| The Causes Of The American Revolution
Though American colonists and the British worked together to win
the French and Indian War, the victory began to divide the allies.
The colonists felt they had driven the French from North America
and were entitled to settle the interior of the continent and expand
their commercial enterprises.
The British felt they had sacrificed much to remove the French
threat to the colonies and wanted the Americans to pay more in taxes
to defend the empire. The English awarded much of the interior of
the continent to the former French colony of Quebec and limited
westward expansion of the English colonies.
The experience of having fought successfully against the French
also emboldened many of the Americans. They thought they had often
done as well in battle as the British regulars and felt they could
hold their own against the finest armies in the world. The Americans
also felt they were as entitled and capable of self-government as
British subjects in England who were allowed to vote for members
of parliament.
As Parliament attempted to tax the colonies to pay for the French
and Indian War, the Americans resisted. A tax on official documents
was called the "Stamp Tax." Colonists met in New York
to organize opposition to this tax.
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