Both in the United States and in other parts of the world,most people view the American Revolutionary War(1775-1783) as a conflict pitting the American people against the British monarchy,and so it was.But the American Revolution was also an internal conflict among Americans.Members of the American ruling class-men like George Washington,Thomas Jefferson,Benjamin Franklin,and John Adams-wished to do nothing more than sever America’s relationship with Great Britain.But other Americans-especially Native American Indians,African American slaves,small farmers(peasants),and women of all ranks-also demanded changes within the American social structure.These demands for internal reform were resisted by elite Americans like Washington and Jefferson,resulting in American-against-American conflicts that in many ways resembled the classic internal revolutions of the subsequent two centuries:in France,Russia,and China.Class conflict among Americans often powerfully influenced the so-called Founding Fathers(men like Jefferson and Washington).For instance,struggles among Americans contributed to three of the Founding Fathers’ most important decisions:(1) to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776,(2) to adopt the United States Constitution in 1787,and(3) to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution in 1791.