In defending their rights, the colonists could assert that they were behaving as good Englishmen. They had objected to what they believed were usurpations of Parliament. Disputes over taxes did not necessarily lead to a rejection of the ultimate sovereignty of the King. But the blood and sacrifice of the conflict rapidly corroded old ties. The hostile attitude of the King toward his American subjects became painfully obvious. A year into the revolution, the logic of independence grew more compelling.