Preview

Cruel Treatment from the British Caused the American Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
415 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cruel Treatment from the British Caused the American Revolution
The American Revolution was forced upon the Americans by the cruel treatment from the British. On May 10 of 1775 the Second Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia, one month after the fighting broke out. There, delegates from each of the 13 colonies would decide on independence. A Declaration of Independence was required to state why the 13 colonies were separating from the British Empire. With this, POW's could demand to be treated as prisoners instead of traitors and aid coul d be sought from Britain's enemies. The Declaration of Independence consisted of the preamble, the middle section and a section declaring independence. The most important part, the preamble, justifies the rights of the American citizens. It declar es that "men are created equal[and]...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." That sentence still remains a truth with the Americans today. Jefferson wrote the preamble with the help of John Locke and Rousteu. Within the preamble Jefferson writes that the people, "to secure these rights...whenever any form of government becomes destructive...it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it." It gives the people of America the freedom to impeach untrustworthy rulers and dictators if they wish to. The freedom that Thomas Jefferson gave us is still in practice today. The middle section justified why the colonists were revolting against the Britis h Empire. Here Jefferson writes that the King of Great Britain "is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations." He reminds the reader that the King has refused to allow the Governors to pass important laws "necessary for the public good," obstru cted the administration and that the king is sending over large armies to "complete the works of death." The third section officially declares independence in writing. The entire effort to complete the Declaration of Independence was done by Thomas Jefferso n, John

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was written and created with the purpose of the colonists gaining freedom from Great Britain. The colonists were tired of being taken advantage of with strict laws and crazy taxes. This document was approved on July 4th, 1776. It was hand-written by Thomas Jefferson. The first part explains why it was written, the second part contains how King George has failed as a King and how he has violated them, and finally the third and last part of the Declaration of Independence is the actual Declaration and all of the colonies are said to be the United States of America.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    AP Government study guide

    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages

    1. a. Following the French and Indian War, Parliament placed the Sugar Act of 1764 on the colonies to pay for the expenses of the Seven Years War. This tax on goods such as sugar and coffee created great upset among the colonists. Following the Sugar Act came the Stampt Act of 1765, which mandated a stamp on all paper items bought and sold among the colonies. Colonists argued that these taxes enforced by British parliament were unjust because they lacked the opportunity to voice their opinion in the British Parliament. This lead to the famous saying, “no taxation without representation.” Both of these acts had a strong influence in the colonists decision to write The Declaration of Independence. In fact, the colonists even listed this in the Declaration as one of the many issues the they had with the King. Those who failed to participate and pay the required tax on specific goods were tried in court. However, if the judge concluded that the specific individual was guilty, they received a bonus in their salary, which provided an incentive for the judge to rule in opposition of the defendant. Colonists were furious that the judge could be bribed with money for ruling a specific way. In writing the Bill of Rights, a part of the Constitution, it is clearly stated that American citizens are guaranteed the right to trial by jury, forever eliminating the salary bonus of judges for a particular ruling. In addition, the King imposed the Coercive Acts of 1774 among the colonies. One act, known as the Quartering Act, mandated that colonists had to house British soldiers. In strong opposition to this act, it is stated in the third amendment of the Constitution that Americans will not have to provide housing for the military without first agreeing to the situation.…

