The American people were strongly independent. They wanted to do things for themselves. Great Britain was a long way away. The American people didn't want people an ocean away telling them how to live their lives. The British government decided to make the American colonies pay a large share of the war debt from the French and Indian War. Through the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and other taxes, the British tried to collect taxes that the American people considered harsh. The American people also thought that they should be able to send their own people to Britain's Parliament or at least vote for Britain's lawmakers. The combination of the harsh taxes and the lack of an American voice in Parliament gave rise to the famous phrase "taxation without representation." Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and others called for an independent America, colonies free from British rule and interference. Americans started stockpiling guns and ammunition in violation of British laws. Their defense of such a stockpile led to the shots fired at Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
