Why The American Colonies Declared Their Independence

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.

On July 4 1776 in Philadelphia the continental congress and the founding fathers sing the final draft of the Declaration of Independence separating them from britain. The colonist were sick of Great britain’s king using unfair power on them. What were the reason the colonist declared their independence from britain? The colonist wanted independence because they wanted liberty, freedom of choice, and peace.

The British had sent more than 10,000 troops to North America by the end of the French and Indian War. The British felt like they had spent a great deal of money in protecting the American colonists. They were in debt around 140 million pounds. To pay off all of their debt the British decided to increase the enforcement of existing taxes on the Colonists and impose additional taxes. The British issued The Proclamation of 1763 which meant the colonists couldn’t cheat the Indians out of land. They also establish a border in where they could not buy land. This made the colonist mad because it made them feel like the British were interfering and trying to limit their economic growth.

Imagine everything that is said is heard in a British accent. It sounds funny now, but that's how it could have been if the colonists had never declared their independence from England. That isn't what happened though. Grievances were made, events came to pass, and the Declaration of Independence was written. Taking a look at the documents from that time, as well as treatment of other colonies by the British one can see that the colonists were completely justified in declaring their independence from England.

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.

There were many events that led up to the American Revolution. After the British defeated France and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, Parliament began enforcing colonists to help pay for debts that were accrued during the war. George Grenville, Britain’s chief minister, constructed laws such as the Stamp Act, Sugar Act and Quartering Act. These new policies that set in place tariffs on imports, exports, and regulations on trade, infuriated colonists (Tindall & Shi, pg. 121). Colonist did not want to allow such imposed taxes because the people themselves were not represented as equal British subjects. “The issue of taxation became a question of the colonist’ place in the imperial system” (Calloway, pg. 14). Also, after the British victory in the Seven Year war settlers were eager to expand west. British government wanted the colonist to stay east where trade was a major profit, and to navigate to the north or south. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 establishes the Appalachian Mountains as the boundary line between British and Indian lands. This was in part to keep Indian alliances and to keep control on the settler’s expansion. Henry Ellis, Governor of Georgia, spoke of

Following the French and Indian War, the American colonists believed they were entitled to the lands gained through the Treaty of Paris in 1763. King George III believed that with the issuing of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, The passage of the Proclamation Line of 1763 created tensions between the American colonists, British crown, and Native Americans due to the closing of the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains which was viewed as an attempt to deprive colonists of land in favor of Native Americans.

During the time of 1763-1775, one of the occurrences that happened to affect the colonists’ perception of the British was the French and Indian War. The war itself was not the main reason the colonists’ had trouble with the British, but the time after the war was the actual cause of eventual trouble. During the war, the British fought with France around the Ohio valley for the control of land. The Ohio valley was very important to both of the empires, because of the land value and the strategic location it held in the years to come. Both had their struggles especially with the Native Americans that called this area their home. Most of the Native Americans sided with either the British or the French because they thought that if they had sided with

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?

During the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, the French and the British were competing for land throughout the Ohio Valley, the Mississippi River, and the St. Lawrence River and for trading rights in North America. Both nations saw this territory as a necessity to increase its own power and wealth while simultaneously limiting the strength of its rival. Although, after the French and Indian War the British gained all of the French land in North America. Following the war the British government revoked certain liberties of the colonies, they increased economic regulation, and exerted greater control over the colonies. Therefore, the aftermath of the French and Indian War caused a

In contrast to the non-violent Indian revolution the American Revolution was a violent struggle for independence from Britain. The British victory in the French and Indian War left Britain’s resources stretched thin due to the fact that its land holding had increased in size. The war was also expensive and drained the British coffers. In order to remedy this problem American colonist were forced to

The American Revolution was far from being the first conflict to occur on the soil of the New World. There were multiple skirmishes, battles, and official wars fought in the territory that resulted in severe bloodshed before the idea of the American Revolution was even conceived. One of the most significant of these wars was the French and Indian War or as it was known in Europe, the Seven Years’ War. At its conclusion in 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed. The English received a substantial amount of new land for the Empire (94). However, with the acquisition of new land and a significant amount of debt from the extensive war efforts, the British government had to reevaluate many of their policies (95-96). After the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the British were confident in their mastery of North America. However by attempting to tighten their control over their American colonies they initiated a series of poorly thought out programs and policies which resulted in a disastrous rebellion.

war, it is a sign of radical action. Britains' army was four times as big

The French and Indian War, a colonial manifestation of the same forces and tensions that erupted in the European Seven Years' War, was, quite simply, a war about imperialism. The French and the English were competing for land and trading rights in North America; these strivings resulted in a great deal of disputed land, particularly that of the rich Ohio Valley. Each nation saw this territory as vital in its effort to increase its own power and wealth while simultaneously limiting the strength of its rival. Although the war itself therefore stemmed from a fairly simple motivation, its consequences were far- reaching. The English victory in the war decided the colonial fate of North America, and yet at the same time sowed the seeds of the eventual colonial revolution. After the war, the British ended their century-long policy of salutary neglect, attempting to keep the colonials under a more watchful eye. The British also raised taxes in an effort to pay for the war. Both of these postwar policies resulted in massive colonial discontent and added to the budding nationalism that eventually exploded in the Revolutionary War.

After having years of benign British neglect, and after capably governing themselves, the people in the American colonies were not pleased when the British Parliament decided after the end of the successful end of the French Indian War in 1763 to become more engaged in the American colonists’ affairs. The British government wanted to protect the American colonies from future Indian and other attacks.