Period 3

The continual flow of new colonists and the increasing demand for American crops and goods in Europe created an insatiable appetite for westward expansion. By 1754, colonists were pushing past   the Appalachian Mountains into the Ohio River Valley- settling the lush farmland west of the mountains occupied by the Native Americans and claimed by the French. Conflict inevitably arose, eventually resulting in the French and Indian War. While the British won the war and took all land claims east of the Mississippi River, the cost of the war was heavy. To recoup the cost Britain began strictly enforcing old taxes and creating new taxes. While the colonists did not bear a greater burden than those living in Britain, the taxes were levied without colonial representation. Colonists protested this new economic burden and the principle of taxation without representation, eventually escalating their protest into armed confrontation. The result? The birth of a new nation that would become the most prosperous and powerful nation in the history of the world. Tags: Early American Leader, Finance, British Leader, Important Terms