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Was Leaving Britain Justified Essay

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Although many would state that the colonies leaving Britain was not justified, many events like the King’s tyrannical behavior, and all of the taxation without representation helped prove that leaving Britain was best for the colonies. Above anything else the colonists believed in their personal rights, and equality. However to pay for a war they did not cause, and to be taxed with no say went against all of their ideas of true independence. The Sons of Liberty was born, the Second Continental Congress was formed, and the Declaration of Independence was made all for the sake of a better future of equality and freedom for the colonies. The colonists leaving Britain can be justified by the continuous tax acts passed without any colony’s representation. …show more content…

There were many times where the British King was viewed as a tyrant, and the Boston Massacre was one of them. The engraving done by Paul Revere's, “Bloody Massacre”, clearly portrays the tyrannical behaviors of the king. The picture of the Boston Massacre traveled around the colonies, leaving many colonists furious. The king leaving his men in Boston, and the quartering act eventually lead to the tension among the two to finally explode. The king’s need to have a complete control on the colonies, eventually lead to many angered, upset, and some dead. The Boston Massacre can be seen as one of the tyrannical behaviors of the king that justified the colonists departure from Britain. Another form of the king’s tyrannical behavior was seen through the excerpt from “A summary view of the rights of British America” by Thomas Jefferson. The passage states how the king should be servants, representing the people’s voices, not the owners of the people. Thomas Jefferson is implying to the British king that he should be willing to help change the colonists lives in a better way, instead of causing them more things to worry about. Thomas Jefferson’s excerpt justifies that the tyrannical behavior of the king justified the colonists wanting to leave from the tyrant’s grasp. Lastly a passage from Locke’s Social Contract clearly justifies the need for the colonists to separate …show more content…

In the pamphlet written by Thomas Whately, the author of the Stamp Act, states that colonists should give back to Britain for the war it went through to “protect” the colonists and the colonies. Thomas Whately believed that since Britain used its resources to help protect the colonies from harm, and that the colonists should give back as a contribution. The war started by Britain’s continuous tension with France on lands in the frontier region. The colonists did not have anything to do with the start of the war nor the ending of it, but somehow ended up being the reason for the war itself. Furthermore a letter published in the Boston-Gazette Supplement states that the “Bostonites” severe dislike of the taxes puzzled them. The writer of the letter doesn’t understand why the colonists were so against a tax that had such little effect on the colonists themselves. As most of the taxes were placed on paper products such as newspapers, items that most colonists did not even buy. Therefore the writer was confused on why colonists were so angered over the taxes on the items. Lastly .in the journals of Nicholas Cresswell, an Englishman visiting Virginia, states the horrific acts of the colonists as they insult the king, tarring and feathering anyone helping the tyrants actions. He states how the situation is perfect for a rebellion, and how the New Englanders have persuaded

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Following the French and Indian War, Great Britain had began tightening is control on its colonies in the north. The tightening of the British control worsened their relationship with the colonies because the imposing of taxes and acts had taken a toll on their pockets and daily lives causing an American revolution. After the French and Indian war, Great Britain’s control over the colonies tightened because they believed that since they had supreme legislative power over the colonies they could impose taxes on the colonists to help pay the debt after the war (Document 1). One of the many acts imposed in the colonists was the stamp act.

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After the French and Indian war in 1754 England had Great War debts, to be exact 130 million pounds. In order to pay these debts England decided to tax the colonies on the goods that would presumably not anger the colonists. This tax was known as the stamp act. The goods being taxed consist of anything made of paper, playing cards and envelopes including various other items. Because the British parliament did not consult the colonies about this tax placed on paper products, the colonial families decided that they did not want to pay the tax.

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The final reason the colonists were unjustified was that they were the only reason Britain had treated them so poorly. As a result of the French and Indian War - which was fought for the colonists - the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Act of 1767 were used to pay for war efforts. Also, the Proclamation of 1763, which forced colonists to live east of the Application Mountains, protected the colonists from the Indians and prevented future conflicts between them. The Intolerable Acts of 1774 would not have existed if not for the Boston Tea Party - in which the colonists dumped about 1 million dollars worth of tea into the Boston Harbor: it only existed to demonstrate Britain’s power over the colonists. Finally, the Boston Massacre would have

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The colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain. This is because Britain taxed them unfairly and without their representation. Britain also was cruel and tyrannical, and did not treat them fairly. The unfair taxes that had to be paid by colonists were a good reason for them to declare their independence from Britain.

