<span>By 1775, the attitudes of America’s colonial rebels had shifted from "protest to war," since it became clear around this time that Britain was not going to give in to their demands regarding taxation. </span>
The two primary reasons the colonists gave for not wanting to declare their independence were 1) that they would be going up against the greatest military in the world (Britain), and that 2) they would loose their military protection.
Because they didn't want to be governed by a country thousands of miles away.
