Role Of Englishmen In William Blackstone's Common Law Of The American Colonists

Thomas Jefferson discusses the relationship between England and the United states in the pamphlet “ A summary of View of the Rights of British America”. This pamphlet goes on to discuss various situation between these individual countries .These documents highlight some of the many troubles with the two governments . I would like to discuss 4 different instances that arise and have a huge impact between these two states . Jefferson makes some very strong and valid arguments against the tyrannical king of England King George.

In Declaring Rights, Jack N. Rakove provides two sections: “Rights in Revolution” and “The Constitution and Rights”. Part one “Rights in Revolution” contained twelve documents from the time period 1689 to 1786. These documents in part one discussed how America started to rebel against Great Britain and wanted to gain their independence. Part two “The Constitution and Rights” contains documents from the time period of 1787 to 1789. These documents discussed after the revolution and when the Constitution was being written. This section

In the very beginning of the British colonies’ rise to importance, a defining factor to its eventual freedom is created, influencing the turn towards a written constitution before the idea of the United States even crossed the minds of revolutionaries. The Mayflower Compact, an important legal document written by colonists waiting to touch land in the Americas in 1620, signifies the importance of written laws and

They felt that they had settled into a new country far away from Britain and developed the colonies by themselves. Their political prowess and craving of personal freedoms had flourished alongside the growth of the colonies. One particular angered colonist was James Otis. He compares the treatment of Americans to slavery, as Britain is stripping them of their constitutional rights. In regards to taxation without representation he states the British government is not permitted to make itself capricious by randomly changing its rules to suit its own vendetta. Otis placed an emphasis on Britain not having the right to tax a man without his own consent and that doing so would be unjustly robbing Americans as the free born British subjects they are, of their constitutionally granted rights. Colonist across America supported tis viewpoint and were outraged by the Townshend Acts and Declaratory Acts leading them to defy the prejudiced dictatorship through declining British goods and one of the most infamous acts The Boston Tea Party of

In the late eighteenth century, North American British Colonies worked to free themselves and create their own governing body. Some ideas stated by revolutionaries helped to unite the colonies in a single governing body and revolt against the existing government. The primary driving forces of the revolutionaries included the belief that humans had the right to freedom and to govern themselves, and that they had certain natural rights that the ruling government of Britain was not allowing them, as well as a general hatred for the ruling power of the European monarchy. These ideas that were so prevalent in the colonies were stated by many different revolutionaries, but many of them held the same idea, freedom was a right that was shared by all

In the chapter Kings, Parliament, and Inherited Rights, starts off with the quote about the revolution. The revolution was in the mind and the hearts of people, a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. The evolution of the revolution began was an argument over rights that changed into struggle for power of each party to assert their rights as it understood them, then afterward struggle for empire as Americans began to conceive a more ambitious and independent course for themselves. Americans believe that legally of all parliamentary statutes was measured against the constitution; on that basis, being unrepresented in Parliament, they denied the rights of the body to tax them directly according to the principles of constitutional law. A particular act focused on in the chapter is the Stamp Act, which imposed a stamp tax ranging from one shilling to six on various commercial and legal documents such as wills, mortgages, and college degrees, as well as on newspapers, almanacs, calendars, pamphlets, playing cards and dice. Also the Trade and Navigation Acts was a parliamentary revenue raised in America would make England governors and their appointees independent of local pressure and more faithful enforcing British statutes. These made the colonies more united. Colonies wanted to distance

One way England controlled their rights was through placing restrictions on trade. When this rule was implemented the colonist grew angry. Not only did Britain not have all the supplies that the colonies needed but they taxed very high on all of the goods the colonies needed or wanted. Another example of when England controlled the colonists rights is when King George III closed their congress and said that Parliament had supreme rule over the colonies. In this instance King George III eliminated colonial self-governance, so that they would be less likely to uprise. The Patriots responded to this by becoming more frustrated with the king and increased their desire for independence. Another example of when England controlled the colonies rights is when they revolt the right to a fair trial for the colonist accused of wrongdoing. If the colonists was accused of a wrongdoing by Britain, the British would capture them and send them to England for a trial. The trial would occur in England rather in the colonies. The colonists could not defend themselves because no one in England would defend them making for a very unfair legal process. This is in contrast to what happened after the Boston Massacre, when the colonists gave the five British soldiers a fair trial. During the trial, the accused British soldiers were given John Adams, who is one of the best