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After the French and Indian war, Britain was in heavy debt and needed to acquire as much revenue as possible. Britain was so desperate for money, they did not care how they received the money and whose rights they violated in the process. Because of this unjust mindset, Britain was not merciful when creating ways to collect revenue. The British methods for acquiring money were purposeful but not just.

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Synopsis: In this speech the author, Patrick Henry, expresses his idea of how bad he desired to become independent from Great Britain and its king who treated the people from the 13 colonies with unfair acts which included the Intolerable Acts which was an aftermath to punish the colonies for the “Boston Tea Party,” a movement of protesting against other taxes imposed by the king where the Founding Fathers dumped about $1,000,000 worth of tea. On the first paragraph, Henry is speaking about how much he thinks

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However, there was a severe disconnect between the freedom they fought for and the freedom the state legislatures applied within the colonies. Through their harsh treatment and pushing out of the Native Americans it is evident that the colonists’ had no regard for the freedom of the people they are pushing out. The persistence of slavery within the colonies is contradictory to their blasphemous claim of enslavement by the British. Finally, the oppression of both women and the lower class suggests that the Patriots were fighting for the principle of freedom but had no intention of implementing freedom within the colonies. The propertied men’s fight for freedom is hypocritical to their actions because there is no implementation of freedom as one would assume a colony fighting for freedom would have.

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Georgina Casillas 10/19/17 Block 6 Were American colonists justified in fighting a war to break away from Britain? With a great sense of nationalism and pride in the year of 1763 colonists were celebrating the victory from the French and Indian war. This war left the British government in debt. The British tried to pay off the debt

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From the first day that they landed in America, the colonists from Britain knew the meaning of struggle. Many years later, after the first settlements in America, the colonists were still British citizens and thought of themselves as such. However, tensions began to mount between colonists and their government across the ocean as complications arose from the chaos of war and its aftermath. Amidst the changes occurring in the colonies and the rules that governed them, some colonists began to question the authority of the king and Parliament. Although the British protected them, the American colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain because the British oppressed them with taxes and tyranny.

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During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”

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Patriots were pro-Revolution, meaning they supported American independence and were prepared to separate from England in order to achieve their goal. In Document 3, Samuel Adams voices his support for the Patriot cause when he says, “All men have a right to remain in a state of nature as long as they please; and in case of intolerable oppression, civil or religious, to leave the society they belong to… [men] have a right to demand and insist upon the performance of such conditions.” By stating this, Adams is promoting the idea of self government by insisting that men have the right to leave a government or society in which they feel oppressed or feel as though their natural human rights are being violated. This idea clearly supports the colonists who were fighting to gain independence from England. Moreover, in Document 6, Charles Inglis provides an economic perspective to motivate other colonists to want to separate from Britain.

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The British government was not looking for the best of the people. They were only thinking about what they wanted; the government was not interested in what the people wanted so they decided to make decisions on their own, which resulted in changes that form the United States today. Because of this, they were justified in rebelling and declaring independence. One reason why the colonists decided to rebel and declare independence was because of taxation.

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Rebellion is the voice of the unsatisfied, the oppressed, and the messengers of change. The people of the United States want to separate from the British monarchy that controls them. In the Declaration of independence, Thomas Jefferson encourages the rebellion against King George and the pursuit of what the colonists have been denied for so many years. Jefferson believes that a rebellion is justifiable when an oppressive figure inhibits one from exercising one’s natural rights. Jefferson uses suffering-related diction and logical appeal to justify the defiance of restrictive government.

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The Boston Massacre was a pivotal moment in American history that occurred on March 5, 1770. A violent confrontation between British soldiers and colonists in Boston, Massachusetts, resulted in five colonists' deaths. The event played a significant role in the lead-up to the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the eventual independence of the United States. Therefore, to fully understand the impact of the Boston Massacre, it is important to analyze the history before and after this event. To understand how patterns, eras, political parties, and relationships shaped the 1800s I will be analyzing sources from the time of the event.

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The American Revolution was, to date, the best event to happen on American soil, providing freedom and representation in government to the individuals who fought so hard for it. France and Spain aided our cause, helping this group of brave colonists to defeat the strongest army in the world. But, there is a question still not answered; were the colonists justified in breaking away from Britain? The American colonists were justified in breaking away from the British because there was taxation without representation, they had no freedom, and the British government violated their individual British rights. I believe the American colonists were justified for breaking away from Britain because there was taxation without representation.

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