<P> Members of American colonial society argued the position of `` no taxation without representation '' , starting with the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 . They rejected the authority of the British Parliament to tax them because they lacked representation in Parliament . Protests steadily escalated to the burning of the Gaspee in Rhode Island in 1772 , followed by the Boston Tea Party in 1773 , during which patriots destroyed a consignment of taxed tea . The British responded by closing Boston Harbor , then followed with a series of legislative acts which effectively rescinded Massachusetts Bay Colony 's rights of self - government and caused the other colonies to rally behind Massachusetts . In late 1774 , the Patriots set up their own alternative government to better coordinate their resistance efforts against Great Britain ; other colonists preferred to remain aligned to the British Crown and were known as Loyalists or Tories . </P>
<P> Members of American colonial society argued the position of `` no taxation without representation '' , starting with the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 . They rejected the authority of the British Parliament to tax them because they lacked representation in Parliament . Protests steadily escalated to the burning of the Gaspee in Rhode Island in 1772 , followed by the Boston Tea Party in 1773 , during which patriots destroyed a consignment of taxed tea . The British responded by closing Boston Harbor , then followed with a series of legislative acts which effectively rescinded Massachusetts Bay Colony 's rights of self - government and caused the other colonies to rally behind Massachusetts . In late 1774 , the Patriots set up their own alternative government to better coordinate their resistance efforts against Great Britain ; other colonists preferred to remain aligned to the British Crown and were known as Loyalists or Tories . </P>
who was the driving force behind the stamp act
who was the driving force behind the stamp act
American colonial society
American colonial society