In 1776, the thirteen colonies decided to separate from the British Empire. The Declaration begins by explaining why this document is being created. “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that should declare the causes which impel them to the separation”[footnoteRef:1]. The Declaration goes on to explain why they no longer are a part of Britain. There is a list of grievances and abuses towards King George III which can support their reasonings. By stating these abuses, they are also telling the people what will not happen. The men who signed the Declaration are promising a life of freedom and independence. This document is starting a new life for the people living in the thirteen colonies. Before these promises could be made, there had to be reasons to find independence. “When a Nation, led to greatness by the hand of Liberty, and possessed of all the glory that heroism, munificence, and humanity can bestow, descends to the ungrateful task of forging chains for her Friends and Children, and instead of giving support to Freedom turns advocate for Slavery and Oppression, there is a reason to suspect she has either ceased to be virtuous, or been extremely negligent in the appointment of her rulers”[footnoteRef:2]. This paper argues that American leaders issued the Declaration of Independence because of trade, land expansion, no representation, and taxes. [1: “Declaration of Independence - Milestone Documents,” accessed October 27, 2019, https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/declaration-of-independence/text.] [2: Barry Alan Shain, ed., The Declaration of Independence in Historical Context: American State Papers, Petitions, Proclamations, and Letters of the Delegates to the First National Congresses (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2014).]
Great Britain believed that controlling trade in America would be beneficial because the colonists would have to rely on Great Britain for goods and supplies. There were no banks and very little money, so colonists used barter and credit to get the things they needed. The Navigation Acts, in 1651, stated that English ships only could bring goods into England. This act declared that the colonists in America were allowed only to export its supplies to England such as tobacco and sugar. The Navigation Acts overall prohibited the colonists from trading with other countries beside Europe. Following this act would be others that put a hinder on trade and increased payment towards Great Britain. These acts would eventually lead to rebellion especially from those who were affected the most. Colonial manufacturers and merchants who were growing tobacco, rice, sugar and along with artisans and mechanics were being negatively affects by the Navigation Acts. Merchants, who were heavily part of politics in the colonies, reacted in anger to the acts that Great Britain was passing. The acts put on trading were not just hurting the colonists but also Great Britain. The American colonists started to travel and trade illegally because it was hurting the colonists too much. The distance between America and Great Britain gave America an advantage.[footnoteRef:3] Before 1763, Britain incorporated a strategy called Salutary Neglect. The regulation on trade were going to be difficult for Britain to enforce them because of how much effort and money was being put into controlling trade. Great Britain was spending four times as much to use the navy to collect America’s duties then their own in Britain. Ships coming from America usually were filled with illegal goods from the French, Dutch, and Spanish West Indies.[footnoteRef:4] Smuggling became a regular action for the colonists. Through the American Revolution smuggling became a significant cause. As smuggling became popular, it also pushed American colonists to ignore Great Britain’s laws. Those who were shipping goods and supplies eventually became experts at getting around the British navy which would prove to be useful during the American Revolution. Any efforts that Britain made to hold back the colonists only encouraged them to rebel. In the 1760s, America would decide to start nonimportation which would greatly affect the merchants and traders in Great Britain.[footnoteRef:5] [3: “The Navigation Acts,” Khan Academy, accessed October 19, 2019, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/colonial-america/colonial-north-america/a/the-navigation-acts.] [4: Volker Janssen, “Tax Acts, Declaring Independence, and the American Revolution (1763–1783) - Milestone Documents,” accessed October 31, 2019, https://www.milestonedocuments.com/textbook_articles/view/tax-acts-declaring-independence-and-the-american-revolution-1763ndash1783/text.] [5: Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence, Reprint edition (The New Press, 2016).]
