Revolutionary Period (1764-1789)

Defending
the Colonies against attack by the French and others had cost the
British a great deal of money. As a result, the British had very
high taxes in their country. They thus decided to shift some of
their financial burden to the colonists.
The Stamp Act of 1765, which taxed
all legal documents, newspapers and other documents, was met with a
great uproar in the Colonies. In 1766, this tax was repealed, but it
was just the beginning of the problems between the colonists and the
British. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was an act of revolt against
the British and their tax on tea in the Colonies.
Tensions such as these eventually
led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. A
year earlier, the War of Independence, also known as the American
Revolution, began. When the British finally surrendered on October
19, 1781, Americans were officially independent of Britain and set
about establishing their own government.
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