Give me liberty or give me death” were the famous words spoken by Patrick Henry in the struggle for independence (Burnett 62). He addressed the first continental congress in 1774 and started the process of American political revolt. This revolt eventually climaxed in the rebelling of Britain's American colonies and the establishment of what would become the United States of America. The Second Continental Congress accomplished independence through organization, rebellion, and finally declaring independence. This was the beginning of the American Revolution.
Britain established a series of acts to control the colonies and this became the main cause of the revolution. These acts enabled Britain to increase the colony's taxes and pay for the costs of the seven years war. In addition, Britain angered the colonies by maintaining a large army in North America after peace was restored in 1773. The British also enforced a Stamp Act, which placed taxes on commercial and legal products. To further add to the frustration, the British controlled the shipping of goods and re-routed shipments to avoid going through London middlemen, who sold to independent merchants in the colonies. The final cause of the American Revolution was the addition of the Coercive Acts, which closed the port of Boston and cut back the local elections and town meetings. Thomas Paine summarized the colony's emotions towards the British and published a pamphlet, “Common Sense.” In this pamphlet he mocks Great Britain, a small island thousands of miles away, that controls a large country that should have independence.