On April 19, 1775, British troops were going to seize ammunition at Concord, near Boston. Armed colonists known as the Minutemen were ready and waiting for them. No one knows which side fired the first shot, but shots rang out, and the war had started.
Americans felt their freedom was being taken away because of the British taxes and controls. Since a British company controlled the tea trade, the colonists became angry. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty dumped all of the tea into the ocean.
British troops were stationed in New York and Boston to put down protests. When an unruly American mob attacked some British soldiers, the British fired on the crowd, and killed four Boston citizens.
Britain needed money, so the government started taxing American colonists on all paper documents including newspapers. The colonists argued that since America was not represented in Parliament, the British Parliament did not have the right to tax them.
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