    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence was an important political figure among the thirteen colonies. He was outspoken against the British’s rule over America and an incredible writer, that’s why they picked him to write the document. Thomas Jefferson, being a proud patriot wanted his independence but none the less would still be civil and respectful to the king while stating facts to support the colonies case for independence. During the time it was written, Brittain was abusing their power over the colonies with different kinds of taxes over basic goods like stamps and tea. The colonists were frustrated that they could be taxed without having a say in the government that was taxing them. Thomas Jefferson wrote out…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Americans desperately fight against the poison of tyranny with their best weapon, the Constitution. During the Colonial Period, King George III, demanded many things from the colonists. These demands were caused by the aftermath of the French and Indian War. England had increasing debts, so the king raised the taxes of both America and England. The increase of taxes caused anger to rise from the Americans, which allowed a roll of events to unfold. After many harsh exchanges between the colonists and King George III, America declared its independence on July 4, 1776. Soon after the declaration, things began to heat up as fight over representation in government began to be more debated. Many times tyranny was mentioned, allowing the creation of the Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways: federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, big states vs. small states/ The Great Compromise.…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thesis: Thomas Jefferson’s The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, is the announcement of the colonist to gain independence from Great Britain. Summary: Jefferson strongly believes that every man deserves the basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence describes how the British government was in the way of the Americans’ freedom and rights. The ideas that all men were created…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This was just one out of the many goals for waging the Revolutionary War, but another important goal was to declare the colonies independent and free to do what they want. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson was the youngest to be apart of the Continental Congress. As a representative from Virginia, he was tasked with goal of choosing the right “words” for the Declaration of Independence. The declaration declared United States colonies independent, and in the original rough draft he wrote, “…declare these colonies to be free and independent states, and that as free and independent states they shall hereafter have power… to all other acts and things which independent states may of right do” (Document 2). Within the original draft, it was clear that the people’s main goal was to achieve independence from Britain. Also, they wanted the right to levy their own fair taxes, create peace, and establish commerce at their own will. These goals were the main reasons for waging the Revolutionary War because they were mentioned numerous times throughout the rallies. Thomas Jefferson, at this time, was a clear patriot fighting for freedom with…

    • 1905 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Support for independence swept the colonies in the spring of 1776, and the continental congress called for states to form their own governments and a five-man committee was assigned to draft a declaration. To justify American independence, Thomas Jefferson incorporated some of the ideas of john Locke, an advocate of natural rights. The declaration features the immortal lines, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to declare the independence of the American colonies from English rule. On the Fourth of July, they approved the final edited version of the Declaration of Independence. The members of the Continental Congress made only two minor changes in the opening paragraphs of Jefferson's draft declaration. Most scholars today believe that Jefferson derived the most famous ideas in the Declaration of Independence from the writings of English philosopher John Locke. Locke wrote that all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain inalienable natural rights. That is, rights that are God given and can never be taken or even given away. Among these fundamental natural rights, Locke said they are life, liberty and property. Locke believed that the most basic human law…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Freedom is a major concept in the founding of America. The original thirteen colonies were founded by England, and many British citizens moved to the colonies for freedom. After the French and Indian war was over the king of England still sent more troops and it made the colonists feel uncomfortable and they got a feeling that the king of England was oppressing on the freedoms that they seeked in the New World. This was the start of the Revolutionary war. The Revolutionary war was a war fought for the Colonies Independence from Britain. After the Revolutionary war the colonies became the United States of America, The Articles of Confederation were written so that the United States would not be under the rule of corruption or tyranny as they had experience with the king of England.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Colonists came to America in the search for independence from Great Britain. But, some may ask the question, why? Why did these people want independence and freedom? What was so bad about Great Britain? These colonists were your ordinary people who wanted to live freely however they wanted to. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence that listed multiple reasons why these colonists should be free from Britain’s rule. These people had their unalienable rights which consisted of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They were just trying to keep those rights, whereas Britain wanted to keep those rights from the people. (Jefferson)…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was written to forbid Great Britain’s King George III to enforce his strict laws and outrageous taxes. They needed to gain freedom from him. This document was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4th 1776. This document was written by Thomas Jefferson and was made into 3 parts. The first part has an introduction and why the declaration was written in the first place. Then the second part has to do with how the king violated the people’s rights and wasn’t a good king at all. Lastly the third part is the actual Declaration of Independence and how the colonies were renamed as the United States of America.…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence as a ground for the separation of the colonies, when king George III refused to receive the conciliatory Olive Branch Petition and he rejected, in response he closes the trade to colonies except Great Britain, which lead to the economic declaration of independence, and political declaration of independence. The structure of the declaration has an argument that stated, ``The consent of the governed`` if they didn´t had the consent people might assert for ``life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness``, laws of nature and of nature’s God they were entitle to, therefore they should declare all causes that impel them to separation. The Grievances were directed to king George III his abuses…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was very much a way for the colonists to air some of their particular grievances with British rule. The different complaints that are represented in the Declaration of Independence are also very valid in terms of what they were dealing with, and these are the key reasons that this document was written in the first place. When looking at the arguments in the Declaration of Independence, these arguments have one key theme: the tyrannical rule of the British king. This rule is represented through statements such as, “He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodations of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature…,” and “He has made judges…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    the people sent it to the British king and do you know what he did?…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays