were created to benefit Britain. People began to believe they had learned how to govern themselves. Now, they needed to be able to do that.

As time passed, the colonists felt they could now run the colonies without British assistance. They believed they understood how to develop an economic system that would help businesses and farmers thrive. They believed they knew how to develop policies to successfully run a government. They believed they had learned so much from the British. It was now time for the colonies to be on their own and running their own country.

As time passed, the colonists felt less connected to Great Britain. Life in the colonies was different in many ways from life in Great Britain. Some colonists were feeling much less British and much more American. The connection with Great Britain was fading with each new generation. Thus, when Great Britain began to pass laws and policies the colonists didn’t like or support, more colonists began to believe they no longer needed to under the control of Great Britain. They believed the colonies were ready to govern themselves as an independent nation.

When the American colonists declared independence from Britain in 1776, they were inspired by a wide range of factors. Here are some social reasons for you to consider:

• At the time of the revolution, less than two-thirds of the colonial population were English citizens. Since their inception, the colonies had become a melting-pot of people from across Europe and Africa and, slowly, these different cultures and values had blended together to create an American identity - completely separate and distinct from the idea of being British.
• Britain's policy of taxing the colonies in the 1760s was done to assert British authority and to pay off debts as a result of fighting the French and Indian War. But this policy actually had the reverse effect: Americans were extremely angered by the onslaught of new taxes and this helped to create the revolutionary spirit and a strong desire to protect American liberty and freedom. 
• The publication of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, in 1776convinced many Americans to support the idea of independence and to take up arms, if necessary. 

The British Empire was a world superpower during the early years of the American colonies.  The colonies were largely left to their own devices and seen by the Crown as an extension of its world power.  However, Britain also viewed the colonies as a rich investment and sought to protect the flow of capital.

The Navigation Acts (1651-1733) were a series of acts designed to protect England's financial interest in the colonial trade.  The acts restricted the import and export of goods, forcing all goods to flow through England.  Heavy taxes increased the costs of goods and commodities, placing a burden on colonists.  The last act, the Molasses Act of 1733, placed a heavy tax on sugar from the West Indies, essentially forcing colonists to buy it from Britain instead.

The end of the Seven Years War in 1763 saw France cede all of its territories between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River to England.  The English Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 barred colonists from settling the area and voided any land claims.  The intent was to protect the fur trade.  The Crown also barred trade with the Indians without permission from the British government, usually involving a tax on the goods.

The Seven Years War was also costly for the British government.  Colonial taxes were lower than in England and the Crown decided to establish increased tariffs on colonial affairs to raise cash flow.  The Sugar Act (1764) reduced tariffs on non-British products in hopes of eliminating the black market for products.  The Stamp Act (1765) imposed requirements for stamps on many legal documents and newspapers.  This was a common tax in England.  The Quartering Act was not a tax, but required colonials to house and transport British troops.  The Townshend Act (1767) imposed taxes on a variety of goods to increase revenue and established a Board of Customs Commissioners. 

The American colonies responded to these increases with mostly peaceful protests and boycotts.  They were successful in gaining the repeal of several of the acts.  The Crown made a disastrous decision to enact the Tea Act (1773) which gave the struggling British East India Company the ability to ship tea directly to the colonies, threatening the profits of competitors.  After the Boston Tea Party, Parliament attempted to re-assert their ability to tax the colonies with The Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Justice Act and Quartering Act.  These were labeled the Intolerable Acts by the colonists and viewed as the last straw by an increasingly overbearing British government.