Also, lots of slaves continued to support the British, especially after Britain promised that any slaves who fought with them would be freed. And it's worth noting that while we generally celebrate the Revolution and see it as a step toward justice and equality, the people who most needed the protection of a government might have been better off and more free if Britain had won, especially since Britain ended slavery well before America did and, you know, without a civil war. Also, even though most Americans had come to see themselves as separate from Britain before 1776, the British certainly didn't see it that way. They continued to fight either until 1781 or 1783, depending on whether you calculate by when they actually gave up or when the peace treaty was signed. So you can't really say the American Revolution was won before the fighting even started, but the truth is the American Revolution and the War for Independence weren't like this. They were like this. So here's what was pretty revolutionary about the American Revolution.