Reasons The Colonists Declared Their Independence From Britain

Before the Revolutionary War, the tensions between the colonists and King George of Great Britain were “very high”. The colonists were unhappy over the unfair treatment they were receiving from Britain. They were angry with the taxes and laws that King George had imposed upon them. Despite the taxes being for the French and Indian War, which Britain had fought to keep the colonists safe, they still were angered that they had to pay them. The colonists were unfairly taxed without representation and had a legitimate reason to be angry with King George and Great Britain. The only solution that seemed possible was war, so the colonists decided to declare war. The American colonists were justified for breaking away from the British because they were unfairly taxed and were treated unfairly by the British.

1763 marked the end of French and Indian war and caused a great celebration and pride in the American colonies. But, in next twelve years, the same pride was altered by at bitter and violent conflict with the mother country. The injustices of the mother country finally led the American colonists to declare independence and wage war against it. American colonies were justified for waging war and breaking away from Britain because they were defending themselves against a series of measures Parliament wished to impose on their communities without their consent.

The Declaration of Independence occurred in Philadelphia on June 7, 1776. Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion in Congress to declare Independence. Other members of Congress were amenable but thought some colonies not quite ready. Congress did form a committee to draft a declaration of independence an assigned this duty to Thomas Jefferson. The main purpose of the America’s Declaration of Independence was to explain to foreign nations why the colonies had chosen to separate themselves from Great Britain. The Revolutionary War had already begun, and several major battles had already takes place. The American colonies had already cut most major ties to England. What was the motivation for writing the Declaration of Independence? The Declaration of Independence is a list of complaints against the King of England. Some historians believe the Declaration of Independence was written for selfish reasons while others believe that it was written for ideological reasons. America was destined to play this role. My position statement on the historical question is the motivation for writing the Declaration of Independence was for the people not for selfish reasons.

While the colonists had many grievances surrounding King George III the strongest grievance was his plan “To force colonist to buy English products” he had Parliament place high taxes on goods from other countries. The key word

The colonists began to question if independence was for them when parliament passed the Stamp Act. The stamp act was meant to raise money for British soldiers and also to pay off some of Britain’s debt. When the King/Parliament passed laws the colonists believed that if they weren’t there when the laws were passed they were illegal (according to the Bill of Rights), which is where the slogan “no taxation against representation” came in to play. The people wanted to separate from England because of how the king only passed laws that benefited him. Colonists had a problem with their government. Thomas Paine says that government is a necessary evil. He says that their government is being hampered by oppression; he believed, along with other people, that the King was leading cruelly and not caring about his people. The Declaration of Independence also says, “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”. Thomas Jefferson is saying that the laws that the King/Parliament were passing were becoming destructive and it was the right of the people to become independent or change their

Colonists sought independence from British government for a multitude of reasons. Tension quickly rose between England and the thirteen colonies due to the unjust taxing without fair representation in Parliament, the colonist’s rights to assemble were taken away by the British, and there were many unreasonable Acts and laws put into place in attempt to have complete control over the colonists as well as intimidate them. For these reasons and the suffering that the colonists endured at the hands of the British government, I feel that the colonists had plenty just causes to separate themselves from England.

The thirteen British colonies of North America were slowly going into independence. The people (colonists) were proud of being British, they had no desire to separate from their own country. April 19, 1775 people made calls for independent. Also in that year of July the Second Continental Congress sent the King a request for redress and reconciliation, which Dickinson had to drain indubitably.

1) What reasons did Thomas Paine give in his pamphlet Common Sense for why the American Colonies should declare full and complete independence from Great Britain in 1776?

In conclusion, the American colonists were fully justified in their declaration of independence from Great Britain. The American colonists never deserved any of the punishment they received through taxes and the other means that were placed upon them. With the continuous counts of corruption acts being placed upon them, American colonist felt no choice but to revolt against the British. Before war commenced colonists made several attempts in peacefully expressing their disapproval, however, the attempts continued with results in

In 1776, the original thirteen colonies officially declared their independence from Great Britain after the American revolution. This fight for freedom was not an easy one however and was brought on by a chain of events following the French and Indian War in 1754. After fighting in the French and Indian War, Great Britain had greatly over-extended itself, causing a period of severe debt. To cope with this debt, Parliament started trying to generate revenue for the country; one way this was done was though the passing of acts. In 1764, under the order of George Grenville, Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, the Sugar Act and the Currency Act were implemented. These two acts were consumption taxes on sugar and printing currency, respectively. Not too long after these acts were passed, the Stamp Act of 1765 occurred, requiring colonists to pay for an official seal to have their mail sent. After this act was passed, colonists were becoming angry that they were being taxed on nearly everything. This anger led to the

All the documents had to be formally printed in England and were distinguished by a special stamp. Then these pieces of paper had to be bought from a special agent at a price. This meant that the colonists had to pay taxes on every thing they bought from the British government. It was expected that this tax would raise 60,000 pounds annually. The colonists despised this and tried to buy as little as they could from England. After this act the colonists realised that the British government was revenue-raising. The colonists felt that the British Government should be helping to protect ones property not to take it. The colonists argued that they had no say or representation in the government and that is when the outcry started, “No taxation without representation!”

One of the reasons the Founding Fathers had written the Declaration of Independence was because they wanted America to be free so that Britain could stop taxing the citizens. There were many acts going around such as the Tea Act, the Sugar Act, and the Stamp Act. The colonists had no representation in any of it. Sparknote had stated in their article, "the King interfered with the colonists' right to self-government and for a fair Judicial system." This had ticked the colonists off along with the acts. The King had also "instituted legislation that affected the colonists without their consent." This wasn't fair to the colonists and it would be understandable that they wanted independence.

The end of the French and Indian war in 1763, led to a large amount of conflict between the American colonists and the British Parliament.   The French and Indian war began in 1754 between Britain and France.  These two large countries were battling for land control in America.  

First they were taxed for printed papers they used, but they did not submit to that law. Next they were being taxed on imported good, which they also denounced and began to not take the imported goods from the British (boycott). The colonists were tired of having the British government ruling over them and not allowing them create their own laws and systems. They finally took a stand and had created a war that won them their independence.

Furthermore, Great Britain had commanded new payment methods which created a ruckus with the Americans causeing great anger. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. The colonies started rebelling against ‘Mother England’ because of taxes issued to the colonies, in as much, England’s power did not allow them to have representation. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the Constitutional issue of whether or not the king had the right to tax the people who are living in his kingdom or the thirteen colonies. Eventually, this "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Carey 48). "It was the phrase "taxation without representation" (Montgomery 138) that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country. That has royal authority to be able to term public opinions into a revolutionary battle.