The American Revolution was fought between The American Colonists and The British Military under King George. Both sides to this battle had significant cause to fight for:
The Colonists were fighting to gain their freedom from British rule. Under Great Britain the American people were subject to "taxation without representation," meaning they were forced to pay taxes to the monarchy without having any say in the form of political representation in how they were governed. The court systems were also corrupt because judges were appointed and paid by King George, so rather than giving accused subjects a fair trial, they ruled in whatever way was most beneficial to the King. The British also controlled the trade in and out of the colonies and placed tariffs, or trade taxes, on all imports and exports which drove the prices of goods up. They had many other strict and taxing laws such as The Quartering Act which forced colonists to take British soldiers into their homes, give them a place to stay and provide them with meals.
From the other perspective, Great Britain, the mother country of America, was fighting to protect the resources it had in the colonies. These resources included tobacco, cotton and other cash crops, precious metals like gold, and humane resources with the growing population of the colonies. King George was also trying to expand British territories around the world, so protecting a huge and growing territory such as America was reason enough to send his soldiers off to war.
