Since the British won the war they were put into a large debt. So they decided to heavily tax the Colonists to help pay off their debt.
Short answer: The Colonists income was being stolen by the British because they spent too much on a war
Not all all compared to the Japanese.
Considering Pearl Harbor was a Military installation, of course it was prepared to an extent, there were people that had the job of waiting for an attack, that would then man the AA guns and other defenses.
However they were not as prepared as they could have been if they knew something was coming, heck, they weren't even in the war at this point.
The Japanese had months, maybe years (I forgot) to plan this attack. It was well coordinated and obviously took a big tole on the Americans.
So no, the Americans were not that well prepared for what had come.
Hope this helps!
Continental Army
The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies and, after 1776, from all 13 states.
The colonies were settled by people following a single religion.
and
People from many religions settled in the colonies.
The type of gov. is democracy