Editing North America (section)

===American Revolution===
{{Main|American Revolution|American Revolutionary War}}
In 1776, after various attempts to reconcile differences with the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]], the [[Thirteen Colonies]] in British America sent delegates to the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], who unanimously adopted the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] on 4 July 1776, written primarily by [[Thomas Jefferson]], a member of the [[Committee of Five]] charged by the Second Continental Congress with authoring it. In the Declaration, the thirteen colonies declared their independence from the British monarchy, then governed by King [[George III]], and detailed the factors that contributed to their decision. With the signing and issuance of the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies formalized and escalated the [[American Revolutionary War]], which had begun the year before at the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] on 19 April 1775. Gathered in Philadelphia following the war's outbreak, delegates from the thirteen colonies established the [[Continental Army]] from various [[Patriot (American Revolution)|patriot militias]] then engaged in resisting the British, and appointed [[George Washington]] as the Continental Army's military commander.

As the American Revolutionary War progressed, France and Spain, both then enemies of Britain, began to ultimately see the promise of a potential American victory in the war and began supporting Washington and the American Revolutionary cause. The [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]], in turn, was supported by [[Hessian (soldier)|Hessian military]] units from present-day [[Germany]].

In 1783, after an eight-year attempt to defeat the American rebellion, King George III acknowledged Britain's defeat in the war, leading to the signing of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] on 3 September 1783, which solidified the sovereign establishment of the United States.