Major events and developments between 1660 and 1763

¶ … building reasons (events) for the colonists' change of opinion regarding British rule from 1660-1763.

Reason 1: America was becoming a unique culture, distinct from the British society from which it had sprung. There was more ethnic diversity. Americans were not simply English, but Scottish, German, and Irish immigrants. This combination had created a unique blend of religious and national diversity that made America very distinct from England. Economic diversity between the Northern and Southern colonies was another contribution to American cultural diversity, making it very different from the economic structure of England. Also, the American culture had been changed through contact with Native peoples. However, the English government had grown more pervasive in its influence throughout the colonies, without recognizing this fact.

Reason 2: The American local government was growing more powerful. In contrast, the British monarchy was growing increasingly distrusted in England and in America. By 1763, the American legislature had increased the powers of provincial assemblies and expanded assembly authority. But King George III was considered unintelligent, perhaps even mad, and the British Parliament was seen as unrepresentative of the common people, reverting to the way it had been before the Glorious Revolution.

Reason 3: The two lands argued if the recent tax increases were fair or unfair to the colonists. America felt it should have more authority about how tax policy was determined in Parliament. The British thought that the taxation was fair, as it had been incurred partly because of the expenses of defending the colonies. Americans found the taxes unfair because they were passed without their legislative consent, as they had no representatives in Parliament in the Mother Country. Also, they saw the tax policy as less the result of protection and more a result of England's increasing expenses, because of the king's wasteful; spending policies.

Reason 4: The Great Awakening awakened old cultural reminders of the reasons that the Puritans had left England, and the state-run Church of England, to found the colonies long ago.

Reason 5: England was making 'noise' about abolishing the slave trade, which the Southern colonists were profoundly opposed to, as they believed this would mark the end of their agriculturally-based way of life.

Reason 6: The rise of individualism, inspired partly by the Awakening and also the increased popularity of the philosophy of John Locke, was another contribution to the growing sense of discontent amongst the colonists.