As part of an ongoing feud between Britain and France, from 1754 to 1763 a series of battles took place along the frontier between the American colonies of both countries. This French and Indian War had two main results: Britain conquered much of the French territory in North America, and American colonists became toughened war veterans.

To pay for these wars, Britain increased greatly the taxes it imposed on the colonies. Americans, made newly confident by the recent military victories, resisted these imposts, especially because they had no representation in Parliament and therefore no say in the matter. Two incidents inflamed them. The first was the Boston Massacre in 1770, where British soldiers fired on colonists demonstrating against recent taxes and regulations. The second incident was the Boston Tea Party in 1773, during which rebels boarded a British ship and tossed heavily taxed imported tea into the bay, leading British authorities to impose harsh penalties. By April 1775, American militias were trading fire with British soldiers.

Only a third of the colonists favored independence; another third were “loyalists” faithful to England, and the final third were caught in the middle.