【萨罗尼与梅杰创作的石版画描绘了1773年12月16日的波士顿倾茶事件。身着美洲原住民服饰的爱国者们将装满英国茶叶的箱子抛入波士顿港。】
2026年2月27日，美国战争部网站发表文章《对殖民者的苛刻待遇导致了美国独立战争》说，美国独立战争的根源可追溯至1754至1763年间的法印战争结束后不久。当时，北美殖民者与英军并肩作战，共同对抗法国殖民者及其敌对的原住民部落——这些部落曾掌控着北美内陆的广大区域。
On February 27,2026, the U.S. Department of War website published an article titled 'The Harsh Treatment of Colonizers Led to the American Revolutionary War,' stating that the roots of the American Revolutionary War can be traced back to the period shortly after the Franco-Indian War (1754-1763).At that time, the North American colonists fought side by side with the British army against the French colonists and their hostile indigenous tribes, which once controlled vast areas of the interior of North America.
英国的胜利使其在北美的领土大幅扩张，西至密西西比河，但巨额战争债务导致新税政策出台，激起了美国殖民地民众的不满，最终成为独立战争的导火索。
Britain's victory dramatically expanded its territory in North America, as far west as the Mississippi River, but massive war debt led to new taxes and policies that fueled discontent among the American colonists, contributing to the Revolutionary War.
1764年英国议会通过的《糖税法案》，对用于食品调味和朗姆酒蒸馏的糖蜜征收税款。这项税收的名义用途是用于支付英军在法印战争期间保卫殖民地的相关费用。此后数年颁布的多项税收法案，同样以此为由。
The Sugar Act, passed by Parliament in 1764, taxed molasses that was used to flavor food and distill rum. The purported purpose of the tax was to pay for expenses related to British troops defending the colonies during the French and Indian War. The various tax acts that followed in the years ahead also used this as justification.
【艺术家阿尔伯特·博贝特的版画描绘了法国陆军中将路易-约瑟夫·德·蒙卡尔姆的场景：1757年8月法印战争期间，威廉·亨利堡的英军士兵与平民投降后撤离时，这位将军正试图阻止原住民发动袭击。战后，议会向美国殖民地征收了一系列税款并实施惩罚性措施。】
战后，英国议会向美国殖民者征收了一系列税款并实施惩罚性措施。1765年，英国议会颁布法令，对殖民地境内所有印刷品征收税款。
After the war, the British Parliament imposed a series of taxes and punitive measures on the American colonists.In 1765, the British Parliament enacted a law imposing a tax on all printed materials within the colonies.
该税种尤其不受欢迎，因其未经民众同意即被征收，由此催生了“无代表，不纳税”的口号。
The tax was especially disliked because it was imposed without their consent, leading to the slogan: "No taxation without representation."
1766年3月18日，由于殖民者抵制英国商品导致贸易受损，该税种被废除。
The tax was repealed March 18, 1766, due to colonists boycotting British goods, which hurt trade.
1766年，英国议会颁布了一系列税收法案，即著名的《汤森法案》。该法案以推动其通过的英国政治家汤森的名字命名。
In 1766, Parliament enacted a series of taxes known as the Townshend Act, named for the British politician who championed its passage.
几年后，即1773年，英国议会通过了《茶叶法案》，旨在禁止美国人以低于英国东印度公司的价格从其他国家走私茶叶。
A few years later, in 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, which was designed to prevent Americans from smuggling tea from other nations for a lower price than from Britain's East India Company.
1773年12月16日，波士顿殖民者登上停泊港内的英国茶叶船，将装满茶叶的箱子抛入海中以示抗议。这一事件后来被称为波士顿倾茶事件。
In Boston, Dec. 16, 1773, colonists boarded English tea ships in the harbor and tossed boxes of tea overboard in protest. This became known as the Boston Tea Party.
【1774年4月，《伦敦杂志》刊载了一幅题为《美国吞咽苦涩之饮》的版画，画面生动展现了美国殖民地被迫接受议会通过的《不可容忍法案》的场景。这些法案是为报复1773年12月的波士顿倾茶事件而颁布的。】
1774年，英国为报复波士顿倾茶事件，对马萨诸塞州颁布了惩罚性法律，这些法律后来被称为《不可容忍法案》。议会企图剥夺该殖民地的自治权，以此作为警示。然而，该措施产生了相反的效果，激怒了全部13个殖民地。
The punitive laws passed by Britain in 1774 against Massachusetts in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party became known as the Intolerable Acts. Parliament hoped to make an example of that colony by taking away its right of self-government. However, it had the opposite effect, enraging all 13 colonies.
同年，议会通过了《魁北克法案》，将该省的边界向南延伸至现今的伊利诺伊州、印第安纳州、密歇根州、明尼苏达州和威斯康星州。该法案除其他条款外，还废除了该殖民地部分西部土地的主权主张，这些地区正是他们在前次战争中协助征服的区域。
Parliament passed the Quebec Act that same year, which extended that province's boundaries south into what is now Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Among other things, this act voided some of the colony's western land claims, areas they had helped conquer during the previous war.