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Land Expansion also started to be done illegally because of the restrictions put on land and moving towards the west. In 1763, the Proclamation Line was created to control the land between the Native Americans. Colonists were aggravated with this line and refused to stay put. Instead, they passed the line illegally and went further into Native American territory. The put more tension between the Indians and colonists. For many colonists, they saw this as a cutoff. They could no longer expand their land for themselves or their children. Indentured servants were also promised land and once their contracts were finished, they moved west. This caused them to move past the Proclamation Line of 1763 and moved into the Native American’s territory. This ended with more conflict between the colonists and Native Americans. The Proclamation Line of 1763 can also be related to knowing what the colonists can handle through their representation. “That the Taxation of the People by Themselves, or by Persons Chosen by Themselves to Represent them, who can only know what Taxes the People are able to bear, or the easiest Method of Raising them, and must themselves be affected by every Tax laid upon the People, is the only Security against a Burthensome Taxation”[footnoteRef:6]. Patrick Henry was pointing out the fact that the people had the right to give input about the taxes and acts being created. Through representation this could be possible but instead the American colonists were given virtual representation. The colonists did not see any reason to travel across the ocean on a long voyage that may not even sit in an assembly. The fact Britain believed that only one man was capable of representing such a varied group of people was outlandish. When representation in the American colonies gained attention, the Magna Carta became a symbol. The Magna Carta would be kept in mind when colonial charters were being made and would look back at this document as they wrote their Constitution and Bill of Rights. They believed the Magna Carta entitled them to their rights as those in Great Britain and would it as they argued against taxation.[footnoteRef:7] [6: “Patrick Henry: Resolutions in Opposition to the Stamp Act - Milestone Documents,” accessed October 31, 2019, https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/patrick-henrys-resolutions-in-opposition-to-the-stamp-act/text.] [7: Mary Duprey Hoehling, For Life and Liberty The Story of the Declaration of Independence, 1St Edition (New York: J. Messner, 1969).]
Britain began to tax the colonists of America after the French and Indian War because they believed it was their debt to pay. Although there may have been a point to this, Britain had been taxing the colonists long before the war. The Molasses Act of 1733 put a six pence tax on molasses, sugar, and rum on imported non-British countries into North America colonies. (primary source-molasses act) Along with being taxed before the French and Indian War, the colonists also gave their men and supplies to fight alongside of Great Britain. Most of the men fighting in the war were common people and the poor took the place of the rich. They were already giving much to protect America and dropped their work to support the colonies. This was especially harmful to the poor and others who were not able to pay the taxes that would later come after the French and Indian War.[footnoteRef:8] For Life and Liberty: The Story of the Declaration of Independence about consent from the people. In 1764, the British Parliament approved the Sugar Act. This act put a tax on sugar, coffee, some wines, and other goods that are imported to America.[footnoteRef:9] This legislature increased the taxes on European products sent to the colonies through Britain. Soon after Britain began taking action that would urge all trade laws. Then Great Britain chose to control the amount of paper money being made in America. As the past has showed, the colonist chose to oppose these laws as well. The taxes and laws that have been initiated in America did put more tension between Great Britain, but it wasn’t until the Stamp Act when a true impact occurred.[footnoteRef:10] When Britain imposed the Stamp Act, in 1765, the colonists were required to buy a British stamp for the printed paper they used. This act would be used to tax for every newspaper, every document, and even a deck of cards. The colonists believed that the British Parliament had no rights to tax them and so assemblies made resolutions to support their rights. America showed their anger through attacks, rebellions, and boycotts. “No taxation without representation” would be major point that would be used to back up the colonist rights to representation. While refusing to obey the Stamp Act, the colonist began to reject the buying of British goods. Bring in more information about nonimportation from the books. This was possible through non-importation and with signed agreements by more than one thousand storeowners. The main object of non-importation was to turn around the idea of taxes. Instead of America hurting, the merchants and manufactures in Britain would suffer from the loss. The results affected the British businessmen so much that they insisted that the British government repealed the Stamp Act.[footnoteRef:11] In 1766, the Stamp Act was finally repealed, and the colonists discontinued their ban on British goods. In the same day the Stamp Act was cancelled, British Parliament ratified the Declaratory Act. This policy was presenting that the colonies were obligated to serve Great Britain. Therefore, Britain was able to ratify any law they thought necessary. The colonists deemed this acted to be illegal. The Declaratory Act implied that Great Britain believed the colonist had no rights.[footnoteRef:12] Then In 1767, the Townshend Acts were made by the British Parliament and approved. These acts put taxes on glass, tea, land, paints, and paper imported into the American colonies. Once again, colonist rejected these and began a new boycott on British goods.[footnoteRef:13] Instead of relying on others, the colonist took the initiative to expand manufacturing in America. Increasing their manufacturing they were able to reduce half the amount of goods imported from Britain by the end of 1769.[footnoteRef:14] In 1765 Parliament passed the Quartering Act that said the colonists needed to find or pay for lodging for British soldiers stationed in America. With the French and Indian War over, many colonists saw no need for soldiers to be stationed in the colonies.[footnoteRef:15] “But the injuries and disadvantages which we sustain by that connection, are without number; and our duty to mankind at large, as well as to ourselves, instruct us to renounce the alliance: because, any submission to, or dependance on, Great Britain, tends directly to involve this Continent in European wars and quarrels, and set us at variance with nations who would otherwise seek our friendship, and against whom we have neither anger nor complaint. As Europe is our market for trade, we ought to form no partial connection with any part of it. It is the true interest of America to steer clear of European contentions, which she never can do, while, by her dependance on Britain, she is made the makeweight in the scale of British politics.”[footnoteRef:16] If American colonist would stay with Britain then they would have to watch out for the countries that are against Great Britain. [8: Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution, 304.] [9: William Hogeland, Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent, May 1-July 4, 1776, Reprint edition (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011).] [10: One of the books with the stamp act ] [11: Terrence H. Witkowski, “Colonial Consumers in Revolt: Buyer Values and Behavior during the Nonimportation Movement, 1764-1776,” Journal of Consumer Research 16, no. 2 (September 1989): 216, https://doi.org/10.1086/209210.] [12: Hoehling, For Life and Liberty The Story of the Declaration of Independence.] [13: One of the books about non-importation or Townshend act ] [14: Witkowski, “Colonial Consumers in Revolt.”] [15: Hoehling, For Life and Liberty The Story of the Declaration of Independence.] [16: “Thomas Paine: Common Sense - Analysis | Milestone Documents - Milestone Documents,” accessed October 26, 2019, https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/common-sense/text.]
