Colonial self-reliance versus imperial protection

Colonists accepted British protection while French and other foreign threats appeared immediate, even as local trade often ignored imperial rules. Once those dangers receded, the cost and purpose of remaining inside the British system became easier to question. Communities founded by people who had already rejected parts of English religious and political life developed a deep tradition of self-reliance. Suspicion of taxes also reflected fear that a standing army could enforce an unwanted religious settlement. Self-government was a coherent intellectual position whose benefits still depended on protection and institutions supplied by others.