The American Revolution “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced, it was in the minds and hearts of the people.” (Medvedev 1). There were many reasons that the colonists became so impassioned for their independence. Although these reasons were mostly rooted in economic issues, the war was fought over both economic reasons as well as political repression. The major issues leading to the war, however, were economic ones. During salutary neglect, the colonies basically had the freedom to govern themselves. This allowed them to develop their own economic system, and establish a trade system beneficial to the colonies. The colonies were basically self supported,