Author:Angie Mosteller / Year: / Genre: The holiday we know as July 4th, or Independence Day, celebrates the day on which America declared itself independent of British rule. So what were the events that led up to the Declaration of Independence? The conflict between American colonies and their mother country, Britain, had been brewing for a long time. In the early 1600’s, newly established American colonies were barely surviving. But with time, they began to prosper, and by 1660, the British established the first of their Navigation Acts.
The Navigation Acts decreed that certain American products (like tobacco, cotton, and sugar) could only be shipped and sold to England. Furthermore, all goods bound for the American colonies had to be shipped first to England. To make matters worse, the British government also limited the colonies from manufacturing certain goods (clothing, furniture and machinery), demanding instead that they import these items from Britain. Though these acts frustrated colonists, there were mixed opinions about them. On one hand, colonists had a guaranteed market for their goods, as well as a powerful partner to negotiate with foreign sources for their import needs. On the other hand, colonists were aggravated by their dependence on Britain. Regardless, true animosity did not really seem to build until Britain began imposing taxes on the colonies.
