When it comes to the Declaration of Independence, it affected not only the people of the colonies, but in fact, affected people around the globe and still affects people to this very day. This single document helped inspire nearly half of the 192 nations apart of the United Nations to have their own declaration of independence (Armitage, 2007). The Declaration of Independence is seen as one of our nation’s most prestigious document and this is because it is the document that declared our independence from Great Britain and the Royal Crown. It is essentially the marking of the United States’ birth. After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Great Britain had nearly gone bankrupt paying for the war. The British thought it was only logical to start new taxes against the colonists. After all, to the British, they had fought the war in the name of the colonies and in what they believed was in their best interest. Many different types of taxes came and went to help pay for the debt. Over time, the …show more content…
colonists were able to have parliament repeal all of the new taxes, except for the tax on tea. Parliament most likely kept this one tax because parliament wanted to show the colonies that it was still in charge and there were members of parliament who owned stock in the East India Company (company colonists were forced to buy tea from; was a monopoly). Outraged by this decision, the colonists held the Boston Tea Party in 1773, started uprisings, and tensions escalated to the outbreak of war in 1775. On July 4, 1776, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America signed a document titled, The Declaration of Independence.
The title of the document explains exactly what is in the document itself. Before the Declaration was even written, “the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia with the intention of voting for independence from England” (“Writing the Declaration”). Congress had the idea of selecting a group of people (a committee) to write out a document stating that the colonies were going to separate away from Great Britain and form a new nation. “The committee, composed of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, in turn instructed Thomas Jefferson to write the declaration” (“Writing the Declaration”). Thomas Jefferson began work on June 11th and was able to finish writing by June 28th (“Writing the Declaration”). Imagine trying write a document for independence, creating a new nation, in such little
time! The Declaration of Independence consists of many different ideas. In the opening, the Founding Fathers lay out what seems to be a sort of introductory for what is to be said later on. “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another” (“The Declaration of Independence). The Declaration goes on to talk about how the Great Britain government has put the colonists’ God-given rights into harm’s way and that it is the responsibility of the colonists to see the breaking away from a government that does such acts. “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” (“The Declaration of Independence”). After all of this, the Founding Fathers include every act that King George III has done that was seen as oppression and inscribed that the colonists did everything in their power to avoid war. “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. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people” (“The Declaration of Independence”). The Declaration ends on the note that because of everything that the British government has done, the colonies would be breaking away from the Empire to form their own nation. “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have 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” (“The Declaration of Independence”). The relationship between the colonies and Great Britain is usually seen as a child-parent relationship. To the colonists, the Declaration laid out everything the colonies (child) did not like about how Great Britain (parent) was treating the colonies. Everyone has at one point had arguments with their parent(s) or guardian(s). Whether it be not letting one buy a certain video game, watch a movie, or stay out past a time of day. To the colonists, the Declaration was a sort of “break-up” or “running away” type of letter and outlining why they were writing the document. What exactly happened after the Declaration of Independence though? For starters, it marked the beginning of the United States of America. The document helped solidify what the colonists were fighting for and why they were fighting for it. The colonists were now not fighting for just a change in the colonies and how Great Britain treated them, but made it so that they were fighting for a new state that went against what the colonists hated about the Royal Crown. In fact, Thomas Jefferson included nearly 20 abuses that King George III had enacted upon the colonies (“Abuses of King George III”). The Declaration can also be seen as to which the Constitution and Bill of Rights were inspired by. The Declaration writes out three of a person’s most basic rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). The Constitution and Bill of Rights are heavily centered on citizen’s rights. All of the rights are God-given and cannot be interfered with by the government. Without the Declaration, these documents might not have become what they are. The Declaration helped and still helps inspire and protect citizen’s rights. Without it, the United States would not be what it is today and may not be here today at all.
From 1754-1763, Britain fought the French and Indian war. Although Britain had won the war, they still had a lot of war debts to pay off. Britain turned to the colonies to pay off their debts by taxing them. The taxes angered the colonists because they believed it violated their rights. Benjamin Franklin had initially proposed the Albany plan of Union to unite the colonies, however this law was rejected by all of the colonial governments. It wasn't until after all of the British laws and taxes that the colonies would unite and write the Declaration of Independence.
The British colonies in America from the time they were established up until around 1763 had a policy of Salutary Neglect. Salutary Neglect meant that the British would not interfere with the colonies national or even international affairs. This benefitted the colonies, they got to experience some forms of democracy, and they also were able to experience independence in a way though they took it for granted. The British after the Seven Years War, which was fought on American soil, for the Americans protection, decided that the colonies should be required to pay for it in taxes. Britain was in debt, and their economy was in a recession, so the well off colonies tax money would have helped them considerably. The tax would only be the beginning to a long line of British policies further upsetting the colonial people.
