After many years of neglect by the British, the colonists’ lives soon drastically changed. The British became more involved in the colonies and established unreasonable regulations. Influences by many events, the American colonists knew they had to take action against the British and fight for their independence. The Americans were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain because of unfair taxes, the social and economic life was harmed, the violation of inalienable rights by the British, and the colonists were not represented in government and treated as citizens. Taxes were passed by Parliament following the French and Indian War. To protect its colonies, the British were forced to fight against the French and the Native …show more content…
According to Locke, there were three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. English authors John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon wrote Cato’s Letters in 1723, under different names in fear of retaliation from the British government. In their work, Trenchard and Gordon expressed their thoughts on Locke’s inalienable rights and the role of government. In Cato’s Letters, they stated, “...liberty is the unalienable right of all mankind. All governments, under whatsoever form they are administered, ought to be administered for the good of the society; when they are otherwise administered, they cease to be government, and become usurpations.” Trenchard and Gordon mean that there are certain rights that should never be taken away and if the government fails to provide for the good of subjects, the subjects have the right to oppose the government. The colonists were greatly influenced by John Locke and Cato’s Letters which lead them to believe that the British violated these inalienable rights on two major occasions. The first event was the Boston Massacre, as referred to by the colonists. On March 5, 1770 British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing six colonists and injuring several more. However, the killings were not unprovoked. The British soldiers felt harassed and threatened by a number of boys who threw snowballs at the soldiers. Paul Revere, a colonist and a leader of the Sons …show more content…
The British practiced a policy of salutary neglect, where the colonists were free to do whatever they pleased. Following the unbelievable acts and taxes established by Parliament, colonists felt betrayed by the British government. Many colonists thought it was unfair to be oppressed by taxes without representation in Parliament. Despite many attempts to negotiate with the King of England, no agreement was accomplished. According to Thomas Jefferson in the “Declaration of Independence,” he stated, “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms; Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.” (Doc. 7). The colonists felt they were being ruled by a tyrant. As a result, The Continental Congress convened and Thomas Jefferson wrote “The Declaration of Independence” on July 4, 1776. In this declaration, Jefferson stated, “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpation [unlawful seizures], all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” (Doc. 7). Nevertheless, Jefferson was not the only colonist to feel as if the king was a tyrant. One day later, the Second Continental Congress gathered and the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms” was presented. This document was
The colonists were unfairly taxed with the argument from the British which essentially said that they had to pay for their own protections. n Not only were the British in a high amount of debt for the money that they spent during the French and Indian War, The British also agreed to compensate the Colonists for their services and participation during the War. After the war, when they realized how much debt they were in, the British started taxing the colonists with a claim that they were “ not yet recovered from a war undertaken solely for the Americans’ protection…..a war undertaken for their defense only” (document 1) The thing about this argument is the Colonists were never actually in trouble. In reality, The British were just trying to take land and colonize territories that were within French region. This War was caused by Greed and Britain being power-hungry. The colonists’ only role in this society was to fight and be paid for their services. They were then taxed for things that they were originally produced by them. For Example, the colonists were taxed on tea so they retaliated by dumping tea in to the Boston Harbor. The Colonists thought that the stamp act and the township acts, which both placed taxes on the colonists, was “unconstitutional” and “destructive” (document 2). In addition, the Navigation Acts restricted where the Colonists traded with. The Colonists could only
In his document, The Declaration of Independence (1776), Jefferson and the representatives in the general congress proclaim that because all men possess unalienable rights, and due to the transgressions committed by the repressive British King against the people of the 13 colonies, the colonists should be entitled to dissolve all allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and engender a new nation that “[has] full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do”(4). Jefferson supports this proclamation by enumerating the rights of people when both facing and not facing a corrupt government, distinguishing the copious actions of King George
American colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain. After French-Indian war, lots of thing happen between America and Britain. British wanted American pay for their death, but American think they have no duty to pay for it, they wanted freedom, than American revolution break out. The reason why American were justified breaking away from Britain is the unreasonable taxes that British passed after French-Indian war.
Both the British and the American colonists contributed to causing the American Revolution. The war grew out of contempt: England’s contempt for the colonies and colonial contempt for British policies. A series of actions by the British eventually pushed the colonists over the edge and towards independence. The results of the war gave many citizens a new role in society while others, like slaves, felt no change at all. This paper will examine the specific causes and effects of the American Revolution.
The american colonists justify in the waging war by the unfair rights, lack of land , and violation of the english rights. The american revolution was very unique because it was the first time they fought for their independence. In the american colonies there was lots of grievances against the king. The colonists knew what they wanted and knew what they were fighting for. The American colonists justified in Waging War and breaking away from Britain because the unfair rights the lack of land and the violation of English rights.
About a decade before the American Revolution happened in 1775, there were lots of tension building up between the colonists and the British. The colonists did not like being under British rule and control because they liked freedom and wanted independence. However, the British government attempted to raise tax revenues by imposing more taxes on the colonists to pay for the leftover debts from the Indian-French War. Some of the laws passed include the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Tariffs of 1767, and the Tea Act of 1773. Some events that escalated the tension include the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, etc. The colonists were justified in rebelling against Britain.
After the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 the American people had taxes placed on them by the British. The British Parliament claimed that by placing the taxes they were defending the colonies for the Americans. During the twelve years following the war, the British enacted a numerous amount of taxes that allowed them to raise revenue from the American economy. This taxing of the American people hurt the American economy and started to push the American colonists toward an independence movement so they could have a free economy. Over the course of the twelve-year period there were six acts enacted to take money from the American economy.
The over taxation was caused by the the vast amounts of debt that the British Monarchy had due to the French and Indian War. The British Parliament thought that they had the right to tax only the colonies and not Britain. This angered the colonies and caused them to rebel in small ways. This also led to them protesting the fact that they had no representation in Parliament. The war costed almost 70,000,000 euros and doubled Britain's national debt to 140,000,000 euros. They in turn increased the taxes on the colonies.
The American Revolution was not only a battle between the British and the colonists; it was a historical movement that brought about new ways of thinking. The ideas of liberty and equality began to be seen as essential to the growth of the new nation. The separation of the American colonies from the British Empire occurred for a number of reasons. These reasons are illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Although Thomas Jefferson wrote the document, it expressed the desire of the heart of each colonist to be free of British rule. British rule over the colonies became unbearable in the early months of 1776, making it clear to the colonists that it was time to either give in
war, it is a sign of radical action. Britains' army was four times as big
Jefferson began the document by explaining that the rights of the Americans had been brutally molested by the unjust King of Britain. Following this accusation, he provided evidence of this abuse by listing not just a mere handful, but 27 grievances that the King had inflicted against the colonies. Lastly, the conclusion of this article publishes and declares that the United Colonies have the right to be freed from the British and that they have the right to govern themselves as any free country does. The strategic organization of the Declaration of Independence allowed the colonies to be powerfully represented by such a clear and prudently worded
After the French and Indian War, England needed money. They decided to raise taxes on the colonies, without getting consent from government officials in the colonies. Even though the tax was understandable to the
Many people have the misconception that the American Revolution occurred because British colonists did not want to be British citizens any longer. This may have been the case for a select few, but many British colonists desired to maintain their status as British colonists and citizens. The foremost reason that the colonists began protests, boycotts, and petitions against the British was because they believed their innate rights as British citizens were being violated. The American Revolution occurred due to a chain of events and a complex set of intertwined reasons.
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.
Most of the taxes were to raise funds for the British military. After a while the colonist felt like they were