Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution

Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution — page 9
and were loyal to the mother country When Britain went to war with France over territory in America the French and Indian War many colonists fought alongside the British soldiers George Washington served as an aide to British general Edward Braddock and also commanded a regiment of the Virginia militia The British regulars as the soldiers were called and the American militiamen had their disagreements and often didn't like each other at all but they stood together against their common enemies When the war ended in 1763 however tensions between the colonists and Britain began to grow What caused these tensions One cause was the French and Indian War itself It was very expensive Because the war was fought in North America Britain believed that the American colonies should help pay for it Britain also believed that the colonists should help pay for the troops sent to protect their western borders from the Indians So the British Parliament levied a series of new taxes on the colonists The first was the Sugar Act in 1764 which taxed all sugar and molasses that came into the colonies Molasses was imported from the West Indies and was used for the profitable business of making rum Massachusetts and New York both protested loudly against the tax Massachusetts said that it violated the colony's charter The New York assembly said that there could be no liberty no