America was a revolution force from the day of its discovery. The American Revolution was not the same thing as the American War of Independence. The war itself lasted only eight years, but the Revolution lasted over a century and a half and begun when the first permanent English settlers set foot on the new continent. Insurrection of thought usually precedes insurrection of deed. Over the years such ferment had occurred in the thinking of the colonists that the Revolution was partially completed in their minds before the first shot was fire or musketball began to fly.

The American Revolution had its beginnings in the French and Indian war. For seven years, Britain battled the French and Indian nations in the colonies. Where the colonies militia fought beside the troops of the British army and learned war first hand. After winning the war, Britain had a huge debt to pay. To pay these expenses, George Grenville, who was secretary of Treasury in E

On May 5, 1775 the Second Continental Congress met as agreed. There were mixed feelings about what should be done about the continued hostile acts of the British Parliament. Some delegates wanted immediate independence no matter what the cost. Others were still loyal to King George III and even though they did not like the British taxation without representation. They wanted to avoid an all-out war with England. Finally, they decided to go slowly and not make any drastic moves that might start a major war. However, on the other hand, they also felt they needed to protect themselves, so they established the Continental Army and named George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. They also passed a "Declaration of Causes of Taking up Arms," which named England as an aggressor and gave the Colonists the right to take up arms against the British.

However, one if the largest differences of opinion came with the colonies' perception of "taxation without representation". From the colonies' point of view, it was impossible to consider themselves represented in Parliament unless they actually elected members to the House of Commons. But this idea conflicted with the English principle of "virtual representation," according to which each member of Parliament represented the interests of the whole country, even the empire, despite the fact that his electoral base consisted of only a tiny minority of property owners from a given district. The rest of the community was seen to be "represented" on the ground that all inhabitants shared the same interests as the property owners who elected members of Parliament. Most British officials held that Parliament was an imperial body representing and exercising the same authority over the colonies as over the homeland. The American leaders argued that no "imperial" Parliament existed; their only legal relations were with the Crown. However, British merchants also felt the effects of the American boycott, and threw their weight behind a repeal movement, and in 1766 Parliament yielded, repealing the Stamp Act and modifying the Sugar Act.

The Stamp Act was the most ominous measure of all. A stamp tax to raise revenues to support the new military fleet. This act required the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of taxes. Involved were such things as playing cards and marriage licenses, plus other commercial and legal documents. This enraged the colonists into forming protests groups between the states called the Stamp Act Congress. This was the first time all the states began to work together for a common goal. This would prove to be an important beginning, because events such as the Continental Congresses were to follow.

However, even before the French and Indian War had ended the political harmony that was once between the colonies and the British was already being broken down, due to all of the new acts that were passed in accordance with the mercantile theory of economics. This theory of economics said that colonies are only here to serve and glorify their mother country, in this case Britain. This lead to Britain's passin

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Approximate Word count = 2093
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)