The Colonial Incentives for Independence July 4th of 1776 is arguably the most significant day in American history. On this day, the thirteen British colonies won their independence from Great Britain, their mother country at the time. The war that allowed the colonies to gain their independence was, of course, the American Revolution. One reason the colonists’ declaration of independence was understandable was because after an extended period of salutary neglect, the British started imposing laws on the colonies. Another reason was that the British violated colonists’ rights by implementing the Proclamation of 1763. A third and final reason the colonies were correct in breaking away from Great Britain was that although the colonists were not represented in British Parliament, Great Britain still taxed them. The thirteen British colonies were absolutely justified in seceding from Great Britain because the British started to enforce laws after a long period of salutary neglect, they violated the colonists’ rights by passing the Proclamation of 1763, and the colonies were required to pay taxes even though they were not represented in Parliament. The first reason the colonies were justified in breaking away from the British was the discontinuation of salutary neglect. Salutary neglect was a policy the British used beginning around 1607 that allowed lenient enforcement of British laws in the thirteen colonies. For example, the Navigation Acts, passed in 1651, required all colonial commerce-related ships, coming to and from the colonies, to pass through Great Britain. This law was not enforced strictly until the end of the French and Indian War. During the time before the war, the colonists’ normal reaction was to ignore... ... middle of paper ... ...eir independence from Great Britain because the British stopped using salutary neglect and started to employ laws, they passed the Proclamation of 1763 which violated colonists’ rights, and the colonists were not represented in Parliament, but still had to pay taxes. The colonists broke away from Britain because they were isolated and became used to self- governing. Once Great Britain tried to take control, the colonists were angered. Also, when Great Britain tried to limit the westward expansion of the colonies, the colonists felt that their rights were being infringed. The lack of representation in Parliament played a gigantic role as well. The British taxed the colonists even though the colonies did not have an American representing them in Parliament. These reasons were certainly enough for the British colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.
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.
When the colonies were being formed, many colonists came from England to escape the restrictions placed upon them by the crown. Britain had laws for regulating trade and collecting taxes, but they were generally not enforced. The colonists had gotten used to being able to govern themselves. However, Britain sooned changed it’s colonial policy because of the piling debt due to four wars the British got into with the French and the Spanish. The most notable of these, the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years’ War), had immediate effects on the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain, leading to the concept of no taxation without representation becoming the motivating force for the American revolutionary movement and a great symbol for democracy amongst the colonies, as Britain tried to tighten their hold on the colonies through various acts and measures.
Justification of the Colonists' Declaration of Independence from England Were the colonist justified in declaring independence from England? I feel that they had plenty of just cause to separate themselves. England was taxing the colonies without fair representation in Parliament, the British also took away the right to assemble, and they were using different tactics to attempt to intimidate the colonists. One of the greatest thing that angered the colonists was the taxation without representation. The British government had good reason to tax the colonies, because they just went to war to defend them.
The British rule that was established in the colonies was oppressive and unfair. The British rule was immoral because Parliament contained a totality of British politicians who only cared about Britain’s wants and needs. The Colonists, “wanted the right to vote about their own taxes, like the people living in Britain. But no colonists were permitted to serve in the British Parliament.” (Ember) This unfairness led to many unwanted laws such as the Intolerable Acts and the Stamp Act. These laws did not benefit the colonists in any way, but the acts significantly helped the British. Laws and acts were forced
The American colonists’ disagreements with British policymakers lead to the colonist’s belief that the policies imposed on them violated of their constitutional rights and their colonial charters. These policies that were imposed on the colonist came with outcome like established new boundaries, new internal and external taxes, unnecessary and cruel punishment, and taxation without representation. British policymakers enforcing Acts of Parliament, or policies, that ultimately lead in the colonist civil unrest, outbreak of hostilities, and the colonist prepared to declare their independence.
