• Because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
• Because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
• Because they didn’t have self-government

The American colonists’ anger had been growing for years before the Revolutionary War began in 1775.

The decision to separate from the British was not an easy choice for many colonists. However, Great Britain’s “repeated injuries” against the Americans, as noted in the Declaration of Independence, convinced many to join the rebellion.

The British taxed the colonists without their consent, and the colonists had nobody to represent their needs and ideas to the British government. They were also angry because ordinary colonists were forced to let British soldiers sleep and eat in their homes.

The colonists believed the British did not respect their basic rights. The British governed the colonists without their consent, denying them self-government.