From: Jonathan Heller
Date: 2/15/00
Time: 9:34:55 PM
Remote Name: 155.247.158.109
When and how did the Americans decide that independence was their only option?
The Americans wanted independence when the Parliament was making decisions without representation from the colonies. During the first congressional congress, many distinguished men including Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, and George Washington discussed problems of resistance to the monarchy of England that made them rebel. One of the greatest and the primary reason for a revolution were taxes. England taxed colonists yet the colonists weren’t represented in Parliament. Obviously the colonists felt that there was no reason to stay under England’s rule if they were not going to be represented. During the seven-year war, the British Parliament looked to the colonists to pay their subsequent war debt. Soon new taxes appeared on the scene as the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and others were passed. The Americans grew more and more tired of paying taxes that had nothing to do with them which enraged them to rebel even more. Around the mid 1770’s, The colonists started to make their moves. The Son’s of Liberty organized public protests, which encouraged unification among the colonists and the Townshend Revenues, and Quartering Act pushed the colonists from the Parliament.