As the United States commemorated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, the legacy of the American Revolution remains complex and contested. Historian Richard Bell notes that on the day the Declaration was proclaimed, loyalists still made up 20% of the population, including Benjamin Franklin's son William, who rejected his father's secessionist views and continued serving as Royal Governor of New Jersey.
The revolution, led by figures such as George Washington, was a minority project with only limited buy-in from colonists. Bell estimates around two million white colonists lived in the 13 colonies, divided into patriots, loyalists, and others. The patriots were determined to exclude those with loyalist sympathies, often amid intimidation and violence. Documentary maker Ken Burns highlights that many Americans find it difficult to fully reflect on the revolution's ferocity.
Bell also points to the irony that a prior British victory over the French in Quebec freed American colonists from a northern invasion threat, enabling their rebellion. Later, tensions led to the War of 1812, when British troops invaded the United States, burning the White House and Capitol.
Recent scholarship has increasingly focused on the roles of Black and Indigenous Americans during the revolution, though the growing number of white settlers and US military power after 1790 presented significant challenges.
Under Donald Trump, debates over the meaning of Independence Day have become more politically charged than ever, reflecting ongoing divisions rooted in the nation's founding.
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