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Thomas Jefferson Grievances

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While the Declaration of Independence was comprised of ideas from many different men, Thomas Jefferson penned the famous document (“The Declaration of Independence”). Jefferson entered the first chapter of his professional life as a lawyer right as American colonies began buzzing with change. He never fought as a soldier, but he did use his words as his weapons. Jefferson often wrote about the struggles between the colonies and Great Britain, saying that the colonists were a “free people claiming their rights” (“Jefferson and the beginning of the American Revolution”). Jefferson was born and raised in Virginia, and was elected to its House of Burgesses in 1768. Later, he attended the Second Continental Congress as a Virginian delegate, …show more content…

These were important things, and the fact that King George III committed these abuses was obviously a large contributing factor to the Revolution. However, most of the grievances simply are not issues today, though some argue otherwise. For example, taxation without consent is no longer a problem. One man would disagree, saying “Obama pushed through Obamacare without one single Republican vote, thus alienating the votes of half the population – through their elected representatives – of the country” (Phillips). This is untrue. The Affordable Care Act actually passed through Senate with a vote of 60-39, with one withholding a vote (“Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)”). Citizens have elected representatives for a reason: to represent them and vote for what would benefit them the most. Taxation might occur without someone’s direct consent, but the majority of elected representatives that Americans selected decided to allow the taxation. Some grievances could be debated upon, but others definitely are not issues in today’s society, like deprivation of trial by jury. It is listed in the Bill of Rights, the Sixth Amendment to be exact, that juries must try

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