English Colonies vs. English Empire, and American Rebellion

 The colonies were responsible thus Capitalist. Everyone made a bunch of money, and the locals liked what they were doing with the place so they didn't make a fuss. That's how ~50 Englishmen could rule all of India: they were fundamentally doing what the Indians would have done for themselves if they knew how. Less conquest and more sale of services. The locals who got genocided didn't enjoy it of course, but genocide is also responsible. They weren't upset for very long. It's real genocide if there is nobody left to mourn the dead; that's how you know it was done properly.

 The Empire was an irresponsible Communist Empire, which lost a bunch of money. Everyone hated it, even the Emperor didn't like what the Empire was doing with the place, and ultimately the Emperor lost all the colonies. (Demand => supply.) This is unsurprising as the Emperor achieved ownership of the colonies by arrogating the ownership to himself. It was all stolen goods. 

 Of course it wasn't a clean transition. Theft occurs via stealth and the Emperor couldn't steal parts that were being watched. Even some colonial colonels continued to act like colonels after being confiscated by the Empire, producing responsible leadership despite having no incentive to do so. Pre-1776 America was both colonial and imperial. 

 The War of American Rebellion was a war of English colony vs. English Empire. 

 The French used the English against the English, so the Empire won. The colony was lost, as per imperial norms. The rout of colonial forces was particularly thorough, so it converged quickly onto the imperial equilibrium. The Americans did not win, they were tools, or perhaps the stage. They did inherit the Imperial spirit. Thus they lost a bunch of money. E.g. America has never had a long-term budget surplus. Everyone hated what they were doing with the place, including America's own emperor.
 What does 'going to the frontier' mean? It means everyone moving to America had one goal: get out of America as quickly as possible. Living in handmade artisanal mud huts several days' travel away from the nearest aid and succor was considered superior to trying to live anywhere other Americans could find you. Understandably so. Once they ran out of frontier, some States immediately tried to leave, to get as far away from America as possible. 

 And of course Americans stole the English Empire from the Emperor, as per imperial norms. They even stole back the colonies the English Emperor had misplaced. Now everyone wants out, and America will likely be unable or even unwilling to stop them, as per imperial norms. In the meantime, it all loses a tremendous amount of money. It's a bit weird there's even a middle stage, where the imperial provinces pretend they aren't satrapies of the Emperor, but definitely are.

 It's important to remember that America's myth, about plucky misfit rebels winning against the established powers, is pure fiction. If the rebels are organized enough to pose a real threat, they aren't misfits, they're just another country, probably exactly as tyrannical as the original country they 'rebel' against. Civil war is just regular war except both countries pretend to own territory they don't own, as owning the things they don't own is the justification for the war.