing. British officials, everywhere ousted, were replaced by a
home-grown governing class, which promptly sought a local
substitute for king and Parliament.