From 1775 to 1783, the American Revolutionary War is one of the most important conflicts and pieces of history for the United States United States of America. The American Revolution granted America independence from Great Britain through years of brutal fighting and bloodshed, all due to growing tensions between the American colonies and the British government. Beginning with the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775 and ending with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which officially ended the war and gave America its independence, the American Revolutionary War was a war fought by many participants, including many African Americans who are less known for their contributions during the war. African Americans played a very important role on both sides of the Revolutionary War because they fought for the side that gave them the most promising path to freedom. African Americans like Crispus Attucks and Peter Salem are just a few of the many who contributed greatly to America becoming a sovereign country. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Considering that he was the first casualty and the very beginning of the American Revolution, Crispus Attucks was one of five men killed when they were shot by British soldiers during an event called the "Boston Massacre" in 1770. Previously, the British they had created pieces of legislation such as The Sugar Act in 1764, The Stamp Act in 1765, and The Townshend Acts in 1767 to make the colonists pay high taxes and represent them in Great Britain, leading the colonists to be extremely enraged at the lack of self-government that they had. (1) Among those enraged were Crispus Attucks and numerous other men. Crispus Attucks and the rest of the patriot crowd began throwing snowballs and debris at the sentry in front of the customs office. A group of British soldiers came to support the disturbed guard and began firing into the crowd. Three people died immediately while 2 people were injured but died later, among the victims was Attucks. Attucks is known to be a martyr of the American Revolution for being the first to rebel against the British soldiers in British-ruled America. Attucks was a black, Native sailor who was in danger of being forced to join the British Navy.(2) With tensions growing between the sailors/settlers and the British troops, the anger of the sailors/settlers was starting to reach a boiling point. then in the 1760s and 1770s. Attucks was the man who started the Revolutionary War and encouraged the American people to fight for their country's independence. Born into slavery around 1750, Peter Salem was another well-known African American patriot who contributed to the success of American independence. After being sold to Major Lawson Buckminster by Jeremiah Belknap, Buckminster gave Salem his freedom when he joined the Continental Army. At the beginning of the war, African Americans volunteered to participate in the war, but were rejected by Washington because he felt it was unnecessary to conscript African Americans, regardless of whether they were free or slaves. Many had feared that giving weapons to slaves would allow a slave insurrection to occur and some slave owners did not want to give up their slaves who they considered their property. But after seeing that he was facing a manpower shortage and that slaves were beginning to join the British, Washington withdrew his original statement and allowed.