Declaration of Independence, Essay Example

During the summer of 1776, the Second Continental Congress enacted the Declaration of Independence, expressing the resolve of the 13 American colonies to become independent from Great Britain and its monarchy. The declaration laid down numerous violations of rights of American colonists, which the Congress believed could be addressed only if the colonies separated completely from England. The two major factors responsible for the resolve for independence included oppressive legislations by the English Monarchy and need to obtain foreign assistance.

The American colonies declared independence to address cruel and inhuman policies, especially taxation and intolerable legislations, by the Great Britain following the Seven Years War. During the war, fought between 1756 and 1763, England incurred substantial financial debt (Forest & Bell, 2012). In addition, it needed money to develop and implement governance structures in new territories captured during the war. To raise the required money, Great Britain developed and implemented oppressive tax acts (Lanning, 2009). One year after end of the war, England passed the Sugar Act on 1764, which imposed custom duties on all imports of sugar and molasses coming into the American colonies. According to Forest & Bell (2012), this was followed by several acts, which among others included: the 1764 Currency Act, which forbade colonial businessmen from using credit bills to pay English creditors; the Stamp Act of 1765, which imposed taxes on all formal documents; and the 1765 Quartering Act, which required American colonists to finance English soldiers in the thirteen colonies. American colonists reacted by organizing protests to show their displeasure with these acts. The protests compelled the British Parliament to rescind some of the legislations. However, in some occasions, the parliament enacted other intolerable legislations to counter the protests.

After American colonists in Massachusetts destroyed British merchandise in protest of the Tea Act of 1773, British Parliament passed several laws to curb the protests, terming them a form of rebellion. In March 1774, it passed the Boston Port Act, halting operations in Boston Port until the colonists compensated East India Company for the destroyed merchandise (Forest & Bell, 2012). A few months later, it passed the Massachusetts Government Act, which saw the then-English Monarch (King George III) appoint a council to replace colonial council elected by colonists. American colonies saw these acts as a move to isolate the Massachusetts colony from other colonies. Consequently, the American colonies came together to protest against the Great Britain, demanding representation in parliament (Lanning, 2009). Eventually, they agreed to form the Continental Congress, which later established an army to fight British soldiers.

Challenges encountered during the revolutionary period between 1774 and 1775 prompted the Continental Congress to declare independence of the American colonies as a means to implore foreign powers to assist in the revolution. The colonies believed they could not stand up against military strength of England. In addition, they knew they would not obtain foreign assistance if they were under Britain because the revolution would have been a civil war. Therefore, they believed it would be easier to seek assistance from other nations if they fought Britain as independent states (Herring, 2008).

In conclusion, the thirteen American colonies declared independence in 1776 to address oppressive policies by England and to implore foreigners to assist in the revolution. Coercive and taxation laws by Great Britain oppressed the colonies by forcing them to unpopular decisions made by a parliament foreign to the colonists. For fear of their revolution against these laws being referred to as civil war, they deemed it essential to sanction independence to implore foreign nations to support them.

References

Forest, C., & Bell, R. (2012). The rebellious colonists and the causes of the American Revolution. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Herring, G.C. (2008). From colony to superpower: U.S. foreign relations since 1776. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Lanning, M.L. (2009). The American revolution 100: The people, battles, and events of the American war of independence, ranked by their significance. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.