The Molasses Act, for example, called for a small duty to be paid on the import of Molasses. It went primarily unopposed, because most American entrepreneurs found ways to avoid paying the duties. However, when Britain passed the Sugar Act in 1764, which replaced the less disturbing Molasses Act, it began to dawn on Americans that they were actually being taxed by the mother country, instead of just regulated (Ward p. 6-7). Other complaints were rumbling, as well, regarding Britain's laws against westward expansion.

             By 1774, England had incurred a mammoth national debt in its victory over the French, with whom it had battled for control of America and Canada. In an effort to recoup some of its losses, England naturally turned to its American colonies, which it considered to be under its rightful ownership, and made decisions to formally tax Americans and enforce the Navigational Acts that had been ignored by Americans for years (Ward, p.7-8). In a measure designed to protect the colonies from further invasion by the French, Britain also passed laws that required Americans to take in and house British soldiers newly stationed in the colonies to protect King George III's interests. .

             It is not surprising that Americans would now begin react to Britain's assertion of power over them. They had struggled for years to establish towns and commerce, and had dealt with the horrors of hostile native Americans (Ward, p. 496-498) and many other extreme challenges to their decision to stay in this country. They may have still seen themselves as a special breed, having the common experience of a much rougher existence in the colonies, and therefore resented the increasingly blatant British impositions. Allan Millett quotes John Adams' observation that, "The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people, and in the union of the colonies; both of which were substantially effected before hostilities commenced" (Millett p.