...hough the King and Parliament put great strain on the colonies such as the Stamp Act and the Coercive Acts the people fought back. They protested, rioted, and even boycotted British items to make a stand against the power of Parliament. In the end Common Sense united the people and the colonies to choose to be self-independent from Britain. To me the greatest factor that brought against the separation of Great Britain was the Stamp Act. It made the people realize that the king was deceiving them into paying taxes and noticing that the punishments put on them where too harsh. But in end they united to defeat the over rule of the King.
Assume for a moment that you are an American colonist who is attempting to break away from the imperialistic power of Great Britain. During the time of Great Britain’s reign over the colonies, you feel as though Great Britain has progressed into a mother country that is both unfair and untrustworthy to the colonists of America. Although there may be numerous explanations as to why the colonists transformed into revolutionaries against the mother country of Great Britain, there is one recognizable reason that drove the colonists towards independence. The colonists of America hated the implementation of taxes on the colonies, which drove the revolutionaries to act out against Great Britain. Some relevant ways the colonists approached their disgust with the taxes is through documents, events, and prominent key figures.
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 to British power or declare their independence. This idea of independence divided the colonies, but it was not long before a revolutionary committee met in Philadelphia and drew up the document that would change American history.
Britain taxed them on everyday items they thought they needed such as sugar, molasses, and tea. They felt these taxes were not legal because they were not put to the use of the colonies, but rather all the money went back overseas to Britain. They also felt this was absolutely unfair because they as the colonies had no representation in the British Parliament. They felt all people had basic rights, such as life, liberty, and property, and taxes took from them and violated their rights. They felt they had done their part because they had fought for the British in the French and Indian war. They felt they needed independence because interactions with the British were leading to violence, such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, and because there was no way they could be represented well with a representative so far away. Independence looked like the only logical way out.
The overturn of Salutary Neglect altered Americans’ perceptions of Great Britain during the years: 1763 to 1775. The Salutary Neglect was a system without supervision in which the British crown did not know the government that was installed in its colonies, and also compliance with the commercial laws. Anyways, these colonies had to continue providing food and cash to the Great Britain´s crown. This policy was used to pay for mass warfare during the wars of France and India. Shortly afterwards, the British wanted to change their trade policy and put an end to illegal trade to strengthen their control by enforcing shipping laws and imposing new taxes, including the Stamp Act, which greatly upset American
Prior to the Declaration of Independence the colonist were under British rule. The colonists were at major disagreements with the way the crown was treating them and after a while they had enough. On July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain with Declaration of Independence adopted by the Continental Congress. Once the declaration was made, the colonists faced many new challenges. It was now up to the framers of the Constitution to come up with regulations for the new government. This proved to be no easy challenge between the Federalists and the Anti- Federalists.
In 1607, the first British colonists set foot in the Americas in hopes of religious freedom. As the years passed, angry with the British tyrannical rule reaching the Americas, many intelectual men such as Thomas Paine and other colonists proposed changes be made. It was soon understood that the relationship with the British severely impacted the colonists negatively as their taxes and the death toll from their fighting increased. On July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, delegates from the thirteen American colonies declared themselves independent from Britain through the Declaration of Independence. The colonists were justified in declaring independence from Britain because they wanted a better and more appropriate government, were not in Britain's
The Americans declared their independance from Britain more for political reasons rather than for economic reasons.The reason why this is true is because the British government did not protect the Americans rights and because they taxed the Americans without their agreement.
The main reason for the severance of the colonies from Britain was the lack of equality in parliament and the disregard for colonial needs. Whether it be forcing someone to pay for a war they did not fight or want, limiting one’s need for land, or piling on the taxes, all of these factors played a part in the dissolving of British-colonial ties. The colonists were only human and had the human reaction of defiance to injustice. If the colonists had not of had the audacity that they did, today’s America would be a very different place. Breaking away from Britain was the greatest thing the colonists could have possible done.
The Colonists were justified in declaring their independence from the Mother Country, Britain, but fought a war to break away from its rule. The colonists started out with their own self-government and built on from there. The many of the British rules and taxes were harsh on the colonists, but they wouldn’t go down without a fight. Thanks to Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and also to the Treaty of Paris, which helped form an agreement between Britain and the United States, justify the rights of the colonists, and create a new nation called the United States of America.