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Were The Colonists Justified In Declaring Independence Essay

539 Words3 Pages

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. The colonists wanted representation when it came down to being taxed, but the British government would not allow it. The government wanted full control over the people, so they made sets of acts and laws that were placed on taxation. For example, the Stamp Acts of 1765. These acts taxed all papers, pamphlets, newspapers, and cards. The Townshend Acts of 1767 were also a large part of taxation. Imports of lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea were taxed; the British government wanted the colonists to pay so they created punishments for colonists who …show more content…

To start with, slavery was growing at a rapid rate. New laws made it legal for owners to own enslaved people for their entire lives. They had little or no chance for freedom. Slaves were legally considered property, not people. Slaves were also restricted by a set of laws called Slave Codes; these laws were their rights and rules for living. For the rest of the colonists, they believed they had natural rights: rights they were born with. The three main natural rights thought to have were life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; these were included in the Declaration of Independence. Personal rights were very important to the colonists and they were determined to display how they felt to the government. Overall, this period of time brought dramatic changes to the way of living. All of these changes were necessary for our country to function in the needs of both the government and the

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