The Americas clearly had justification to declare independence from the cruel rule of Britain for they were unfair, did not care for us and thought of us as lessers, and they took away our natural rights. The Americas had every right to fight for their freedom and independance, and they did. Britain was unfair and had taken everything that the Americas had worked hard for and took it for themselves. They were merely tyrants who ruled for their own benefit, for example, they had cut off the Americas from trading with anyone else other than Britain and even taxed them without any say from the Americas.

“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can” is a quote by Samuel Adams. This means that all people should have the same rights. All men are created equal. The king of England let the Colonists live in the new world but Colonists believe that the king did not have authority to rule them anymore. Examples include “No taxation without representation.” Also, another example can be that the British passed unfair taxes and acts. Others may argue that the king had a right to do so, but there are more and better reasons as to why the colonists should’ve had liberty. “Give me liberty or give me death” was what the colonists said.

The first one was Natural Laws. Natural Laws means that there is an unchanging set of laws the govern human rights. People believe that Natural Laws were created by God and that nobody could change them. The second one is if a government violates the people’s Natural Laws they have the right to abolish the government and make a new government. Third there was an agreement that existed between the colonists and the king. The king could govern the colonies as long as he didn’t violate the people’s rights to life, liberty, and property. The fourth thing was that there was no agreement between the colonies and Parliament. So when Parliament governed and taxed the colonies they did it illegally. The colonies did not have the right to send representatives to

Under the British rule American’s god given rights were taken from. As well as many unlawful taxes were imposed upon them. The British put into

The infringement upon their liberties to which Richard Henry Lee was referring was largely an economic concern for the colonists. Taxes and duties implemented solely by the British government and the Navigation Acts limited trading rights. The colonists believed that they held the right to tax themselves, especially since there were no Americans in Parliament. After this claim England replied that colonists were represented by “virtual representation” as a result of the Magna Carta. The inferred inferiority of the Americans to Britons by this fallacy insulted colonists and further pushed them into unrest, causing a movement that resulted in the Non-Importation Agreements being enforced The Non-Importation Agreements demonstrated the power of the American colonists over the depressed English economy. Once the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts were repealed, there was no turning back for the seditious Americans; they had discovered who truly was dependent on whom.

The year 1776 ignited the colonial rebellion from Great Britain, with colonists from the newly formed United States demanding their individual and colony’s rights. They advocated for representation, their individual rights, and the issue of sovereignty. With the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791, individual rights overall were thought to be “protected” in the newly liberated Unites States. Yet the continued limiting of women’s rights, treatment of the mentally handicapped and emancipated slaves, the individual liberties colonists believed they would gain from Britain was only for certain individuals, not all. The colonists believed that they would advance their individual rights and freedoms with their independence from Britain; though the reality was that the struggles of individual liberties continued throughout the next 100 years in different classes of citizens despite their gaining of independence from Britain.

Throughout the 1400s, slavery started when three continents; North America, South America, and Africa, forcely exchanged 10 million africans to the Americas. This broad idea of expanding labour through slavery affected the world. For example, Anthony Hazard discusses how this “impacted not only the African slaves but the economy and history of the world” (The Atlantic Slave Trade). It all began when there was not enough servants to help produce essential needs in the Americas.

The colonists learned everything from England like religion and how to live their lives. According to Samuel Adams “Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can” but the colonists wouldn’t have fought in war with the British, who had one of the most advanced armies in the world at the time, if they would’ve just sticked to what the king said. Most of the colonists were peasants coming to the New World to live better lives than the ones they had lived back in England. Some came to the New World to make money like the colonists that lived in Jamestown. Some even for religious freedom like the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth and made an agreement today known as the Mayflower Compact.