How did the United States win its independence in the Revolutionary War?
Picture thirteen colonies clinging to the edge of North America, all answering to a king across a very wide ocean. Britain was the biggest, richest empire of its day, with the best-trained army and the most powerful navy on Earth. And in 1775, these scrappy colonies decided to break away. On paper, it looked impossible. So how on Earth did they pull it off?
It started with a money fight. Britain had spent a fortune on earlier wars, so it taxed the colonies on things like tea and paper. The colonists were furious — not just at the cost, but at the idea of being taxed by a government they had no vote in. "No taxation without representation!" became the rallying cry. One night, frustrated colonists even dumped a whole shipload of tea into Boston Harbor.
