[revwardoc]

SuperScout,

Religious freedom wasn't really a factor in the American Revolution. Virtually every form of Christianity was being practiced here, including Catholicism as well as some well established synagogues. Philadelphia was known as a very tolerant city for the practice of religion.

Taxation without representation was a popular rallying cry for those with a mind towards independence but, since Americans were taxed well below the level of Englishmen in the mother country, that rang a bit hollow. Like you said, there were several reason for rebelling. One was that, starting in 1750, Parliament outlawed American manufacturing of consumer goods. Iron works were shut down, glass factories closed, and any and all goods imported into the colonies had to be through the British East or West India Companies or the Hudson Bay Company. This meant that, no matter if the colonists wanted goods manufactured in another country, they had to buy them through English agents, thereby increasing the costs. Its no wonder that smuggling became an important way of life. England wanted America to be a source for raw materials to be sent to English factories to be sold back to Americans and other foreign markets as English goods.

America was also used as a dumping ground for the English court system. Convicts were routinely sent to America either as slaves or indentured servants (like Australia after the Rev War). In general, the colonists, despite only wanting to be considered good Englishmen, were treated like 2nd class citizens. I've read some of George Washington's journals and in one he tells of the time one of his English cousins arrived for a visit during the era between wars. George was fanatical and proud about being an Englishman, even having all his clothes made by tailors in England and importing many of his equine tack from London. His cousin, on seeing George's set of carriage horses and livery, remarked that the horses weren't "really matched" and the carriage and livery weren't made the King's appointed tack maker. George wasn't amused. So it wasn't so much the taxes as it was the treatment.