American colonists saw themselves as partners in the British Empire, not subjects. However, the king saw the colonists as less than such, per American Battlefield Trust. The colonists would resist the taxes imposed by the Stamp Act and say they could only be taxed by their own elective colonial assemblies, per History. They would say “taxation without representation” was unfair and unconstitutional. The Americans would eventually fight back, however, the British would impose more taxes, such as the Townshend Act and the Tea Act.

American colonists would resort to tactics such as mob violence and overthrowing tea cargo from ships in Boston Harbor, just to name a few. Britain were not be able to control the colonists and resorted to any tactics they could to regain it. From 1775 to 1776, the British would step up their control. The British would use their navy to attack the coastal towns of Falmouth, Massachusetts and Norfolk, Virginia by burning down their ports, per History. This would be the last straw for colonists, and the northern and southern states would unify to declare their independence as the United States of America while fighting in the Revolutionary War against the British.