What led to such a major shift in thinking?

Question

Beginning with the founding of Jamestown in 1607, colonists considered themselves British citizens throughout most of the 17th and 18th centuries. Yet in 1776, members of the Second Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain.

Answer 1

The big paradox is that they still considered themselves British up to the moment of independence. Independence was not the result of some sort sentiment along the lines of "we're no longer British and thus are being oppressed by this foreign power," but rather over the very specific concern of their place within the British Empire.

Throughout most of the colonies' history, the Crown and Parliament (remember, it was Parliament that the colonies primarily had their beef with, not the King) practiced a policy of Benign Neglect, where they let the colonies run themselves, so long as British merchants were happy. Following the Seven Years' War, however, Parliament started to raise taxes in the colonies and use it as a source of income; because they were not represented in Parliament, but rather considered their own colonial assemblies to have an equal relationship with the British legislative body, the colonies considered this an outrage. Ultimately, this outrage sparked the series of events that led to the Revolution.

The paradox is, at no point did anybody actually desire independence as a "goal;" rather, they considered it the last possible option, which was enacted after the King sided with Parliament against the colonial assemblies.