The Colonial Incentives for Independence Essays

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 years of 1763-1765 were truly defining moments for colonist of the colonies, soon to become the United States of America. ‘’War! War! This is the only way!” American Colonist shouted,as they took to the streets proclaiming defiance of British rule. “We as a people shall fight for our freedom and have victory.No more shall we continue to let others control our countries and give our money to a monarch who has no concern for our right’s, dedication that was put forth to help fight and respect us as loyal subjects.We must fight for our freedom!” When American colonist waged war it proved to be the only way for the colonies to become free from Britian. In turn, the colonist were justified in breaking away from England because of: The

Exasperated Americans saw that they had no sort of representation in England. No person of leadership was asked to sit in Parliament and voice any colonial concerns. The colonies did not have any sort of representation within the British Parliament. Without representation, the colonies were being taxed without any sort of consideration for the people. The Patriotic slogan for this particular upset was “No Taxation Without Representation”. Samual Adams used this phrase to gain more followers and to build a force against Britain. Adams was ready for a war, he wanted separation from England before others even thought

The first reason that the colonists were justified in breaking away from the British was because the British Parliament and soldiers made unjust decisions for their own personal gain and abused their powers over the colonists. As stated in Document 2 of the packet “Document-Based Questions--Path to Revolution”, the British parliament taxed the colonists for the sole purpose of levying money upon them (Stamp Act). The taxes was also mainly used to pay for the French-Indian War, which seems like it justifies the British taxing, except for the fact that it was taxes without representation, which can be labeled as tyranny. This supports my argument, as the American colonists didn’t like having to pay for the war, and let Britain take money away from them for profit. Another piece of evidence that supports my claim would be that on Document 10 of the packet it was stated that, “We have understood it be

Another straw on the camels back was that throughout the 1700's multiple events added to the ticking time bomb of the colonists declaring their independence. In 1774 Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which were called the intolerable acts by the colonists. When one looks at these acts its obvious to see why they gained the name “intolerable”. These acts closed their ports, Shut down governments bringing them under parliaments control, helped red coats escape justice, and forced the colonists to give up there homes to house the British troops that they were fighting. Just this was the end of the rope for many colonists. Later, in 1775 was the Second Virginia convention was held in Richmond. Patrick Henry gave a beautiful speech that stated “Give me liberty, or give me death!”. These words struck home with many colonists who were now ready to fight for the freedom that they deserved.

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 several reasons colonists wanted to break away from the English. A large reason the colonists wanted to break away from English rule was the amount of high taxes that they had to pay for almost everything, because they essentially had to foot the bill for a war. The colonists also had no say on the laws that were passed by a government that was across an ocean, thus the phrase “No Taxation without Representation.” Paying high taxes and having no say in what laws were passed obviously made the colonists angry with the British government, but another factor was the British would not let the colonists trade with anyone else besides them. This means that all trades going in or out could only be done with Britain. Forcing the colonists to pay whatever the British merchants wanted to set their price at because there was no major competition. All of these things as well as not letting the colonists expand past the Mississippi River, would calumniate into a revolution in which the colonists would form their own government and finally fulfill their wish of breaking away from British rule.

They thought that there was not good enough reason for the new taxes. England on the other hand stated that they taxed the colonist more because they were nearly bankrupt after the French and Indian War. That felt someone had to help compensate and since the American colonies benefited more. They need to bear most of the cost for England’s’ protection and administration. (Pg.536). Between 1763 and 1774, the government passed a new series of laws; placing the colonies under strict restrictions and making them pay higher taxes.

Due to the British tightening their control over the colonies to pay off the huge debt after the French and Indian War, patriots rebelled and started a revolution that would lead to great things. These were colonists who believed that the right to govern themselves belonged to the colonies. Britain had recently gotten into a war in the Americas against France and the Native Americans. Although they won and expanded their American empire, the debt they were in was just about up to their necks. To help solve this problem, they took more control over the colonies. Before the Proclamation of 1763, Britain did not pay much attention to the colonies. However Prime Minister George Grenville needed help to pay off the debt, and the British people were already paying taxes on several of their

The Declaration of Independence, completed and signed in July of 1776, marked the official separation between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. An armed struggle between the colonies and Britain had begun just over a year before, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The formal declaration of independence established the new American revolutionary government and officially declared war against Great Britain. The primary purpose of the declaration was to assist the Second Continental Congress in obtaining aid from foreign countries. The document also clearly outlines the history of abuses the colonists had suffered under British rule since the end of the French

On July 4, 1776, Americans cheered with joy and celebrated independence. The spilt from England proved Americans had what it takes to govern their own country. The American people were finally free, or at least the majority were free. The slaves of the new nation saw no change, and no freedom. They still lived their lives as property in human bondage. The location and the family the

The American Revolution, one of the most significant events in our world’s history, has established a huge impact on not only life back in the eighteenth and nineteenth century but our society today. The Acts of Parliament highly benefited the British but did not afford those same rights to the colonists until the formal issuing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, in which colonial freedom was granted. The most controversial issue is which group caused it; a result of propaganda by the colonists. Multiple acts and protests contributed to this war, three influential ones being the Stamp Act, Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

What made the taxations so unfair in the eyes of the colonists, was the fact that they had no representation in the parliament and no one was looking after their interests when the laws were being passed in England. The colonists felt left out, their own country was treating them as if they were foreigners and using them to improve the economy of mainland Britain at the expense of their own. Rebellions continued and independence talks began. "No taxation without representation!" Was a common phrase that echoed around 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