The revolutionary war had many causes and effects. Some notable cause are as follows:
Also known as the Seven Years War, The French and Indian War was fought over conflicting territorial claims between the French and British in the Ohio River Valley. The British victory resulted in virtual expulsion of the French in North America, and the rationalization of taxing the Americans to recoup monetary losses.
The 1765 Stamp Act required colonists to pay a tax (in the form of a stamp) on printed documents, various licenses, and other goods. Colonists rebelled and terrorized British tax collectors.
The Townshend Act of 1767 authorized Parliament to issue taxes on in-demand imports such as glass, lead, paint, paper and tea. British soldiers had to be brought into Boston to prevent an uprising. Outraged by these new laws, and the Quartering Act which required colonial citizens to house and feed British troops, the American colonies began to systematically boycott British goods. Tension over the presence of British troops in Boston led to the Boston Massacre, the first episode which resulted in the loss of life. Four Bostonians were killed when Redcoats fired into an angry mob. Angry Bostonians known as the Sons of Liberty boarded a British tea vessel dressed as Indians and dumped all of its tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea tax. This event resulted in the Intolerable Acts. As tensions regarding colonial lands and taxation increased during the 1760s and 1770s, many American leaders were influenced by the liberal and republican ideals espoused by Enlightenment writers such as John Locke. Key among Locke's theories was that of the "social contract" which stated that legitimate state authority must be derived from the consent of the governed. Also, that should the government abuse the rights of the governed, it was the natural responsibility of the people to