Why Was The Declaration Of Independence Important

The Declaration of Independence is a treasured National document for The United States of America. Many people visit the National Archives Building in Washington, DC every day to get a glimpse of this national treasure. During many Independence Day celebrations across the Nation, the Declaration of Independence is read to crowds of patriotic Americans. Why is this document so important to the United States of America and the people in it? To answer this question, we must first examine why The Declaration of Independence was written in the first place. To start from the beginning, when England began sending people to the New World to colonize it, the throne took a very relaxed approach. Colonies were left to govern themselves and over
time the colonists became increasingly less English and essentially more American. They began to have their own different values, ideas and practices based on their new current situations and locations. None of this was a problem until King George III took the throne in 1760. King George III did not approve to the Americanization of the colonists and left with a huge debt following the French and Indian War he decided to place taxes on the colonists to pay for this debt. The only problem for King George III was that now, the colonists had American ideals of “no taxation without representation.” Clearly, the King would not agree with that and now we have disagreement between parent nation and offspring colonies. In a letter to James Madison from Thomas Jefferson written in 1823, Thomas Jefferson can be quoted as to saying, “This, however, I will say for Mr. Adams, that he supported the Declaration with zeal and ability, fighting fearlessly for every word of it. As to myself, I thought it a duty to be, on that occasion, a passive auditor of the opinions of others, more impartial judges than I could be, of its merits or demerits.” (Jefferson, 1823). So here, there is a first hand account stating that Thomas Jefferson himself felt that declaring independence from England was a duty. Certain events such as the Boston Tea Party ignited the tensions between the throne of England and the American Colonies. The Tea Act was passed by the British in 1773. This Act basically stated that Tea that was to be delivered to America was to first make a pit stop in England to be lightly taxed. England had thought that the colonists would be thankful for The Tea Act because it would actually lower the cost of tea compared to smuggled tea. One may wonder why the colonists could not drink water, but it is actually because the water in the colonies was actually not safe for consumption so Tea was a major staple in the colonist's diet. The East India Company, who delivered the tea, would now have a monopoly over the tea industry, threatening several American merchants livelihood. In December of 1773, a large shipment of tea was on board three ships and set to be delivered to the Boston Harbor.
There was a large crowd awaiting and among the crowd were the Sons of Liberty. They were dressed as Mohawk Indians and boarded the ships where they threw the entire shipment of tea overboard into the Atlantic Ocean. This sent a clear message to England that the people of the American Colonies were not pleased (to say the least) about the Tea Act and they would not stand for it. A similar event occurred in Delaware just nine days later but without Sam Adams behind the demonstration it did not receive as much publicity and so it is not a well remembered event in the United State's
history. Britain did not respond well to the Boston Tea Party.
Angered by the actions of the colonists, the British Throne passed what is known as the Intolerable and Coercive Acts in 1774. These Acts stated several things that negatively impacted the colonial people. First, the Boston Harbor was closed for all ships incoming and outgoing. The Boston Harbor was to remain closed until someone paid for all of the tea that was destroyed there. Britain also annulled the charter of Massachusetts. A new Quartering Act was also passed. This Act required homeowners and Innkeepers to house soldiers at a fraction of the cost that actually costs to board them. The fourth term of these Acts stated that British soldiers who were accused of committing crimes were to be transported back to England to stand trial. Lastly, the Quebec Act guaranteed religious freedom to those of the Catholic religion. Combined, all of these parts of the Intolerable and Coercive Acts put the Colonists in quite a bind. Their citizenship to Britain was basically revoked and there were huge, devastating financial burdens placed on them through theses Acts. Obviously, the American colonies and the parent nation, Great Britain, were not going to be able to agree any longer. The colonies needed their independence from Britain to be their own Nation. And clearly, Britain was not going to just hand them their independence. The colonies were going to have to fight for it. There would be bloodshed and death. There
would be destruction and war. But if it meant that the colonies would now be a free nation with freedom to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, than the colonists were willing to pay the ultimate price for it. The Declaration of Independence served as an official way to break away from Britain. It proclaims equality for all men and outlines certain rights Thomas Jefferson and other colonials believed to be basic human rights, given by God, that cannot and should not be taken away from any individual. The Declaration of Independence also states that the people should “withdraw their consent from an unjust government.” ( Declaring Independence, 2014). This Declaration of Independence was to protect the people of the now United States of America from future tyrannical government and secure the American people's unalienable, natural rights. Today, the Declaration of Independence may just seem like an old document or something you learn about it history class, but it is very important for Americans to understand what exactly it is and why it was written. We must remember why the founding fathers of this nation wanted to protect us. The Declaration of Independence is still very relevant in today's world and perhaps now, more than ever, it should be examined closely by Americans.