Every year on the Fourth of July, we celebrate America's independence. We celebrate the day our forefather, a group of patriotic and unwavering men signed a Declaration of Independence. This document declared the thirteen colonies independence from Great Britain. This was the day the United States of America became a nation.
To understand, why Independence Day is most notable, we have to look at the events leading up to July 4, 1776 and the American Revolution. What is the motive behind our forefather’s rebellion against England? What events played a significant role in this revolution to independence? To find the motive, we have to go back to 1620 when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. English settlers came to the new land to be free from the King’s Parliament. They wanted to make their own laws, to be free to practice their own religion and be independence from Great Britain’s rule. However, even thorough the colonists opposed the rules of Parliament, most still considered themselves loyal to the crown and an Englishman.
Over the next hundred years and so, the colonists had become self-reliant and resistant to any interference from Great Britain government. The thirteen English colonies, under the King George II were established along the east coast and colonies prospered. The governments in each colony differed, some were self-governing and another had royal governors, yet far from the rules of the King and Parliament1.
King George III takes the Throne
In 1760, when King George III came to the throne all the warm feeling towards Great Britain started to change. George III ascended to the throne just as the French and Indian War (Seven Year War in Europe) were coming to an end. 2. Great Britian was...
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... It shuts down Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the dumped tea, cancelled Massachusetts’s charter, sent the British troops tried for the Boston Massacre back to Britain for a new trial, forced colonists to quarter British troops and named General Thomas Gage the governor of Massachusetts
Bibliography
Barnes, Eric Wollencott., and W. N. Wilson. Free Men Must Stand; the American War of Independence. New York: Whittlesey House, 1962. 10-24.
Johnson, Gerald White. "Chapter Seven: The Colonies Fight." In America Is Born, 196-240. Morrow, 1959.
Morris, Richard B. "The Rebellion Kindled." In The New World: The Life History of the United States. Morristown, NJ: Silver Burdett/ Time-Life Books, 1975.
Sanderlin, George William. "Chapter 2: The New Stamp." In 1776: Journals of American Independence. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.
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Show MoreBrennan, Linda Crotta. The Birth of the United States. Ann Arbor: Cherry Lake, 2011. Print.
Holton, Woody. Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
[17] Marion L. Starkey, A Little Rebellion (New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1955), xiv.
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
Stokesbury, James L. A short History of the American Revolution. New York. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1991.
Henretta, James A., and David Brody. America a Concise History. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010.
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.
2. Alden, John. A History of the American Revolution. New York: Da Capo Press, 1969. (accessed November 7, 2013).
Greene, J. P., & Pole, J. R. (Eds.). (2008). A Companion to the American Revolution (Vol. 17). John Wiley & Sons.
There are many events that have happened in our history that have helped shape our country into what it is today. One of those events that helped change our country was the Decleration of Independance. The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4th, 1776. And this document was written so we were separate from England and so we weren’t under their power anymore. It meant that we were going to become a self-governing country. This was the very first big step we took to become our own country. And if we hadn’t have separated from England we wouldn’t be the country we are today. This helped build our nation and bring us closer together so we were united as one. This is when we realized we could be something bigger than what we were.
On July 4th 1776, the American colonies declared independence from Great Britain The reasoning behind this decision is complicated and multifaceted. Once we dive into historical and economical evidence, we will better understand the perspectives of the American colonists and their logic behind declaring independence.
...ary rule in Massachusetts, and made British officials unable to be charged with a crime in America. It also required colonists to house British troops (The Boston Tea Party). The goal of the Intolerable Acts was to segregate the radicals in Massachusetts. Although, the 13 colonies did move onward and ended up establishing the Continental Congress. A decision was then made to boycott all British goods (Raphael).
Stokesbury, James L. A Short History of the American Revolution. New York: William Morrow and Company, 2001.
The imperial tactics of the British Empire were exercised on the colonists through heavy taxes trade restrictions because of their mercantilist economy. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists directly on paper goods ranging from legal documents to newspapers. Colonists were perturbed because they did not receive representation in Parliament to prevent these acts from being passed or to decide where the tax money was spent. The colonists did not support taxation without representation. The Tea Act was also passed by Parliament to help lower the surplus of tea that was created by the financially troubled British East India Company. The colonists responded to this act by executing the Boston Tea Party which tossed all of the tea that was imported into the port of Boston. This precipitated the Boston Port Act which did not permit the colonists to import goods through this port. The colonists protested and refused all of these acts which helped stir the feelings of rebellion among the colonists. The British Mercantilist economy prevented the colonists from coin...
The American Revolutionary War was a war between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen British colonies, who declared their independence as the United States of America in 1776. The war was the culmination of the American Revolution, a colonial struggle against political and economic policies of the British Empire. The war eventually widened far beyond British North America, many Native Americans also fought on both sides of the conflict. The Declaration of Independence is the document in which the 13 states, formerly the Thirteen Colonies, in North America declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. The Second Continental Congress ratified it on July 4, 1776.