Independence: The Original Thirteen Colonies


During America's first 150 years, most of the settlers came from Great Britain. Along America's Atlantic coast, these colonists built settlements that became what are commonly called the "Original Thirteen Colonies."

The British settlers lived under the rule of the King of England. They worked hard building homes, farms and towns, even though they did not own these places. The settlers worked so hard that they wanted to be involved in making decisions about their lives and property.

The British knew that the colonists wanted independence. But the British, instead, tried to take more control of the colonists. By the mid-1770s, King George III and the British government taxed everyday goods, such as tea. Colonists resented the imposition of these revenue measures for the Crown and objected to British interference with their commercial practices.

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