Before the French and Indian War, Britain had used a system of Salutary Neglect with the colonies, giving them a sense of freedom. While Britain still acknowledged the colonies, and the colonists remained loyal to the crown, the colonies were generally left to govern themselves. After the French and Indian War, however, King George III saw in his colonies a way to capitalize. Britain was in a post-war economic depression, and needed a source of income (Stamp Act). The colonies provided a perfect answer. They had set up their own systems of trade and manufacturing during the times of salutary neglect, and were becoming increasingly self sufficient. In order to obtain some of the colonists’ finances, Britain began to pass a series of taxes.
The American Revolution was caused by a series of attempts from the British to tax American colonists. After a war against France, Britain ruled an enormous overseas empire. Britain however faced war debt and was in need of money to administer the overseas empire. The crown decided that since the colonists were the primary beneficiaries of this empire, it was time to have them contribute to the empire’s revenue by paying taxes.
The declaration of Independence is an amazing document. It’s authors portrayed their anger, their disappointment, and their dream in a new government through this document. A government meant to protect the people's rights. They manifested this dream. they used logos and pathos along with other forms of rhetoric to show the people the urgency of their situation.
Taxes were a hard part of every day life in the colonies. Many of the taxes Britain placed on the colonies seemed to be very unreasonable to the colonists. One such example of the unreasonable taxes is the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was put in place to help pay for some of the cost from the French and Indian War. Everything from newspapers to playing cards was taxed. This infuriated the colonists greatly, because the tax from the Stamp Act affected every one in the colonies in some way or another.
The Declaration of Independence is significant to our nation because it led individuals to gain independence; also, it justified rights that the original government no longer guaranteed certain rights. If it were not for the words written in this document all races now would not be treated equally and women would not have the right to vote. The Constitution laid out the prototype to assemble the American society and the rules that citizens of the nation should abide by.
After the French and Indian War, the British government decided to make the American colonies pay a large share of the war debt with new taxes that they issued. The English ...
In the 1770’s the American colonists were being taxed too much by the British and they started to want their independence. Britain was taxing the colonists to pay their debts from the French and Indian War. The colonists started to fight back by tarring and feathering some tax collectors. Britain sent troops to the colonies which caused more problems.
The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.
Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence is one of the most famous influential documents ever produced. The declaration led to the freedom of the Thirteen Colonies which in turn sparked the independence of much of the Western Hemisphere. “When in the course of human events” and the following text are now some of the most recognizable words in all of historical documents.
Thomas Jefferson composed The Declaration of Independence in 1776. The purpose of this document was to explain to both foreign countries and the people of America why separating from England had to happen and to ultimately get them [the people] to agree to a revolution. Thomas Jefferson made The Declaration of Independence a stylistic and artistic masterpiece through his powerful word choice, the use of personification and the sentence structures used throughout the document.
Throughout history, only a few documents have changed the way we as a nation view politics and carry out our everyday lives. The document mentioned above was the Declaration of Independence. It changed the course of history because it granted America its freedom from Great Britain. Originally, there was a committee created to compose the document which consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. After conversing with one another, the committee decided that Thomas Jefferson would be the one to write it with the final approval coming from the other four. After writing it and receiving approval from the committee, Jefferson presented it to the House. What happened here was not what the committee originally expected. Not all of the delegates attending the convention approved the document. However, through compromising for the greater good of the “New Nation” and editing to accommodate everyone’s preferences, the document was finally approved by all thirteen colonies.
The Declaration of Independence was a major turning point for the fleeing people that sought out freedom. The people that were persecuted by the Mother Country, Great Britain. The lifestyle that was proposed by Britain was limiting and restricting the people that wanted freedom. Those people fled from the country to find a place where they practice their religion, and establish their own government. They wanted to be removed from the overpowering monarchy, which they once called home. But freedom was more important than tradition.This led to the thirteen colonies that formed a Congress that promoted the Declaration of Independence, and officially broke from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence is known as the most important document of history.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for the American colonists to proclaim freedom from Great Britain's oppressor, King George III. American colonists had been suffering for many years when this important document was drafted. King George III had pushed the colonists into a state of tyranny and most decided it was time to start an independent nation under a different type of government. Jefferson focused his piece toward many audiences. He wanted not only King George III and the British Parliament to know the American's feelings, but also the entire world. The time had come for an immense change amongst the American colonists and Jefferson made sure everyone was aware of it by using his superior strategies of persuasion.