In colonial America, from 1774 to 1776 there was a rapid maturation of views leading up to the Declaration of Independence. Before 1774 most protest literature that came out of the colonies was critical of the Parliament in Great Britain, but most colonist still revered the Crown and expected that if the King could see the unconstitutionality of Parliament’s acts he would step in and protect the colonies from having their rights stripped away. The belief that the benevolent King would rescue his “guiltless children” was beginning to taper in 1773 with the signing of the Tea Act. The Tea Act, designed to bail out the East India Company, created a monopoly, the colonists could only purchase tea from the East India Company. This agitated the colonists …show more content…
The battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battle of the American Revolutionary War, were successes for the colonists. The distress from the first battles of the war to caused loyalist Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia in 1775, to order the removal of gunpowder from a royal ship so colonists could not access it. A militia, lead by Patrick Henry, forced repayment for seized powder. The heightening tension led to the magnum opus of the revolution, The Declaration of Independence. Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration disbanded the colonies from British rule and include a list of twenty-eight ills committed by the King himself against the colonies. The Declaration of Independence was the most radical piece of protest literature, all event aforementioned led to the break from the mother country and become independent. Between 1774 to 1776 the protest literature in the colonies went from discontent with laws passed by Great Britain’s Parliament to calling the King of England himself out on his abuses to the colonists. The Coercive/Intolerable Acts were a key driver in the maturation of views. Anxiety felt by loyalist caused reactionary situation, e.g. Lord Dunmore seizing gunpowder, also pushed more colonists towards independence. The shift from anger being directed from Parliament to the King is what made the protest literature so
Gary B. Nash argues that the American Revolution portrayed “radicalism” in the sense on how the American colonies and its protesters wanted to accommodate their own government. Generally what Gary B. Nash is trying to inform the reader is to discuss the different conditions made by the real people who were actually fighting for their freedom. In his argument he makes it clear that throughout the revolution people showed “radicalism” in the result of extreme riots against the Stamp Act merchants, but as well against the British policies that were implemented. He discusses the urgency of the Americans when it came to declaring their issues against the British on how many slaves became militants and went up against their masters in the fight for a proclamation to free themselves from slavery. But he slowly emerges into the argument on how colonists felt under the
Many people believe that the Boston Tea Party arose just because of the Tea Act that came into play in 1773, but in-fact, this major statement arose from two issues surrounding the British Empire in 1765. The first of the issues was that the British East India Company was at risk of going under and the Parliament was finding ways to bring it back. The second issue was that there was a continuing dispute about the extent of the Parliament’s authority. Many colonists believe that the Parliament went overboard with their power and the people were concerned about the future. Attempting to resolve these two major issues, the North Ministry only worsened the problem and produced a showdown that would eventually result in revolution.
Many people know about the Revolutionary war and how the colonists seized their independence from the British. What most do not understand is that there was a series of events that steared the colonists onto the road to independence. They began to think for themselves and started to challenge authority. Coming to the New World, the colonists reached for power and financial opportunity when challenging authority in these three examples: the Witchcraft Trials, Bacon’s Rebellion, and the Boston Tea Party.
The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. Henry and Paine were successful in swaying their audience, not only because of the rhetorical strategies used, but also because they were passionate about the cause they were committed to.
At the Virginia convention in 1775 Patrick Henry spoke out anonymously about standing up to the British monarchy and gaining independence. His simple use of language and emotionally captivating passages inspired many to fight for a republic. Persuading the devout and loyal colonies to pull away from their mother country took courage.
Justification of the Colonists' Declaration of Independence from England Were the colonist justified in declaring independence from England? I feel that they had plenty of just cause to separate themselves. England was taxing the colonies without fair representation in Parliament, the British also took away the right to assemble, and they were using different tactics to attempt to intimidate the colonists. One of the greatest thing that angered the colonists was the taxation without representation. The British government had good reason to tax the colonies, because they just went to war to defend them.