In 1776, Independence was declared, and the Declaration of Independence was created. They began the document explaining why they decided to separate from Britain, and it ended very similarly. “Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.”[footnoteRef:17] The colonists had finally made it to freedom but only through the hardships and trials. The American leaders issued the Declaration of Independence because of trade, land expansion, no representation, and taxes. These reasons are not hard to understand and can be put very simply. At the time Patrick Henry gave the colonists some hope and support through writing Common Sense.[footnoteRef:18] The document was nothing of great knowledge or facts but was created with such simplicity. He says, 'I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments and Common Sense. The sun never shone on a cause of greater worth ... 'tis not the affair of a city or a county, but of a continent ... 'tis not the concern of a day, but of all posterity ... now is the seed time of Continental Honor ... we have it in our power to begin the world all over again ... a situation like this hasn't happened since the days of Noah.'[footnoteRef:19] This simple statement was not made possible without the decisions of the founding fathers and colonists. They risked their lives and freedom so that the colonist of the United States could be free. [17: “Declaration of Independence - Milestone Documents.”] [18: Isadore Warshaw, “MERICA’S FREEDOM INSPIRED - Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY) - July 4, 2000 - Page A7,” n.d., 4.] [19: “Thomas Paine: Common Sense - Analysis | Milestone Documents - Milestone Documents.”]
Bibliography
- Hoehling, Mary Duprey, For Life and Liberty The Story of the Declaration of Independence. 1st Edition. New York: J. Messner, 1969. Book 1. Annotation:
- Hogeland, William. Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent, May 1-July4 1776. Reprint edition. New York: Simon &Schuster, 2011. Book 2. Annotation:
- Milestone Documents. 'Declaration of Independence.' Accessed October 31, 2019. https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/declaration-of-independence/text. Primary Source 1. Annotation:
- Milestone Documents. 'Thomas Paine: Common Sense.' Accessed October 31, 2019. https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/common-sense/text. Primary Source 2. Annotation:
- Milestone Documents. 'Patrick Henry: Resolutions in Opposition to the Stamp Act.' Accessed October 31, 2019. https://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/patrick-henrys-resolutions-in-opposition-to-the-stamp-act/text. Primary Source 3. Annotation:
- Raphael, Ray. A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence. Reprint edition. The New Press, 2016. Book 3. Annotation:
- The Declaration of Independence in Historical Context. American State Papers, Petitions, Proclamations, and Letters of the Delegates to the First National Congresses. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014. Primary Source 4. Annotation:
- “The Navigation Acts.” Khan Academy. Khan Academy. Accessed November 1, 2019. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/colonial-america/colonial-north-america/a/the-navigation-acts. Scholarly Article 1. Annotation:
- Warshaw, Isadore. 2000. AMERICA'S FREEDOM INSPIRED BY THREE FANATICAL REBELS: FINAL EDITION]. The Post - Standard, Jul 04, 2000. Scholarly Article 2. Annotation:
- Witkowski, Terrence H. “Colonial Consumers in Revolt: Buyer Value and Behavior during the Nonimporation Movement, 1764-1776.” Journal of Consumer Research 16, no. 2 (September 1989): 216. https://doi.org/10.1086/209210. Scholarly Article 3. Annotation:
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