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Chapter 6
When the key leaders of the colonies
became angry with how England was
treating them, they began to think about
forming a new nation. To form a new
nation, you need a government. The most
important written documents for our
new government were the
Declaration of
Independence,
the
Constitution
, and the
Bill of
Rights
. All of these important events that
led to the formationof our newnation took
place in
Philadelphia
. So the word
keystone is a symbol for Pennsylvania’s part
in forming a newnation.
The AmericanColonies
Join Together
W
hen a war is fought, someone
must pay for it. You learned
about the
French and IndianWar
in our last lesson. Sending armies and
navies with war supplies from 2,000 miles
away cost much money for the English
government. The American colonies did
not ask for thewar.Here is another example
of cause and effect. Tohelppay for thiswar,
England’s King George decided to
tax
the
people living in the colonies. A tax is
money that is paid for services provided by
the government. The King placed taxes on
many goods the colonists needed, such as
paint, tea, and paper.
The people of the American colonies
were not allowed to give an opinion about
the taxes. Theywere not represented in the
King of England’s government. Until the
1760s, the 13 American colonies were like
separate states. They had not joined with
any kind of thinking. Each colony had to
pay many new taxes. Now, they had
something in common to share. Many
people in the American colonies became
Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
