Infringement of Rights in the Colonies The American Revolution must be viewed as much more than the want for separation from the mother country. Parliament not only disregards the fact that the colonies should live and abide by the same laws and liberties within the realms of England, but treats the colonies as if they are much less than what they are. The hunger for power in England ultimately ensued the end of their rule in the colonies. The American Revolution must be considered a defense of traditional notions of English liberty because the king repeatedly strips the colonies from the same freedoms that the people inside England have. Many colonists’ want for the separation from England is no secret by the time the Stamp Act Congress issued its statement of colonial grievances. The Declarations of the Stamp Act Congress strived to let these grievances be known: “That his Majesty’s Liege Subjects in these Colonies, are entitled to all the inherent Rights and Liberties of his Natural born Subjects, within the Kingdom of Great Britain” (AR, 118). This being the second of fourteen grievances, the Stamp Act Congress emphasizes that the colonists deserve the same treatment as the Englishmen. One of the greatest reasons for the revolutionary war is that England is denying colonists the same rights that the people within its borders are given. In no way should England be able to claim the colonists as their own while stampeding them with unfair taxes and unjust government. The colonists want answers and England has no reasonable explanation other than their self-proclaimed power. As if the colonists were not already angry with the mother country, the king then decides to do away with any form of form of government inside the colonies other than that of England’s (AR, 135). The Declaratory Act makes sure that all resolutions, votes, orders, and proceedings are deemed null and void unless they are done under the authority of Great Britain (AR 136). This is England’s effort to demand the colonists’ allegiance to abide by their power. Parliament claims that the colonies are an extended entity of England but at the same time imposes certain acts that would infringe the liberties of “Englishmen”. If the colonists are indeed “Englishmen” then they should be given the same liberties as such. The colonists are left with no choice but to want out of this unfair relationship with the mother country. This ultimately leaves the colonies with no choice but to fight for the same liberties that the people living inside of England are given. It cannot be stressed enough how unfair it is for England to treat their homeland with respect to their constitution yet completely disregard the rights of the colonists. Eventually the colonies grew tired of the king’s disregard of their rights and formed a Continental Congress. The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress describes more colonial grievances and pushes for justness by repealing parliament’s unjust actions (AR, 154). One grievance states that the inhabitants of the colonies are entitled
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In the midst of the war, the Continental Congress officially declares independence. The Declaration of Independence embodies the inalienable rights that all people are born with and entails the abuses that the king committed against the people of America (AR, 189). One of the abuses listed in the Declaration of Independence was the deprivation of trial by jury: a right that the people of England were accustomed to (AR, 190). The abuse of this right comes from the fact that many people are not given a trial by jury and thus exemplifies the king’s use of pretended legislation. The king openly did not give the people of America the same liberties and rights that they were supposedly guaranteed. The Declaration of Independence states that the king made the colonies subject to jurisdiction that is foreign to our constitution (AR, 190). The constitution at this point and time is the English constitution, the same one that the king has repeatedly turned his back on when dealing with the colonies. The unjust system of government that the British Parliament held over the colonists is exactly why they were subject to a
In the midst of the war, the Continental Congress officially declares independence. The Declaration of Independence embodies the inalienable rights that all people are born with and entails the abuses that the king committed against the people of America (AR, 189). One of the abuses listed in the Declaration of Independence was the deprivation of trial by jury: a right that the people of England were accustomed to (AR, 190). The abuse of this right comes from the fact that many people are not given a trial by jury and thus exemplifies the king’s use of pretended legislation. The king openly did not give the people of America the same liberties and rights that they were supposedly guaranteed. The Declaration of Independence states that the king made the colonies subject to jurisdiction that is foreign to our constitution (AR, 190). The constitution at this point and time is the English constitution, the same one that the king has repeatedly turned his back on when dealing with the colonies. The unjust system of government that the British Parliament held over the colonists is exactly why they were subject to a