Causes of the Revolutionary War

• The American people were strongly independent. They wanted to do things for themselves. Great Britain was a long way away. The American people didn't want people an ocean away telling them how to live their lives.
• The British government decided to make the American colonies pay a large share of the war debt from the French and Indian War.
• Through the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and other taxes, the British tried to collect taxes that the American people considered harsh.
• The American people also thought that they should be able to send their own people to Britain's Parliament or at least vote for Britain's lawmakers.
• The combination of the harsh taxes and the lack of an American voice in Parliament gave rise to the famous phrase "taxation without representation."
• Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and others called for an independent America, colonies free from British rule and interference.
• Americans started stockpiling guns and ammunition in violation of British laws. Their defense of such a stockpile led to the shots fired at Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.