to the colonists idea of independence and a constant reminder of British oppression. There was a lot of tension between the colonists and the British soldiers, mostly because many of the soldiers poorly paid and treated by the army moonlighted for jobs in their off-duty hours, taking away jobs from the already struggling local workers. A harsh example of this would be the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. Some Bostonians were disturbing a customs house, the British troops were sent over to disperse the unruly people, a British soldier got knocked down in the process, and the British opened fire, killing 5 people. The propaganda surrounding this incident was great and was seen as a symbol of British oppression and brutality.The last of the factors that prompted Americans to rebel in 1776 was the legacy of colonial religious and political ideas. Many of the religious ideas that came about against the British were Puritan ideas, others came from Whigs, and Scottish people. They also derived many of their ideas from philosophers like John Locke and others. Also during this time came an idea of what government should be. This concept went as follows: Because humans were inherently corrupt and selfish, government was necessary to protect individuals from the evil in one another. But corruptible people ran the government, and so it to needed safeguards. The colonists also believed that the English Constitution should be like colonial charter, written down so untrustworthy politicians would not tamper with its essential quality. Another theory that the colonists had that the British did not share was the theory of actual representation. This meant that every community was entitled to its own representative , elected by the people of that community and directly responsible to them.In conclusion, all four factors contributed to the promoting of the Americans to rebel in 1776. But the catalyst for the three was the first, the Parliame...
