In 1776, America was a sparsely populated settlement consisting of 13 colonies on the east coast of what is now the United States. There were only 2 ½ million people occupying these colonies from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. That’s roughly the population of Houston, Texas. Most colonists were immigrants from western Europe and their descendants with the plurality being from England.

By contrast, it’s estimated England’s population was somewhere around 7 million. More importantly, England was imperialist with colonies spanning the globe and by far the most powerful nation on Earth at the time. King George III considered America to be England’s property. Consequently, he treated America like all his subjects. He levied taxes, installed governors, appointed judges and occupied the colonies with English soldiers.

So let’s imagine for a moment...