Were The American Colonist Justified In Waging War And Breaking Away From Britain

“Were the American colonist justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain?” There comes a time in history when a nation needs to break the bands that hold them down from becoming a great nation. In this case, the colonists had the right to break the bonds from the British Empire in the 1700s. About one hundred colonists left Europe to seek religious freedom and make the unknown their new home. As the colonist moved into their new homes in America, the British wanted to make some money from their new colonies in America. The British placed harsh taxes on the colonist without the colonist having a say in what taxes were to be put on them. On top of that, the British violated their rights with the terror of the British redcoats, by

This can be seen in “Charles F. Adams, Works of John Adams” where Adams talks about a law that was passed during the late 1700s, called the Stamp Act. He says, “...The Stamp Act...unconstitutional tax is to be laid upon us all…” Adams understands the need for taxes, but this is a tax that neither he or any of the other colonist gave their consent to. The Stamp Act was a tax on every piece of printed paper which were legal documents, newspaper, and playing cards. This not only arranged the colonist but it began to break a bond with Britain. The colonist was infuriated that they were being taxed for the paper when they had no say in what types of taxes would be passed and because of that, the bond began to break between the colonist and the British. Another event that hurt the bond between Britain and the colonist was the Boston

In the picture called “Bloody Massacre,” it shows the events during the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere. In the picture, it shows British redcoats firing their guns at colonist in front of a Customs House in Boston. Colonist was outside the house protesting the British troops that lived in Boston to enforce the laws of Britain. As tension grew the redcoats fixed their bayonets and formed a line in front of the court house. The colonist responded by throwing snowballs at the redcoats, and then the redcoats began to open fire on the colonist killing 5 and wounding much more. This action from the redcoats is uncalled for and cannot be justified on the British side because these soldiers are supposed to be the bravest and strongest men of the time and they decide to open fire on colonist when they get hit with snowballs. The killing of Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, and James Caldwell was a direct attack on the colonist and shows the terror of the redcoats. With the events of this tragic event, this once again proves why the colonist was justified in breaking the bond with Britain. With the loss of the colonist’s life, another reason why the colonist was justified in breaking bonds with Britain was the ideas of the philosopher John