The colonists came to America for independence and a new form of society free from English control. Growing tensions emerged between the colonies and England due to new taxes imposed through acts like the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts without colonial representation. This led colonists to claim "no taxation without representation" and sparked protests like the Boston Tea Party. In response to the Intolerable Acts, the colonies prepared for potential conflict by drafting declarations of rights and military defenses, culminating in the first battles of the American Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord in 1775.