American Identity.

The Colonies had developed a strong sense of their identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution. The time before the revolution showed how the English colonies united. "Join, or Die" was their slogan and their motivation.They grew into one major body, which was not going to be taken for a fool, especially by England.

When England engaged in the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1754-1763, the colonies and their mother country joined together to fight the French. The colonies used popular images to entice people to join the war effort. The colonies wanted to move westward into what was then French territory. When England won the war, the colonists were happy because now they thought that they could move west. However, England drew a Proclamation Line, which made all lands west of the Appalachians belong to the Indians. England wanted to tighten their control over the colonies.

ENGLAND CRICKET TEAM

Boston Tea Party ("Americans throwing Cargoes of t...

English: A commemorative plaque at the site of the...

Of course this would not work. As Edmund Burke stated "...The eternal barriers of nature forbid that the colonies should be blended or coalesce into the mass...of this Kingdom".

England wanted more authority over the colonies. They needed to pay off their debts from the French and Indian War and they thought to use the colonies as a means to pay off those debts. The colonists felt united because they believed that they fought well for the Glory of the British and the King. However, England was unhappy with how the colonists had fought during the war. England continued to use the American colonies for their own gain.

England passed the stamp Act in 1765 as a way to get money from the colonies. This act placed a tax on stamps needed to make certain things official. The colonies reacted in unified protests and riots...