Existing comment:
By 1763, when the long struggle for the North American continent had ended with English victory over France, the thirteen American colonies had arrived at maturity, its citizens proud of their rights as Englishmen and accustomed to making their own way in the world.
To recoup the cost of the French and Indian War, in 1765 the British Parliament imposed a direct tax on the Americans (undermining the prerogative of colonial legislatures) in the form of stamps to be used on all printed matter. Out rang the cry of "No taxation without representation!" During the decade ahead, opposition to high-handed British rule grew, leading to the convening of the First Continental Congress in September 1774. The "shot heard round the world," fired on Lexington Green on April 19, 1775, overtook events, and the Second Continental Congress, gathering in May, had a war on its hands and a decision to make about America's tie to the mother country. |