According to Aristotle, war is as natural in society as peace; however, there are many human beings who do not want it, who condemn all forms of war and advocate for peace, although war is generally unavoidable, unfortunately. Wars arise from a conflict between countries or organized groups that resort to violence to impose themselves, and the others, the subjugated, to get rid of the domination that is imposed on them. Inquiring about the causes that originate wars has been a constant concern of many philosophers, intellectuals, historians, and politicians, with the purpose of avoiding possible future conflicts.
Like any country that in the course of history has suffered the colonization and imposition of another, the inhabitants of the North American territory saw the need to initiate a process of emancipation that, although it began in 1775, officially took place on July 4 1776, celebration day and national holiday in the United States, memorable date on which the Declaration of Independence is celebrated each year, promoted by four of the main figures of the independence of that country, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, who, inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment (European cultural and intellectual movement), thought of the idea of an independent America, which is why their formal separation from British colonialism is approved and proclaimed, which triggers in the War of Independence of the United States, a warlike conflict that pitted the Thirteen British Colonies in North America against the Kingdom of Great Britain. Broadly speaking, the cause of this conflict was the unfair treatment that Great Britain imposed on its inhabitants, who contributed wealth and taxes to the empire, but they weren’t allowed to make decisions about those taxes, so they felt segregated and not represented.
Between 1775 and 1781 several battles were fought between the British colonies and Great Britain, whose war of independence ended with the British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown, although officially this process of emancipation ended in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, in which that the independence of the United States of America is recognized, which, under the ideas of equality and freedom, creates a constitution with which a republican and democratic system is established, an example that inspired other nations of America to free themselves from the European yoke.
The battles are historical events, whose disasters, heroes, and losers are recorded in great paintings for posterity, such as the case of the battles of the War of Independence of the United States, which has several artworks by the American artist John Trumbull (1756–1843), who during independence worked as an assistant to George Washington.
Under the style of historical painting of romanticism, Trumbull made important works on these war scenes, of which four of them are in the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington: Declaration of Independence (1), the most popular painting by this artist, which, furthermore, it appears on the $2 bill; Surrender of General Burgoyne (2), depicting the surrender of the British Army under this general at the Battle of Saratoga; Surrender of Lord Cornwallis (3), representing his surrender after the Battle of Yorktown, thus ending the war and the subsequent recognition of independence; and General George Washington Resigning His Commission (4), whose resignation is interpreted as the rejection of the military dictatorship in favor of liberal democracy.
Written by José Gregorio Noroño,
