Why did the American Colonies declared Independence from England in 1776?

Why did the American Colonies declared Independence from England in 1776?

On the Fourth of July in 1776, one of the most important and powerful documents that would change the course of two nations was signed. The document was the Declaration of Independence and was not an easy choice to make for the colonists. The American colonists were writing to the King of England and the English parliament a list of their grievances which they thought were unjust. The American colonies were uniting against what they saw as an unfair system where they were heavily taxed and their movements were restricted. The colonies were not allowed to expand outwards especially after the French Indian war otherwise known as the Seven Years War that began in 1754. The effect of the taxes placed upon the colonies did not have the desired effect that the British intended. In fact the American colonies rebelled against the series of taxes where they threw tea overboard from docked ships that belonged to the East India Company. The French Indian war had left England with a sizable debt and they were in need of more money. The Declaration of Independence was the beginnings of the American Revolution against the English who had oppressed them. The Americans knew that the states had to band together to expel the British Rule or else they would be crushed without remorse. America had its back against the wall and needed to make alliances with other countries as England sent around one hundred ships with many soldiers to put down the rebellion.

Before the signing of the declaration, America still had a path to follow that had taxes and restrictions placed against them that were seen as heavy handed and unjust. England during this time was in a sticky predicament as they were in debt from the French Indian War and needed to replenish their coffers. English restricted the American colonies ability to trade with other nations with the implementation in 1764 of the Sugar Act known as the Revenue Act used to restrict the sugar trade. The British Navy under orders from the British government were strategically placed to prevent people from smuggling goods to other countries or into the American colonies. Under British rule the colonists could not expand further west due to the Royal Proclamation in 1763, which had been issues by King George III. Regardless of the restrictions several of the colonies had been expanding outwards. The introduction of the Stamp Act and the Tea Act resulted in many protests. The Stamp Act had been placed on all printed material from official documents to playing cards. People protested against the tax and through a group called the Sons of Liberty; they resorted to violence with the goal to abolish the Stamp Act by any means necessary. The Tea Act was to help the East India Company financially as the company had been in difficulty during this time and the English government placed a monopoly on the trade of tea to be traded to the American Colonies. The result in the colonies was a boycott on tea and the Boston Tea Party where protesters dressed as Indians dumped tea overboard from ships that belonged to the East India Company. The American Colonies did not like the English control especially when they had no representatives in England.

England thought the colony of America needed to help financially in its defence that England had done with the French Indian War. England placed trading restrictions on America so they could squeeze more money through customs duties. The colonials then rose up against the taxes through violence and tossing tea chests overboard in Boston. A group led by Charles Watson Wentworth of Rockingham were known as the Rockingham Whigs opposed several of the taxes within the British Parliament. The Whigs were opposed to the  Townshend Duties, which were a series of taxes against the American colony such as the Stamp Act. The Townshend Duties were used to pay for the administration of the colonies and several Whigs were against the wording. The same people were unsure about the interpretation of the Declaration of Independence especially as they were unsure if the Americans were friends or enemies. The common thought was that the war against the Americans was actually a Civil War and how other politicians could take advantage by calling the war with America a necessary war. England was worried the French could declare war against then and needed to be prepared.

The first meeting of the Continental Congress was in 1774 and only twelve of the thirteen colonies attended. The reasoning for the colonies to come together was so they could be heard in London as one voice instead of individual voices. The representatives met a year later by forming the Second Continental Congress. They formed even though England had forbidden such gatherings. During these meetings several high profile members were in attendance like John Hancock, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. One of the issues that were discussed was for them to sever ties with the English government and declare their independence.  They appointed five people to form a committee to draft a document with the idea to declare their independence from England on the eleventh of June in 1776. The men involved were Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, John Adams and Roger Sherman. Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of Independence since he was known as a writer.  After Thomas Jefferson had written the draft, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams edited what was written. They reasoned that the way the document was drafted was so they could pursue an alliance with France who would supply the equipment. They did not want a foreign power to dictate to them. The document was a nice way of telling England, America was free to make their own decisions and who they wanted alliances with.

