Yes it was. We consider it revolutionary because we replaced the government, but as you point out we split from the original government and did not replace it. We were also fighting for a specific territory that was only part of the mother country and not control of the government itself. For more on how and why that happened, plus how people got caught on both sides, you may enjoy this previous [answer] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/h988cg/why_did_average_american_colonists_fight_for/) I provided, particularly this comment;

One of my favorite quotes comes from B Franklin speaking to the French court about an alliance with the newly formed States in 1777 (iirc);

But if England should on that account declare war, we conceive that by the united forces of France, Spain and America, she will lose all her possessions in the West Indies, much the greatest part of that commerce that has rendered her so opulent, and be reduced to that state of weakness and humiliation she has by her perfidy, her insolence, and her cruelty both in the East and West so justly merited.

He agreed they reacted very poorly over the previous decade.

The British had spent a lot of money establishing and protecting the colonies, most recently in the French and Indian War that gained them massive territory, notably (to this story) everything from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River (which led to tensions about whether or not American colonists could expand there, which the King said we couldn't). The "poor reaction" is entirely dependent on perspective. The British certainly felt it was time for us children to begin contributing to the piggy bank. When we refused they were merely exerting their right to govern over the insolent states, like a father punishing a child or master a slave. For every backtalk, we got slapped. For every slap, we increased the insubordination.

One thing Dr Freeman points out in that course (which can often be lost in the facts) is that both sides were humans. There was no "bad guy," just two brothers fighting.

You're correct that pamphlets, newspapers, speeches, and letters played a huge part but there were so many contributors it can't be assigned to a few favorites. Even Sam Adams later admitted how much information and inspiration he himself had from letters by Arthur Lee (brother to more famous Henry and Francis) who was in London as an agent of Massachusetts from 1770-1776 (and was still there when we declared independence). It was the free press much more than a few individuals writing that had the big impact there...