Prior to the onset of the Seven Years War (The French and Indian War), from around 1607 to 1756, the colonies of the United States experienced a laissez-faire relationship with Great Britain. After the war; however, the British began implementing stricter control over the colonies and decided to make the colonies pay a large amount of the war debt. Through the implementation of the stamp act, sugar act, and other taxes, along with the lack of an American voice in Parliament, the term “taxation without representation” was coined. Because of this, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, and other political activists called for an independent, autonomous America, free from British rule, and as the colonists began to rally, they started to gather weapons and ammunition, resulting in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, or the start of the Revolutionary War. All in all, this period in American history was engulfed in increasing tensions between the British and Colonists, which ultimately laid the foundation for what was bound to happen. Therefore, as a result of the Navigation Acts, The French and Indian War, along with the implementation of taxes such as the Townshend Acts, Stamp Acts, etc., the Revolutionary War and independence of the United States was inevitable.
Between 1645 to 1761, the British Parliament imposed twenty nine laws on the colonists that controlled trade and shipping. These acts were enacted so as to keep the colonists subservient to America; however, it only enraged them more, resulting in more protests, and ultimately the American Revolution. For example, the First Navigation Act (1651) was implemented and stated that goods could only enter England, Ireland, or the Colonies aboard English ships. Basically, the British prevented the colonies from trading with anyone except for the British. Eventually, the second Navigation Act (1660) was passed and required the colonies to sell materials directly to English merchants. Although the British tried to keep the colonies from trading with anyone other European power, trade laws were difficult to enforce, so the British Parliament began to impose more acts, which heavily taxed the colonies. These acts continued to be passed until the colonists could not take it anymore, leading to the start of the American Revolution.
The French and Indian War (1754 – 1763) was the last of the colonial wars. It resulted in the end of French rule in North America. It also emphasized the differences between Englishmen and colonists and laid the groundwork for the drive toward independence, culminating in the American Revolution (1775-1783). (Carson and Bonk) Due to the elimination of the French and Indian threat in the Americas, the colonists felt less dependent on the British for protection. After the war, the British fell into a major debt, and they soon began to rely on the colonists through the form of heavy taxation. As a result, the colonists rebelled as they expanded their authority at the expense of the royal government. (Selesky) They formed new political ideas which helped to gain independence for the people, yielding the Declaration of Independence: a formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen colonies. Hence, the French and Indian War not only set the stage for the American Revolution, but it sped up the process due to the increased tensions between the British and the Colonists.
Following the French and Indian War, British policymakers grappled with expanded responsibilities and costs as they attempted to solve the financial crisis looming overhead. In 1764 Prime Minister George Grenville introduced the Sugar Act, the first of a series of taxation measures designed to shift a portion of the financial burden onto the colonists. (Shannon) The British also instituted the Quartering Acts, which required American colonists to provide shelter and supplies for the troops, the Stamp Act of 1765, which forced the colonists to pay a tax on the paper they used, “including legal documents, licenses, newspapers, and other publications.” (Political and Economic Relations) As a result, the colonists protested in the form of riots, condemning these acts as “taxation without representation” which violated their rights. They rejected the power of the British Parliament and did not allow the British to tax them. Protests slowing began to escalate, leading up to the Boston Massacre followed by the Boston Tea Party, where Patriots destroyed cratefuls of taxed tea. Tensions erupted into a much larger conflict between the Patriots (along with the French, Spanish, and Dutch) against the British (as well as the Loyalists) which became known as the American Revolution. All in all, taxation without representation was a major cause of the American Revolution, making one more reason as to why it was inevitable.
Under British authority, many colonists felt oppressed as if they were not able to voice their opinions; however, as protests soon began to emerge, farmers, city artisans, women, slaves, and natives, along with the “founding fathers” took part in the Revolution's course. (American Revolution) All of them soon began to have their voices heard. Together, the Patriots, along with the aid of the French, Dutch and Spanish, were able to defeat the British troops and Loyalists and gain sovereignty. They were able to create an unprecedented republic that abandoned the problems with being British and solved the issues that rose from independence. (American Revolution) In the end, due to all of reasons presented, it suffices to say that the American Revolution and the Independence of the United States was ultimately inevitable.