Reddit mentions of The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States Book 3)

For the Revolutionary Period, I would highly suggest Robert Middlekauff's The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789, which is a part of the fantastic Oxford History of the United States book series. You cannot go wrong with any of those books. I also second Alan Taylor's American Colonies, which is also available in a "Very Short Introduction" version in case you're short on time or you'd like a book that lends itself to shorter excerpts.

Are you asking what the current theory is, or what was commonly believed at the time of the founding? If the founders/founding, then, according to this book, the authority of a government comes from the consent a people give by way of their representation in the government. Taxes, a big issue at the time obviously, were either a gift from the people to the government by way of their representation, or theft.