The Colonial Incentives for Independence
July 4th of 1776 is arguably the most significant day in American history. On this day, the thirteen British colonies won their independence from Great Britain, their mother country at the time. The war that allowed the colonies to gain their independence was, of course, the American Revolution. One reason the colonists’ declaration of independence was understandable was because after an extended period of salutary neglect, the British started imposing laws on the colonies. Another reason was that the British violated colonists’ rights by implementing the Proclamation of 1763. A third and final reason the colonies were correct in breaking away from Great Britain was that although the colonists were not represented in British Parliament, Great Britain still taxed them. The thirteen British colonies were absolutely justified in seceding from Great Britain because the British started to enforce laws after a long period of salutary neglect, they violated the colonists’ rights by passing the Proclamation of 1763, and the colonies were required to pay taxes even though they were not represented in Parliament.
The first reason the colonies were justified in breaking away from the British was the discontinuation of salutary neglect. Salutary neglect was a policy the British used beginning around 1607 that allowed lenient enforcement of British laws in the thirteen colonies. For example, the Navigation Acts, passed in 1651, required all colonial commerce-related ships, coming to and from the colonies, to pass through Great Britain. This law was not enforced strictly until the end of the French and Indian War. During the time before the war, the colonists’ normal reaction was to ignore...
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...eir independence from Great Britain because the British stopped using salutary neglect and started to employ laws, they passed the Proclamation of 1763 which violated colonists’ rights, and the colonists were not represented in Parliament, but still had to pay taxes. The colonists broke away from Britain because they were isolated and became used to self- governing. Once Great Britain tried to take control, the colonists were angered. Also, when Great Britain tried to limit the westward expansion of the colonies, the colonists felt that their rights were being infringed. The lack of representation in Parliament played a gigantic role as well. The British taxed the colonists even though the colonies did not have an American representing them in Parliament. These reasons were certainly enough for the British colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.
Before Great Britain became more active in the colonies, they had been independent and established representative assemblies and a form of self-government. As the British tried to tax them to gain revenues, they were only angered by the lack of representation they had in the decision. No taxation became the symbol for democracy throughout the fighting of all the acts imposed, and the same idea would drive the colonists to revolt against the British and gain their independence.
The first reason for independence is the injustice Americans have faced due to Britain’s faulty government. The initial argument for Britain having a flawed government was posed in the statement “though we have been wise enough to shut and lock the door against absolute monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish enough
During the 1700s, Britain ruled over the colonies. The colonies had been discovered and settled by the British. The British believed that the colonies were British territories and were to be ruled as if they were British territories. The colonies did not like this. The Founding Fathers agreed that it was time for a change and sought to rebel from, and declare independence from the British. The Founding Fathers were justified in rebelling and declaring independence because the British rule had become oppressive, Britain was too small and too far away from the colonies to be in any position to rule over them, and the colonies had become large enough to become their own nation.
These Parliamentary Acts eventually lead to the American Revolution because the colonists were sick of being treated unfairly and they were fed up with being deprived of their rights. The Continental Congress wrote The Declaration of Independent, which was a document that declared the colonists independence from Britain. The colonists resented the Parliament for taxing them internally and directly. The passing of the acts all started out as money issues, but eventually became an issue of having an imperial government.2 If the legislation never happened to the colonists, there may not be a United States today.
After the French Indian War ended, the Britain was in debt, and they also wanted to have more control of the colonies, and the colonists. They passed different acts and procedures in order to collect money, and hold the control of the colonists, and the colonies. Yet the colonists were not given any representation, and they were losing their freedoms one by one; these caused a serious tension between Britain and the colonies, which eventually lead to the American revolution, followed by the Declaration of Independence. The colonies were justified for declaring independence from England, because the king of England caused “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over the states”("The
After the Great War for Empire, the British parliament began carrying out taxes on the colonists to help pay for the war. It was not long from the war that salutary neglect was brought on the colonies for an amount of time that gave the colonists a sense of independence and identity. A farmer had even wrote once: “Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world” (Doc H). They recognized themselves as different than the British, so when parliament began passing bills to tax without representation there was an outcry of mistreatment. Edmund Burke, a man from parliament, sympathized with the colonists: “Govern America as you govern an English town which happens not to be represented in Parl...
