Chapter in Perspective

The disunited colonies finally found a common enemy to unite them. Rivalry for the control of North America climaxed after 1754. The struggle waged among the English, the French, and the Indians had brought on three wars during the first half of the eighteenth century. That struggle culminated in a fourth conflict, the Seven Years' War (1754-1763; known traditionally if misleadingly to Americans as the French and Indian War). But Britain's total victory in that fight and the end of French power in North America did not bring lasting peace. Native Americans struggled to protect their territory and political sovereignty west of the Appalachians. At the same time, Britain's determination to consolidate its American empire revived the ambivalence of many colonials toward the parent country. Parliament hoped to bind the colonies to the British empire with new laws and regulations. This legislation served only to alienate Americans already wary of the inequalities of English society and the corruption of English politics. Popular opposition to Britain's new measures led ultimately to rebellion and independence. With the French enemy out of the way, the British government became the ultimate common enemy that made possible thirteen "united states."