Were the Colonists Justified in Declaring Their Independence?

The founding fathers had a good amount of reasons for rebelling against the British government and declaring independence. The Colonist felt that the government was not protecting their rights as citizens and lost the right to rule them. The taxation system wasn't fair and they were not represented in Parliament.

The Colonists’ rebellion The early Americans desired independence, yet Britain relentlessly exerted their power and limited the colonists freedoms. They were unjustly taxed, their trade was restricted, they had no representation in parliament, yet still had to follow the laws established, and they were increasingly controlled. The colonists absolutely had a legitimate cause to rebel against British rule. First of all, the early Americans were unfairly taxed by Britain.

al, 132). Any violators were going to be sentenced in front of a judge in England without a jury (Boyer et. al, 133). Britain’s prime minister projected this would make them 100,000 euros which would account for 20 percent of North American military expenses (Boyer et. al, 133). Unlike the the Sugar Act this was and internal tax which was literally Britain just trying to taking the colonists money whereas the Sugar act was supposed to boost the economies by trading within. The stamp act was one of the last things Britain did before the iconic American Revolution. This also is when the colonists came up with the slogan no taxation without representation. These unfair acts and taxes are key contributors that pushed the colonists over the tipping point to ultimately revolt from the British

Based on the fact that the colonists were being denied their right to be taxed by a colonial representative, the colonists absolutely had the right to rebel against the king and Parliament. Not only for this reason, but also for numerous other reasons.

On account of King George’s tyranny and the complete lack of representation within the British Parliament, the American colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain.

With opportunities of land to barter and resources to use, colonists were eager to move past the legal limits. The prosperity they saw past the lines drawn by the British were far too great to be taken away by rulings from another continent. But not only did Britain see the need to restrict the colonists’ geography, but was eager to find a way to pay for the debt they had accumulated following the war they had just fought. Their previous practices of salutary neglect towards the colonists was not creating enough revenue to support their financial obligations. With the idea that colonists should pay for the military support British troops offered them, they imposed the first of many taxes on the colonies, the Stamp Act of 1765. This act taxed all paper products, which heavily weighed on lawyers, printers and merchants. With enough opposition from the colonists, Britain repealed the act which began to give colonists faith in their ability to stand up for their rights. Still in demand of revenue, parliament introduced the next set of tariffs, the Townshend Acts of 1767, just two years later. These acts taxed all glass, lead, paint, paper and tea. Having a direct affect on nearly all colonists, the Sons of

One of the grievances noted, “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.” This grievance is supported by factual events that occurred during the 1700’s. After the French War, King George III did not withdraw soldiers from the colonies. On March 24th, 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act. This required the colonies to pay or find shelter for the British Soldiers. Many of the colonies did not support this law and refused to take part. This act was passed without the input and approval of the colonies. This is demonstrated by New York’s refusal to comply with the newly passed law due to feeling as though they were forced. This negatively affected the colonist because soldiers were taking over their homes and eating all the food. Due to noncooperation Parliament passed the New York Restraining

The Colonists had developed their own autonomous legislative bodies in which they believed had the same power as Parliament. Colonists proudly saw themselves as possessing all the rights of any Englishman. Relations were steady until shortly after the end of the French and Indian War, the British government stopped being lenient and attempted to gain tighter control over the colonies. The British forced the colonies to share in the responsibility for the tremendous debt built up during the French and Indian War. The heightened interaction between the colonies and Britain led to a steady decline in the relationship between the two. During the period from 1763 to 1773, the colonies grew ill-disposed to Britain and the British Parliament. The first event was the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which set aside lands west of the Appalachians for American Indians which angered colonists who wanted the land. The first act used in attempt to raise more revenue was the Sugar Act of 1764. This was then followed by the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts in 1767 which which initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. In 1770 the Boston Massacre led to a heightened strain on the relationship between the two parties. Parliament implemented the Tea Act in 1774. By reducing the tax on imported British tea, this act gave British merchants an unfair advantage in selling their tea

Following its war with France, Britain decided that to generate income to pay off its war debt, it would levy taxes on the American Colonies. To raise revenue for the crown many taxes were imposed on the American colonies. The Sugar, Stamp, and the Townshend Acts, were imposed on the colonies in 1763. These taxes or Tariffs would contribute greatly to the American Revolution.

Since 1764, Great Britain has been imposing their power on the colonies in very unfair ways. They have been acting as a tyranny who is abusing their absolute power. The colonists were justified in separating from Britain and declaring independence because of unfair taxes, and tyranny. The American Colonies are justified for separating from britain because of multiple unconstitutional taxes.

It is safe to say that the colonists had every right to rebel. The rebellion of these American colonists was based on the simple fact that they had been denied their “ rights as Englishmen.” The British Empire had instituted ridiculous laws upon the colonists, forcing them to pay absurd taxes. At that point America had reached their tipping point, they were going to revolt against the British. This heavy taxation without proper representation was one of many reasons that the American colonists were justified in breaking away from Great Britain.

Colonists throughout the colonies went into a period of opposing their motherland, England. The main victims blamed for the colonists views of opposition was King George III and the British Parliament. Both advocated legislation that would affect the colonists to a point of revolution. The legislation supported the main reason for independence, but other factors play a role as well. Aside from the economic grievances, factors like political philosophy, propaganda, and social rank drove the colonists to independence from Great Britain.

In 1770, tension was growing in the British colonies of North America. These tensions were growing due to the aftermath of the Seven Years War. Since Britain, protected the colonies during the Seven Years War, as a result Britain grew heavily in debt. So the British Government blamed the colonist for the war, they created precautions to prevent another war from erupting in the colonies. Some of these precautions causes tensions to rise in the colonies such as the proclamation line of 1763, the British standing army and the Declaratory act. The British also established several taxes, which cause uproar in the colonies such as the stamp act and sugar act, however those acts were appealed in 1766. Consequently, the British also passed the Townshend act, which in turn caused the tensions to rise in the colonies. Due tensions between the colonist and the British, the city Boston the setting of a horrific event occurred, which the colonist used as propaganda to fuel the fight for independence from the British crown. This was the Boston Massacre was a chaotic event which no one could agree on what actually occurred. The Boston Massacre is debated about what actually

For the American colonists, there were many reasons to be agitated at the English. The

The four major events during the period of 1763-17751 led to the conflict between colonial America and Great Britain are the Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, Continental Congress. First of all, in February 1765, Grenville escalated his revenue program with the stamp act, precipitating a major conflict between Britain and the colonies over Parliament’s right to tax. The Stamp Act imposed a tax on all paper used for official documents —newspapers, pamphlets, court documents, licenses, wills, ships’ cargo lists — and required an affixed stamp as proof that the tax had been paid. The Act intensified the conflict between the colonial and Parliament Colonists’ believed that Parliament had no right to tax the colonies. Sons of Liberty stopped stamped papers from being unloaded at docks. Merchants organized a boycott of British goods. They demanded Parliament repeal the Act. In 1766 Parliament repeal the Act. Secondly, Townshend proposed new taxes in the old form of a navigation act. Officially called the Revenue Act of 1767, it established new duties on tea, glass, lead, paper, and painters’ colors imported into the colonies, to be paid by the importer but passed on to consumers in the retail price. Dozens of towns begin to boycott of all British-made goods. British Imports fell by more than 40 percent. In 1770 The Townshend Duties are Repealed Under financial pressure from the colonists ' non-importation policy, Parliament