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During the Enlightenment era, colonists held on to the ideas of self-government and Republicanism and utilized them to legitimize resistance to Britain's

financial control and political control of the colonies.The Stamp Act of 1765 imposed taxes on all papers and official documents in all of the colonies, as a way to get money back after losing their money in the Seven Years’ War. Once the Stamp Act was passed, it led to a huge uproar in all the colonies and was soon to be a major cause of the Revolution. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was a protest against the taxes that Britain had imposed with their Acts. The protest proved to Parliament that the colonists were angry about the taxes and that they were going to continue to fight out against Britain.

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The American Revolution. The greatest feat in America's history did not just happen overnight.  Many factors contributed to the coming of this war, especially from 1754 to 1776.  In 1754 the French and Indian War pushed more British soldiers and rulers into the land, raised taxes, and limited the rights of Americans.  These consequences from the war did not get better, it just got worse.  Then, finally, in 1776 the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring war on Britain.

Although the early American Colonies were under British control, they were given enough freedom to give them a hope of becoming completely free from rule and given a say in their own governing. This caused the Americans to reevaluate Britain's rule over them, decided enough was enough after all the negative things Britain had done, and chose to finally fight back, and gain their permanent freedom.

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Throughout the time of America as a colony, they were largely left alone from British rule. They were allowed to vote their own government in office and draft laws as necessary. Even though the British government had intervened with tariffs before, they were done away with relatively quickly after protesting from colonists. After this, the colonies were allowed to have open trade with other countries, little taxes from Britain, and be relatively autonomous. Then, the seven years war came and went which left the British in debt. This debt led to heavy taxes and tariffs on the colonists, and eventually, mercantilism. The British heightened their enforcement of these taxes with stationing soldiers at every major city.

Although the Boston tea party made headlines across the world, the Intolerable Acts and Navigation Acts fostered the most change in the British-American economy. The Boston tea party certainly had economical effects imposed on the Americans, but the navigation acts destroyed America’s foreign economy and the intolerable acts declined the Americans trade from their harbors.

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Prior to the American revolution, the British government gave the colonists a big amount of freedom in creating their own systems, this period was called salutary neglect. This led to the British later being angered that the colonists were functioning well without their hand and so they came down hard with acts and taxes that controlled the colonist industries. This led to angered  feelings from the colonists since they felt they were entitled to what they had created.

While the enlightenment movement played a large part in expanding self government and making colonials reject imperial british, the idea of economic and political freedom from the British created much more noise when Britain tried to enforce mercantilism and taxes which led directly to the revolution. Therefore the radical shift America had in political and economic power was the leading cause that influenced America's reaction to british imperial authority.

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In the times between 1754 and 1776 several harsh british policies led to ideas of rebellion being formed. The Americans were outraged because of the power Britain held against them for example taxation without representation. The population of Americans were required to pay taxes to a “government authority without having any say in that government's policies.” This rattled relations then British soldiers went to an extreme that pushed Americans over their boiling point. They were stripped of their privacy with the Quartering act of 1765 which allowed soldiers to house with Americans. Over the period of 1754 to 1776 there were a multitude of factors that led to tension between the colonies and mother england. In spite of the fact that the overbearing British taxation policies of the time caused all kinds of controversy in the colonies, American reaction to British imperial authority was most influenced by American interest in self government and a state without British military presence. Therefore, despite Britain's harsh economic grip on the colonies, colonial rebellion to British authority was most influenced by colonial interest in self-government in opposition to Britain's harsh military presence.

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From 1754 to 1776, there were many instances that pushed the colonists to proclaim independence. Salutary neglect left the colonists on their own, free from the reign of Britain. After the 7 years war, stamp acts, taxes due to debt, and the proclamation of 1763 put tensions on the liberties of the colonists. “Taxation without representation” was the cry of patriot groups like the sons and daughters of liberty. Influences from writers like John Locke and Thomas Paine pushed the ideas of self-government onto the colonists leading up to the Revolutionary war. The colonists sincerely believed they had the right to govern themselves, being separated from Britain by an ocean and having founded an entirely new society. Although the French and Indian War created tensions in colonial America, it was the social influence and ideas of John Locke and writers like Thomas Paine that shaped the American ideals of self government and independence.

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Prior to the American Revolution, the British colonies of America had undergone various forms of government. The relationship between Britain and America ebbed and flowed from rigid tyrannical authority to rather few and far between relationships. For example, the Dominion of New England, where strict Navigation Laws were enforced, led to discontent and tension among colonists. However, it was followed by the period of Salutary Neglect in which William and Mary ruled, and the colonies were free to trade and begin forming their ideas of governance, giving them a taste of possible sovereignty. Additionally, European philosophers such as John Locke started publicizing ideas of personal liberty and self-government, which quickly transformed into an American push for democracy. Although Americans strongly opposed being ruled by a foreign tyrant, as colonists felt they lacked representation, the ideas of economic freedom instead of extensive taxing as well as social freedoms and liberty supported by enlightenment ideals more greatly influenced American colonial reaction to British imperial authority.

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Prior to 1754, the American colonies had limited self-government under British imperial rule. Proprietary Colonies were able to have more self-government than Royal Colonies. Some early forms of self-government in the colonies were represented in assemblies such as the House of Burgesses. However, these were short-lived because British Imperial policy became stricter over time, especially after the French-Indian War. Economically, British colonies enjoyed a period of salutary neglect until around this same time period when they were put under stricter economic control. Some may say that the ability to practice self-government greatly influenced the American colonial reaction to imperial British authority from 1754 to 1776. However, the enlightenment ideals of popular sovereignty and a balance of authority most influenced the American colonial reaction to imperial British authority during this time.