By Edith Hathaway © 2026

“The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal; and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind are affected, and in the event of which, their affections are interested.”

      Thomas Paine, Common Sense, Philadelphia, Jan. 10, 1776

The American Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) contains a long list of grievances against the British Crown. Tensions had been escalating since the early 1760s, especially with British seizures of American colonists’ ships and sloops.  It all began soon after the French and Indian Wars (May 1754 to Oct. 1763), which the British won.  But the wars had so drained the British treasury that there was now an urgent need to raise funds. So they decided to tax the American colonists.  Continue reading →