The French and Indian War set the stage for future events that no one could ever have imagined.The economic practice of mercantilism, which insured profit only to the mother country was the accepted practice between England and her colonies. As long as these economic policies were met, England left much of the day to day governing of the colonies up to the colonies. It was this "salutory neglect" that ultimately led to the ideological differences between England and the colonies. England won the war, but it paid a great price for that victory. England was bankrupted, and as a result had no choice but to look to her colonies to regain financial stability. The pressures of taxation and naval restrictions imposed by the crown and Parliament, were viewed by the colonists as tyrannical acts. Although the colonies were on a path to becoming "Americanized" they held the lessons of Magna Carta, the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 close to their heart. In their eyes, "Englishmen had rights" under the laws of the mother country. It was only when these laws were usurpted by the crown that the colonies had no choice but to protest their discontent. The political authority that England executed over the colonies after so many years of neglect led to the ideological differences that would ultimately result in the American Revolution. 

The British paid for the French and Indian War, which took place exclusively on the North American continent. However, the costs for the war were high. The British thought of America as a colony. and felt they should be able to tax Americans as they taxed other colonies. Consequently, the British began to impose taxes on the Americans to pay for the war. Americans believed they should be treated like other British citizens. That meant they should be allowed representatives in Parliament and have a say on whether or not they should be taxed. They protested vehemently. Their slogan was "no taxation without representation". Eventually, this led to the American Revolution because Americans refused to be ruled without representation in Parliament.