Were the Colonies, therefore, justified in emancipating from the British Crown? The American Declaration of Independence gives some strong reasons why this emancipation was justified. Before giving these reasons, the Declaration states when a Government should be removed, proceeding from principles of human nature. These principles are that all men were created equal and “are e...
The colonies did not initially desire to succeed and become independent from the British, at first they were very proud of being British. Throughout the years of being a British Colony, The mother country of Britain committed actions that the colonists could not stand much longer. From taxation without representation to quartering British soldiers unwillingly, the tension built up until the colonists eventually rebelled. Some colonists remained loyal to the crown, while others joined the rebellion. These rebellious forces grew in strength and number, when the rebellion grew too big, the Revolution sparked. No longer would the colonist be forced to the British law, the colonists were willing to fight and die for their freedom. This event was
The policy of salutary neglect had a large impact on the advancement of the American colonies and their society. It was the catalyst, which brought in motion the need for colonies to govern and rule themselves. In addition religious tolerance was one of many developments that came out of the policy of salutary neglect. Many of these developments differentiated the colonies from England. The colonies forged a bond amongst themselves and it made them feel united. Many people in England believed in the method of mercantilism. However people like Sir Robert Walpole, who later became England’s first prime minister, believed in the policy of salutary neglect. Under this method, the American colonies learned to rely on themselves rather than British leadership. In return, that British did not impose many laws on the colonies. Sir Robert Walpole believed that British interference would alienate the colonies and eventually damage commerce with England. To ensure that this didn’t happen he laxly enforced trade regulations such as the Navigation Act. The policy of salutary neglect led the American colonies to gain independence and develop their own political institutions such as the legislative assemblies. Although the colonies based many of their institutions off of the English, between 1690-1750, the British policy of salutary neglect drove them to become increasingly independent.
Getting the colonial public to agree with departing from the mother country of britain was a conflicting issue. However, the colonies ended up declaring independence from britain on July 4, 1776. It would be appropriate to say that due to self-sustenance, acts passed by the British Parliament, and growing social tension, the colonies were rather justified in their Declaration of Independence.
American colonists were faced with a decision: continue to be a part of Great Britain or secede and become an individual country. The latter was what the majority of colonists favored, and thus making it no surprise that they managed to accomplish this – justified in doing so - and venture out on their own, as their own. Great Britain owned the colonies and the American colonists were proud to be in unity with this colony known as the mother country, until conflicts climaxed and Americans felt there were no other options than to rule their own. The British taxed Americans unconstitutionally, violated their rights, and forced them to rely on Britain to convert their natural resources into usable goods to raise the influx
In 1607, the first British colonists set foot in the Americas in hopes of religious freedom. As the years passed, angry with the British tyrannical rule reaching the Americas, many intelectual men such as Thomas Paine and other colonists proposed changes be made. It was soon understood that the relationship with the British severely impacted the colonists negatively as their taxes and the death toll from their fighting increased. On July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, delegates from the thirteen American colonies declared themselves independent from Britain through the Declaration of Independence. The colonists were justified in declaring independence from Britain because they wanted a better and more appropriate government, were not in Britain's
The Americans declared their independance from Britain more for political reasons rather than for economic reasons.The reason why this is true is because the British government did not protect the Americans rights and because they taxed the Americans without their agreement.
The main reason for the severance of the colonies from Britain was the lack of equality in parliament and the disregard for colonial needs. Whether it be forcing someone to pay for a war they did not fight or want, limiting one’s need for land, or piling on the taxes, all of these factors played a part in the dissolving of British-colonial ties. The colonists were only human and had the human reaction of defiance to injustice. If the colonists had not of had the audacity that they did, today’s America would be a very different place. Breaking away from Britain was the greatest thing the colonists could have possible done.
Overall, the imperial policy of the British Empire urged the colonists into a state of total rebellion. The colonial economy, geography, and politics had all been subjected to unfair consequences. The acts that were passed served as a way for England to push the responsibility its debt and issues on the colonists. If the colonists’ grievances were appealed to, the colonists may have never rebelled against their mother country.