Editing American Revolution (section)

====Patriots====
{{Main|Patriot (American Revolution)}}
{{Further|Sons of Liberty}}
Those who fought for independence were called "Revolutionaries", "Continentals", "Rebels", "Patriots", "Whigs", "Congress-men", or "Americans" during and after the war. They included a full range of social and economic classes but were unanimous regarding the need to defend the rights of Americans and uphold the principles of republicanism in rejecting monarchy and aristocracy, while emphasizing civic virtue by citizens. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were mostly—with definite exceptions—well-educated, of British stock, and of the Protestant faith.<ref>[[Caroline Robbins]],  "Decision in '76: Reflections on the 56 Signers". ''Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society''. Vol. 89 pp. 72–87, quote at p. 86.</ref><ref>See also Richard D. Brown, "The Founding Fathers of 1776 and 1787: A collective view". ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1976) 33#3: 465–480.  [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1921543 online]</ref> [[Early American publishers and printers|Newspapers were strongholds of patriotism]] (although there were a few Loyalist papers) and printed many pamphlets, announcements, patriotic letters, and pronouncements.<ref>Carol Sue Humphrey, ''The American Revolution and the Press: The Promise of Independence'' (Northwestern University Press; 2013)</ref>

According to historian Robert Calhoon, 40 to 45 percent of the white population in the Thirteen Colonies supported the Patriots' cause, 15 to 20 percent supported the Loyalists, and the remainder were neutral or kept a low profile.<ref>Robert M. Calhoon, "Loyalism and neutrality" in {{cite book|author1=Jack P. Greene|author2=J.R. Pole|title=A Companion to the American Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xK1NuzpAcH8C&pg=PA235|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=235|isbn=978-0470756447}}</ref> Mark Lender concludes that ordinary people became insurgents against the British because they held a sense of rights which the British were violating, rights that stressed local autonomy, fair dealing, and government by consent. They were highly sensitive to the issue of tyranny, which they saw manifested in the British response to the Boston Tea Party. The arrival in Boston of the British Army heightened their sense of violated rights, leading to rage and demands for revenge. They had faith that God was on their side.<ref>Mark Edward Lender, review of ''American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People'' (2010) by T. H. Breen, in ''The Journal of Military History'' (2012) 76#1 pp. 233–234</ref>

Thomas Paine published his pamphlet [[Common Sense (pamphlet)|''Common Sense'']] in January 1776, after the Revolution had started. It was widely distributed and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to concurrently spreading the ideas of republicanism and liberalism, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Great Britain and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army.<ref name="Ferguson, 2000 pp. 465">Ferguson, ''The Commonalities of Common Sense'' (2000) pp. 465–504</ref> Paine presented the Revolution as the solution for Americans alarmed by the threat of tyranny.<ref name="Ferguson, 2000 pp. 465"/>