American Origins of The Conflict
After victory in the Seven Years' War Britain passed new taxes on the American colonists, especially the Stamp Tax of 1765. The Americans argued that taxes could be levied only by colonial legislatures, and used the slogan "No taxation without representation" to assert their constitutional rights. The tax was imposed; the Americans organized their Thirteen Colonies for the first time and refused to pay. Parliament repealed the stamp tax but insisted on its right to impose taxes, and looked for new taxes. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, Britain decided to close the port and strip Massachusetts of its traditional self government in reprisal. Opinion rapidly hardened throughout the Thirteen Colonies in defiance. A congress of the colonists was organized in 1774, armed militias mobilized, and the colonial assemblies began taking control over provincial governments, supplanting royal authority. In July 1776 the colonies formed the United States of America and declared independence from Britain.
Read more about this topic: France In The American Revolutionary War
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