Declaring Independence

Were the colonist justified in declaring independence from England? I feel that the 13 colonies were justified in starting a revolt against England. Tension between England and the 13 colonies rose due to unjust taxation and tyrannical rule. The colonists tried to influence the British government through petitions and boycotts. After failing, the colonist’s only option was the war. According to the British government, however, the colonists were not justified in waging war. England was their mother country and the colonists paid the lowest axes in the world. In the Declaration of the Independence, the colonists stated their grievances and case against England, declaring the reasons that caused them to separate and fight to become after the United States of America.

The French and Indian War cost Britain a lot of money. England wanted the 13 colonies to help pay for it. In the 1760s, the British passed new laws that made colonists pay taxes on sugar, tea, and other things. The colonists complained. One group protested by throwing crates of British tea into Boston Harbor. In 1774, colonists held the First Continental Congress. They talked about ways to make Britain treat the colonies more fairly. Britain ignored these ideas and sent troops to control the colonists. The colonists organized their own army. The American Revolution began. Colonists wanted independence from Britain. They thought the British were treating them unfairly. In 1776, the colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence. It declared the American colonies were free from their mother country.

In some ways, the colonists were not justified in waging war with England. The British government could tax the colonists for any amount they wanted. During the French and Indian war, England helped the 13 colonies by fighting to protect them. The colonists had to pay the war debts and their land. The Stamp Act and Townshend Act were put into place to regulate the trade of the colonists as well as collect taxes from them. It caused the colonists to boycotts. England started to make attempts to intimidate the colonists to end the rebellions. This tactics pushed the colonists to stand up against England. Accidents do happen as shown with the Boston Massacre. The crowd provoked the British soldiers. They started to panic and they opened up fire. This incident upset both England and the colonists.