Name one reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain.
Accepted answers
- High taxes
- Taxation without representation
- British soldiers stayed in Americans' houses (boarding, quartering)
- They did not have self-government
- Boston Massacre
- Boston Tea Party (Tea Act)
- Stamp Act
- Sugar Act
- Townshend Acts
- Intolerable (Coercive) Acts
Explanation
The colonists fought the British because they had to pay high taxes but had no voice in the British government. Their famous protest cry was "no taxation without representation." They also did not like British soldiers living in their homes.
On the 2008 test
On the 2008 test this question was asked as:
Why did the colonists fight the British?
with these accepted answers:
- Because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
- Because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
- Because they didn't have self-government
Source: USCIS 2025 Civics Test — 128 Questions and Answers (PDF).
Last verified against USCIS on .