When the fighting began, most americans wanted the colonies to be independent from great britain?

When the fighting began with skirmishes such as those at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the American sentiment regarding independence was actually quite diverse and fragmented. Many colonists, at this early stage, were still loyal to the British Crown and hoped for a reconciliation that would allow for self-governance while remaining a part of the British Empire. These colonists were known as Loyalists or Tories. There was a spectrum of opinions, from radical patriots or Whigs who wanted complete independence, to those who were undecided or ambivalent about the prospect of breaking away from British rule.

The idea of complete independence gained traction slowly. It was not until Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" was published in January 1776 that the idea of independence started to gain mass appeal. Paine's arguments were straightforward and persuasive, appealing to a wider audience's sense of identity and growing resentment against British rule. As the war continued and the British response hardened, more colonists began to see independence as both desirable and necessary.

The decision to declare independence was a gradual process influenced by a combination of factors: growing sentiments of national identity, the Continental Congress's leadership, military escalations, and British policies that were perceived as oppressive or unjust. It was about a year into the conflict that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, signaling the clear intent of the colonies to form a new nation, the United States of America.