A long time ago, in the 1700s, there were 13 colonies that sat along the east coast of North America. Ruled by one single king in a faraway British kingdom, King George III. 

The colonists worked hard. They grew their own food and built towns, but still had no power in the laws made by the king. Until one day, things started to change. 

The king was demanding for too much money from the colonists to pay for the war Britain had fought. He taxed the American Colonists with everything. Especially tea and paper!

The colonists rebelled saying, “No taxation without representation!” They didn’t think it was far that they had to pay taxes since they couldn’t even vote in their own rulings. 

One fateful day in Boston, Massachusetts, problems started to fire up. British soldiers and colonists flooded the streets, arguing. 

Until suddenly, gun shots rang out! The British soldiers had fired their rifles at the colonists. This terrible event became known as the Boston Massacre. This caused even more anger among the colonists. 

To avenge their late colonist friends, the colonists decided to dress as Native Americans and threw boxes of British tea into the harbor. 

This was the Boston Tea Party. An event that happened to protest the tax on tea. This made King George furious and he sent more soldiers and made stricter rules!

Soon, people all over the colonies began to agree to break away from British rule. 

Brave leaders like George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson met in a big meeting room called the Continental Congress. They decided that they were going to fight for their freedom. 

On July 4, 1776, an amazing creation was made. The colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence. This was a document that said the colonists would be making their own country, the United States of America!