After corrections were made to the Declaration document on the second of July, the Continental Congress then passed and signed the Declaration on the fourth of July by representatives from the thirteen colonies. They all knew the implications of signing the Declaration of Independence especially to a government and a king who did not recognise their role as anything other than an act of treason. British troops were landing in New York when the Declaration was being signed in Philadelphia. New York was known as an ice free harbour, which was why the British landed in New York. News of the signing reached New York two days later. The American colonies had now entered a new stage of the war that would become known as the American Revolution. The people of America now had more to lose if the war of Independence went badly against the English.

The Declaration of Independence document was created to inform King George III the American Colonies were going to sever ties with England as a colony. America wanted the freedom to choose its own path and vote for their people to govern the country. The English had made their position clear they would not like America to do anything foolish when restrictions had been placed. They did not view the American Congress as a legal authority. The Americans needed support from France as an alliance, but did not want another country to dictate to them or run their country either. France had the supplies that America needed for a war against the English. The declaration was written to explain to England what America wanted and to open trade with other countries. The declaration points out all the grievances the colonies have against the crown and its delegates in parliament.

The Second Continental Congress knew they needed assistance from other countries since America did not have the resources for a drawn out campaign against the English. America at the time were unable to manufacture products due to them not having factories. At first they sent Silas Deane to France as America’s diplomat and later they sent two other people Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin to help persuade the French. When Benjamin Franklin travelled in 1777, he was in his seventies at the time and a celebrity in France for his feats in science. Not only was he after assistance for supplies for America, Benjamin was also looking to the future to have the ability to trade with other countries like France. He informed the French, America was lacking certain areas of expertise such as in areas of manufacturing. England had prohibited trade with other countries even though America had used boycotts to send a message, which ended up with the signing of the Declaration.

The thirteen colonies had united to sign the most important document in the history of the United States, The Declaration of Independence. The document sent a message to the British government and crown they had severed ties with them. History may have been different had the declaration never been signed or the Second Continental Congress been caught and tried for treason. Had the English won the war against the United States they might not have continued exploring or settling an Australian colony with convicts. The English took offence to the Declaration when everything that was outlined with what America was after. The war was one small step towards creating the powerful nation we know of today.

Afterwards both England and the United States went their own separate ways to discover new lands where they would claim as their own. The American Revolution was not the only conflict America would face as a nation in the future. What England at the time did not know was they would have less land to govern and patrol which would be less expensive to maintain than before. Events that had occurred within America lead to the colonising of Australia where the First Fleet would be sent as the United States were not allowing convicts to the country. In some way two nations had been created with the war between the UYnited States and England.

Sources used

Primary

’Important Documents’, The American Revolution, http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/documents.aspx 28 June, 1776

The rough draft of the Declaration of Independence 28 June 1776, revised September 2010,

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/independence/doitj.htm, accessed 16 October 2010

‘Declaration of Independence Adopted in Congress 4 July 1776’, UShistory.org, http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm, accessed 16 October 2010

‘Townshend Acts’, UShistory.org, http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/townshend.htm, accessed16 October 2010

‘Second Continental Congress’, UShistory.org,  http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h656.html, accessed 16 October 2010

‘Proclamation of 1763’, UShistory.org, http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/proc63.htm, accessed 16 October 2010

Schiff, Stacy, ‘1776’, A great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the birth of America, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2005, p 19

 

Secondary

Guttridge, G.H. ‘The Whigs and America’, English Whiggism and the American Revolution, University of California Press, California, 1966, pp. 89 – 90.

 

McCullough, David ‘1776’, 1776: America and Britain at war, Penguin group, Australia, 2005, pp. 135 – 137.

McDougall, Walter A. ‘Sons of Liberty and “Two-Bottle” Tyrants’, Freedom just around the corner:  A new American history 1585 – 1828, HarperCollins publishers, New York, 2004, pp, 212 -228.

Remini, Robert V. ‘Independence and Nation Building’, A Short History of the United States, HarperColins, New York, 2008, pp. 39 – 40.