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The American Revolution was not a revolution in the sense of a radical ortotal change. It was not a sudden and violent overturning of the political and social framework, such as later occurred in France and Russia, when both were already independent nations. Significantchanges were ushered in, but they were not breathtaking. What happened was accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution. During theconflict itself people went onworking and praying, marrying and playing. Mostof them were not seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and many ofthe more isolated communities scarcely knew that a war was on. AmericasWar of Independence heralded the birth of three modern nations. One was Canada,which received its first large influx of English-speaking population fromthe thousands of loyalists who fled there from the United States. Anotherwas Australia, which became a penal colony now that America was no longeravailable for prisoners and debtors. The third newcomer -- the UnitedStates -- based itself squarely on republican principles. Yet even thepolitical overturn was not so revolutionary as one might suppose. In somestates, notably Connecticut and Rhode Island, the war largely ratified a colonial self-rule already existing. British officials, everywhereousted, were replaced by a home-grown governing class, which promptly sought alocal substitute for king and Parliament. 全文翻译： | 
