How Did The Seven Years War Shaping American Identity

In the aftermath of the French and Indian War, Americans had developed an identity unique from British citizens. Colonists had been affected by the messages of the Great Awakening, which stressed the individuality of Protestant evangelicalism, making cultural rifts between Christianity in England. American identity was also affected in the Seven Years War. Colonial militia were more moderate in the punishment handed to soldiers than the cruel treatment from British officers. Furthermore, interactions between militia from different colonies strengthened colonial unity. England also made a variety of decisions that confused and frustrated colonists. First, England elected to leave a considerably large army in the colonies for safety purposes.
Furthermore, by leaving the British army and British officials in the colonies, Parliament forced the colonists and British officials to cooperate in politics and military exercises. Both parties soon learned, however, that they loathed working together. The British thought the colonists were lazy, and the colonists thought the British were arrogant. The most prominent factor after the French and Indian War, however, was that the war left England in serious debt. Fighting the Seven Years War severely drained England's treasury, and, to try to get that money back, England decided to enact taxes on the colonies. The first act was the Sugar Act of 1764. This taxed goods such as sugar and molasses, superfluous items, and thus did not affect the general population. The Sugar Act did not generate much revenue for England, however, and because it did not accomplish the intended goal, Parliament enacted the Stamp Act, which taxed all printed documents in the colonies. The Stamp Act had a considerably more volatile reaction in the colonies because the act affected the entire