【艺术家艾琳·考克斯创作的这幅画作，生动再现了1774年第一届大陆会议期间，帕特里克·亨利在费城木匠厅发表的著名演讲。壁画左侧描绘了一位殖民者正在缴纳税款的场景。】
基于这一行为及先前的行动，自称为爱国者的殖民者们于1774年9月5日至10月26日在费城召开了第一届大陆会议，以协调抗议活动。
As a result of this and previous acts, the colonists, who now referred to themselves as patriots, organized the First Continental Congress, held from Sept. 5 to Oct. 26, 1774, in Philadelphia to coordinate protests.
代表们起草了一份请愿书，恳请乔治三世国王纠正他们的不满并废除《不可容忍法案》。
The delegates drew up a petition to King George III, pleading for him to rectify their grievances and repeal the Intolerable Acts.
上诉未果，促使代表们于1775年5月在费城召开第二次大陆会议。此次会议旨在组织殖民地防御，因为独立战争已于1775年4月19日以列克星敦和康科德战役拉开序幕。
The appeal was unsuccessful, leading the delegates to convene the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in May 1775. The purpose of this gathering was to organize the defense of the colonies, as the Revolutionary War had already started April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
【艺术家约翰·卡塞尔创作的木刻版画，生动再现了1765年纽约市《印花税法案》引发的骚乱。】
结语
Conclusion
美国独立战争的爆发是“政治利益说”理论的经典实证。
The Outbreak of the American Revolutionary War is the Classic Empirical Evidence of the Theory of "Political Interest".
独立战争首先是一场经济利益斗争。导致独立战争爆发最核心的驱动力，是对殖民地的经济控制和压榨。英国政府为了转嫁巨额战争债务，通过了《糖税法》、《印花税法》、《汤森税法》等一系列法案，直接在殖民地内部征税。这在殖民地人民看来，严重侵犯了他们财产权，违背了英国宪法传统中“无代表不纳税”的原则。这就印证了“政治利益说”理论之政治“工具属性”：“一切政治行为的动力来源于对利益的追求, 一切政治制度都是调节利益的工具, 一切政治活动都是争夺利益的具象化手段。”
The War of Independence was first of all a struggle for economic interests.The most core driving force of the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War is the economic control and exploitation of the colonies.In order to transfer the huge war debt, the British government passed a series of laws, such as the Sugar Tax Law, the Stamp Tax Law, the Townsend Tax Law, and so on, which directly levied taxes in the colonies.In the eyes of the colonial people, this was a serious violation of their property rights and a violation of the principle of "no tax without representation" in the British constitutional tradition.This proves the "political interest theory" of the political "instrumental attribute": "the motive force of all political behavior comes from the pursuit of interests, all political system is the tool of regulating interests, all political activities are the concrete means of competing for interests."
其次是一场政治利益斗争。是殖民地人民日益增长的自治要求与英国僵化的殖民控制之间的根本性矛盾，一方要求绝对服从，一方要求平等权利，双方的立场变得完全对立。当和平的请愿无法解决问题，拿起武器、另立门户便成为了最终的选择。这就印证了“政治利益说”理论之政治关系原则：“利益不仅是政治活动的基础动力, 更是政治关系的核心构成要素”，“特定群体为维护共同利益凝结成政治力量, 构成政治权力的内部基础”。
The second is a political interest struggle.It is the fundamental contradiction between the increasing demand of the colonial people for autonomy and the rigid colonial control of Britain, one side demands absolute obedience, the other demands equal rights, and the positions of both sides become completely opposite.When peaceful petitions fail to resolve the issue, taking up arms and establishing a separate faction becomes the ultimate choice.This proves the principle of political relations in the theory of "political interest": "Interest is not only the basic motive force of political activities, but also the core component of political relations", "Certain groups coalesce into political forces to safeguard common interests, which constitutes the internal basis of political power".
再次，独立战争也是一场思想的革命。随着洛克、卢梭等启蒙思想家的“天赋人权”、“社会契约”和“人民主权”理论在殖民地广泛传播，人们相信，政府的权力来自于被统治者的同意，如果政府侵犯了人民的自然权利（生命、自由和财产），人民有权推翻它。这就印证了“政治利益说”理论之政权“利益决定论”观点：“政治的本质是利益，政权的内核由利益驱动，权力只臣服于权力授予者。权力来源决定权力服务方向，权力的运行方向始终服从于权力来源主体，权力的合法性来源于利益授予者。”
Thirdly, the War of Independence is also a revolution of thought.With the widespread spread of the theories of "natural rights", "social contract" and "people's sovereignty" by Locke, Rousseau and other Enlightenment thinkers in the colonies, people believed that the power of government came from the consent of the governed, and if the government violated the natural rights of the people (life, freedom and property), the people had the right to overthrow it.This proves the theory of "political interest" that "the interest determines the regime": "the essence of politics is interest, the core of regime is driven by interest, the power only obeys the power giver, the source of power determines the direction of power service, the direction of power operation always obeys the source of power, the legitimacy of power comes from the power giver."
（原创首发，图片源自美国战争部网站，侵删）
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