Why did the colonists fight the British?

Answers from the USCIS list

Give one of these answers. Words in light (parentheses) are optional.

• because of high taxes optional: (taxation without representation)
• because the British army stayed in their houses optional: (boarding, quartering)
• because they didn’t have self-government

Our explanation

Britain raised taxes on the colonists, but they had no representatives to vote on those taxes. This was “taxation without representation.” The colonists wanted self-government, or to rule themselves. British soldiers also stayed in colonists’ houses.

Remember it

Remember the famous protest: “No taxation without representation!”

Source

USCIS 2025 Study Guide pp. 47–48; quartering from the 2008 civics Q&A p. 6 and 2025 Q77 list (p. 83). Quote (p. 47): “The reason the colonists fought the British was because they did not have self-government.”

• Civics (History and Government) Questions for the Naturalization Test (2008 version), rev. 08/21 (PDF, USCIS)

Last checked on September 29, 2026.

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Easy to mix up with

• 58What is one reason colonists came to America?
• 74Name one problem that led to the Civil War.