1. Why did the American colonies move from loyalty to protest to rebellion in the twelve years
following the end of the French and Indian War?

2. How and why did the Americans and the British differ in their views of taxation and of the relationship of colonies to the empire?

3. What was the theory and practice of mercantilism? What were its actual effects on the colonies, and why did the colonists resent it so much?

4. What methods did the colonists use in their struggle with British authorities, and how did the
British try to counteract them?

5. What advantages and disadvantages did the American rebels and the British each possess as the war began? What did each side do to mobilize its resources most effectively?

6. Given the history of the colonies' founding and British "benign neglect" until the period just before the Revolution, was the American Revolution inevitable? Or could the thirteen colonies have remained peacefully attached to Britain for many years, as Canada did?