The French and Indian War - 1754-1763
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"The French and Indian War, as it was referred to in the colonies, was the beginning of open hostilities between the colonies and Great Britain. England and France had been building toward a conflict in America since 1689. These efforts resulted in the remarkable growth of the colonies from a population of 250,000 in 1700, to 1.25 million in 1750." (US History.org, 2012) The colonists accumulated wealth and the mother country wanted them to help pay the expenses of the war. (Malone, 1954) All of this gave the colonists a greater spirit of individualism. (Dupuy, 1963)