The French and Indian War was over.
The British thought the American colonies should pay taxes to help support the British soldiers who’d come to the colonies to protect them. The British also expected the colonies to buy goods from Britain and to sell their crops to Britain. Many colonists hated both the taxes and Britain’s economic policies. After all, the colonies had no representatives in the British Parliament, where these decisions were made. By 1775, many colonists wanted independence from Britain. When British soldiers and colonists exchanged shots at the battles of Lexington and Concord, the American Revolution began. Soon after, in June 1775, America’s leaders gathered in Philadelphia to prepare for war. They chose George Washington as commander-in-chief of the newly formed Continental Army. Modest as always, he warned: “I do not think myself equal to the command.”
