American
Revolution
Was the Revolution justified?
|
D |
id the colonists have
grievances against the British government substantial enough to justify
revolution?
In the Declaration of
Independence, the American patriots listed "a history of injuries and
usurpations" designed to establish "an absolute Tyranny over these
states." What specific abuses did the delegates cite?
1. “He has refused
his Assent to Laws¼necessary for the public
good”
The King had rejected
laws passed by colonial assemblies.
2. “He has forbidden
his Governors to pass Laws of¼pressing importance”
Royal governors had
rejected any colonial laws that did not have a clause suspending their
operation until the King approved them.
3. “He has refused
to pass¼Laws¼unless people would
relinquish the right of Representation”
The Crown had failed to
redraw the boundaries of legislative districts to ensure that newly settled
areas were fairly represented in colonial assemblies.
4. “He has called together legislative
bodies at places¼distant from the depository
of their public records”
Royal governors
sometimes had forced colonial legislatures to meet in inconvenient places.
5. “He has dissolved Representative Houses
repeatedly”
Royal governors had
dissolved colonial legislatures for disobeying their orders or protesting royal
policies.
6. “He has refused for a long time, after
such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected”
Royal governors had
delayed in calling for elections of new colonial assemblies.
7. “He has endeavoured to prevent the
population of these States”
The King had impeded the
development of the colonies by prohibiting the naturalization of foreigners (in
1773) and raising the purchase price of western lands (in 1774).
8. “He has obstructed the Administration
of justice”
The King had rejected
a North Carolina law setting up a court system.
9. “He has made judges dependent on his
Will alone”
The Crown had insisted that judges serve at the King's
pleasure and that they should be paid by him.
10. “He has erected a
multitude of New Offices¼to harass our people”
The royal government
had appointed tax commissioners and other officials.
11. “He has kept among us, in times of
peace, Standing Armies”
The Crown had kept an
army in the colonies after the Seven Years' War without the consent of the
colonial legislatures.
12. “He has affected to render the Military
independent of ¼Civil power”
The British government
had named General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in America,
Massachusetts.
13. “He has¼subject[ed] us to a
jurisdiction foreign to our constitution.”
The royal government
had claimed the power (in the Declaratory Act of 1766) to make all laws for the
colonies.
14. “For quartering¼armed troops among us”
The Crown had required
the colonies to house British troops stationed in America.
15. “For protecting
them¼from punishment for¼Murders”
Parliament had passed a 1774
law permitting British soldiers and officials accused of murder while in
Massachusetts to be tried in Britain.
16. “For cutting off
our Trade”
Parliament had enacted
laws restricting the colonies' right to with foreign nations.
17. “For imposing
Taxes on us without our Consent”
Parliament had imposed
taxes (such as the Sugar Act of 1764) without the colonists' consent.
18. “For depriving us¼of the benefits of Trial by
Jury”
The royal government had
deprived colonists of a right to a jury trial in cases dealing with smuggling
and other violations of trade laws.
19. “For transporting us beyond Seas to be
tried”
A 1769 Parliamentary
resolution declared that colonists accused of treason could be tried in
Britain.
20. “For abolishing the free System of
English Laws in a neighbouring Province”
The 1774 Quebec Act
extended Quebec's boundaries to the Ohio River and applied French law to the
region.
21. “For taking away
our Charters”
Parliament (in 1774) had
restricted town meetings in Massachusetts, had decided that the colony's
councilors would no longer be elected but would be appointed by the king, and
had given the royal governor control of lower court judges.
22. “For suspending
our¼Legislatures”
Parliament (in 1767)
had suspended the New York Assembly for failing to obey the Quartering Act of
1765.
23. “waging War against us”
The Crown had
authorized General Thomas Gage to use force to make the colonists obey the laws
of Parliament.
24. "He has plundered our seas...burnt
our towns"
The British government had
seized American ships that violated restrictions on foreign trade and had bombarded
Falmouth (now Portland), Me.; Bristol, R.I.; and Norfolk, Va.
25. "He
is...transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries"
The British army hired German mercenaries to fight the
colonists.
26. “He has
constrained our fellow Citizens¼to bear Arms against their
Country”
The Crown had forced
American sailors (under the Restraining Act of 1775) to serve in the British
navy.
27. "He has
excited domestic insurrections amongst us"
Virginia's royal governor
(in November 1775) had promised freedom to slaves who joined British forces.
The royal government also instigated Indian attacks on frontier settlements.
In the eyes of the American patriots, what rights or
liberties had the British Parliament violated?
|
P |
arliament seemed intent on
slowing the colonies’ growth and protecting British economic interests at the
colonists’ expense. Royal officials had restricted westward expansion, levied
taxes without the colonists’ consent, and stationed a standing army in the
colonies in peacetime. In addition, the Crown had expanded the imperial
bureaucracy, made the West a preserve for French Catholics and Indians, and
infringed on traditional English liberties, including the right to trial by
jury, freedom from arbitrary arrest and trial, freedom of speech and
conscience, and the right to freely trade and travel. Parliament had also
restricted meetings of legislative assemblies, vetoed laws passed by
assemblies, billeted soldiers in private homes, and made royal officials
independent of colonial legislatures.