Before the American Revolution, the colonists had many different ideas about how to settle the arguments with the king. Many wanted to break away and become an independent country. Others believed the colonists could not survive without the king, and there was a more peaceful approach. The colonists were justified in declaring their independence from England because there is “no taxation without representation” and the king broke the social contract.
One reason the colonists should become an independent country is because there should be “no taxation without representation”. When the colonists first settled in north america, the king has not taxed them. They had no representation in parliament so he knew they should not get taxed. In document C it shows how the colonists were barely getting taxed at all. However when he needed money, he started passing tax acts and the colonists were not happy. He’s never taxed them before, so why start now? The king also would not give any of the colonies a position in parliament so they had no say in the laws, which was unfair for the colonists. When they tried to ask and protest peacefully they got rejected and ignored. Therefore, they had to go about the situation in a
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The social contract is that the king will protect his subjects, as long as they follow his rules. The king broke this after the French and Indian war, when he would not let the colonists settle in the ORV because he couldn’t protect them. According to document E, the king also broke the social contract during the Boston Massacre. All thanks to propaganda, the king seems to be killing his own people which convinced many neutral colonists to join the patriot side. Not protecting the colonists in the ORV was one thing, but actually killing some of them was crossing the line. Obviously, the colonists had to do something about this
After this he goes on to list all the grievances the colonies have by number and points out the flaw in each argument. One argument he makes is that the colonies sought out England for protection in the war and were glad for their help up until they had to help contribute towards the expenses. England imposed one small tax on the colonies to pay for their expenses, and in turn the colonies go into an uproar, which is unreasonable to say the least. Towards the end he makes another important counterargument, which is that the colonies say they never agreed to get taxed or give their
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 colonists were in every right, aspect and mind, not only justified but also it was about time that they stood of and actually take action against the British. The choice of going to war with them, was the only choice that they had. All diplimatical options that they had ceased to stand a chance against the tyrant Britain. From the very beginning when the colonists felt upset against their mother country and the way that they went about the law making, up until the beginning of the war, they tried all diplimatical options that they had, by sending letters, you name it. When they didn’t work then they had no other means but to declare war.
During this entire period the British were starting to make attempts to intimidate the colonists in hopes to end the rebellions. It seemed that the more and more England tried to scare the people, the angrier they got. The tactics obviously didn't work, but instead pushed the colonists even further into standing up against Britain. The British soldiers in America were told not to entice violence, and especially not to kill anybody.
The colonists had been unfairly taxed and had no been allowed to represent their opinions in Parliament so they sought justice for the inequalities they endured. The revolution was the institution of the independence and equality of our democratic country, the United States of America. Without the problems that arose in the late 18th century causing the revolution to take place, there might not be the openness of sovereignty there is now.
After enduring “a long train of abuses and usurpations” the colonists decided to declare themselves free of British rule (para 2). Jefferson writes that given their “unalienable rights . . . Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”, “it is the Right of the People . . . to institute new Government”, one that will fairly represent them, to reestablish order (para 2). The Declaration of Independence does not seek to convince or even encourage action; rather, it aims to declare. There are no mistaking Jefferson’s words. The Colonists are tired of the mistreatment and they are effectively severing all “Allegiance to the British Crown, and . . . political connection” (para 23). The audience of The Declaration of Independence, the world, is specifically addressed twice. The first
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...
The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England. When the King of England began to infringe on the colonists’ liberties, leaders inspired by the enlightenment grouped together to defend the rights of the American colonies. As Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence, “History of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries ad usurpations,
Most colonists shared these ideas and felt there was a need to separate from the parent country because of how Britain had wronged the colonists. The Declaration of Independence outlines four major themes, equality, consent, duty, and the listing of the 26 charges against the monarchy of England. The theme of equality explains how every American citizen should have the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The British monarchy was not allowing the colonists to have these rights. They had controlled the colonist’s and their property similar to a dictatorship would. The pursuit of happiness meant the rights to property, and religion. For the British government to control them in such a manner would be contradicting what the colonists believed to be a fair and just government. The theme of consent heavily focused on the saying “majority rules”. If the government had unfairly taxed the colonists, they would then have the right to refuse them if the majority had ruled against the act of unfair taxation. Duty is barely mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, but is very important to the well-being of our nation. This theme explains that all citizens have a duty to protect the unalienable rights that
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
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.
The events that lead to the American Revolution have convinced a part of the colonists that it had been justified. It did not begin with all the colonists wanting to revolt against Britain, but with the beliefs that were expressed through the English writers: Locke, Rousseau, and Hobbes who all had different opinions of what warranted a revolution. After the French and Indian War in 1754, the Proclamation of 1763 had been enforced, creating a tense relationship between the colonists and Britain. Although the American Revolution seemed rational from the perspective of the Patriots and Non-landowning free men, the Loyalists have believed that a revolt would be too hazardous.
What major problems did the young republic face after its victory over Great Britain? How did these problems motivate members of the elite to call for a federal constitution?
On June 4, 1776 America finally got its independence, but it was truly a struggle for all the colonists to get this far in order to have a structured government and to win freedom. The success that the colonists gained was not only the strategies that George Washington created, nor was it the help from the French. Taking those examples into consideration, they were very important actions to win the revolution, but not as important as the joined efforts of the states to rebel against the King. The main reason why we won the American Revolution was because of proper protest, choices made, and connection during the revolution. This caused many great ideas to appear for a future, and a more reasonable government in which law was king and the people ran the government. Once the patriots got through all the British, a new country began which is now America. From the past we can gather a great amount of information of how the colonists used these methods of protest to bypass and become independent from the government.
...he fact that they had no political power and were controlled by a country that was thousands of miles away from them. The American Revolution began as a conflict over political and social change, but soon developed into a dispute over personal rights and political liberty. A decade of conflicts between the British government and the Americans, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to war in 1775, along with The Declaration of Independence in 1776. Americans united as one and knew that they wanted to be an independent country, have their own laws, rights, and not be colony of the Great Britain. They fought hard for their independence and people lost their lives in the process of it but in the end they succeeded. Never give up, keep fighting till the mission is accomplished just like the Americans did when they were fighting for their independence.