After the French and Indian War ended, the British thought it only fair that the American colonies pay taxes to help support the British soldiers who were sent to the colonies to protect them.
The British also expected the colonies to buy goods from Britain and to sell their own farm crops to Britain. Many colonists resented both the taxes and Britain’s economic policies. After all, the American colonies had no representatives in the British Parliament, where these decisions were made. By 1775, many colonists were calling for 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.”