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of Parliament and felt that it was wrong because there were no members in Parliament to represent the colonies. They felt it was a direct violation of their civil liberties and the first whiff of resentment was beginning to spawn. Next was the Currency Act which disregarded the colonies paper money, forcing the colonist to pay in only silver and sending their economy into chaos. Perhaps the most important and controversial acts were the Stamps Acts that placed a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspaper, pamphlets, playing cards and dice.
In the first few months of 1773 the British East India Company found it was sitting on large stocks of tea that it could not sell in England. It was on the verge of bankruptcy, and many members of Parliament owned stock in this company. (USA, 1) The Tea Act in 1773 was an effort to save it. The Tea Act gave the company the right to export its merchandise without paying taxes. Thus, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. By October, the Sons of Liberty in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston threatened tea imports and pledged a tea boycott.
They did not like the conditions the British monarchy was treating them as a colony, so they decided that independence would be the best option. Patrick Henry’s disobedience and rebellious writings were entrenched by something much different. Patrick Henry being transcendentalist, wanted his mind to exceed culture and society. Accordingly, He believed that his ideas and his views were greater than the laws imposed by the government. Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine were both influenced by the conditions of their time period. Thoreau, living right before the revolution, was angered by actual events occurring all over the colonies.
In 1776, four years after the burning of the Gaspee, Thomas Jefferson would include in the Declaration of Independence, the charge against the King, “for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences”. When Jefferson included this passage into the Declaration, he was referring to the law passed in May of 1774, known as the Administration of Justice Act; a law that was one of the measures included in the “Coercive Acts”, which Americans referred to as the “Intolerable Acts” (Selesky, 1). The Coercive Acts was the British Government’s response to the events that had occurred in December, of 1773, known as the Boston Tea Party. The Administrative of Justice Act was directed primarily at the people of Boston, and Massachusetts (Ammerman, 1).
A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for the American colonists to proclaim freedom from Great Britain's oppressor, King George III. American colonists had been suffering for many years when this important document was drafted. King George III had pushed the colonists into a state of tyranny and most decided it was time to start an independent nation under a different type of government. Jefferson focused his piece toward many audiences. He wanted not only King George III and the British Parliament to know the American's feelings, but also the entire world. The time had come for an immense change amongst the American colonists and Jefferson made sure everyone was aware of it by using his superior strategies of persuasion.
The former British, now the colonists, was tired of the king’s demands and laws. They wanted taxation with representation. The colonists protested by throwing massive amounts of tea into the Boston Harbor. The colonist did not want religion to significantly develop the government’s proceedings. The King followed the Pope’s decrees, which were passed to the citizens that by law must follow. This will lead to the United States government separation of Church and State. The British government was corrupt and the colonists wanted change, so they decided, “that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such
The pen is mightier than the sword because the written word of The Declaration of Independence have much more of an impact on humanity compared to warfare. For instance, in the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson he argues, “...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (www.archives.gov). This symbolizes the ideal American democracy and how it shapes America even till this day. It not only advocates for the colonists, but also triggers the emancipation of slaves later in the future. Further more this the Declaration of Independence inspires many other important historical documents such as the American Constitution (www.loc.gov) and the Bill of Rights that also contributes to forming America (www.billsofrightinstitute.org). The Declaration of Independence, help construct and pave a way for our humanity to grow by being the foundation of our government. Some may argue that the sword is mightier than the pen because without war the Declaration of Independence would not have been created (www.ushistory.org). Although the war was what triggered the writing of this document, without the guidance of the Declaration of Independence, the war would have been fought in vain (www.history.state.gov). For example according to US Department of State it states that the document “summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking their independence”(www.history.state.gov). The Declaration of Independence urged the colonist to keep fighting, it became a symbol of hope and a path to a flourishing future. Ultimately the pen marked a profound impact on humanity by giving us our foundation of life, while the swor...
This paper is going to be about the declaration of independence, One of the things that caused the declaration of independence is How king george treated them and they wanted freedom. Thomas jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Adams all wrote the declaration also eventually 56 delegates signed the declaration of independence which all came from the 13 colonies.