Independence Declaration: US Declaration of Freedom from Britain, 1776 - Paper Example

Introduction

The Independence Declaration is an article passed by the Second Continental Congress in Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, as a pronouncement of the United States of America's independence. Before this, the Kingdom of Great Britain ruled over the thirteen colonies which encompassed the USA. The Declaration of Independence was a consequence of an unsolvable conflict between the thirteen states and Great Britain (Jefferson 17). Therefore, Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson to draft a pronouncement outlining the colonists’ grievances and the terms of independence. The Congress then edited this draft to produce the final version. Notably, this document is significant in the successful attempt at regaining the freedom of the USA. Further, its arguments are the backbone of the United States of America's sovereignty. It asserts that colonists will revolt if any administration infringes on their right to a just government.

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On the refusal to approve on the stipulated laws, Jefferson argues that King George III was violating the colonists' inalienable rights to the fair enactment of legislation for the public interest. Here, Jefferson articulates that the King did not assent to these laws in good time or never at all in some cases (Jefferson 19). On various occasions the king could prefer assenting the laws that benefited the regime rather than the ones that had direct impact on the people he was ruling.Notably, this grievance points out that King George III ensured to veto the legislation that he disliked regardless of their benefits to the general public. The King increasingly failed to assent to more of these laws in the year preceding the Declaration of Independence even as the American Revolutionary War grew. Consequently, the founding fathers and the colonists noticed that King George III was usurping the colonists' overall welfare. Therefore, Jefferson saw it fit that the colonists rebel if the King does not heed to these demands.

In times of peace, he has kept among us standing military persons without the legislature's approval. In the previous decade, in 1763, the French and the Indian War had been successfully won. The colonists expected that the British army would retrieve its troops from the colonies due to peace reclamation. Nonetheless, the British Army retained its presence in the territories. The military had the intention of levying the British colonies to finance their economic development and taking care of the military. Notably, the colonial administration imposed laws requiring the colonists to raise funds to support the army (Jefferson 19). Jefferson and the radicals saw this as an opportunity for the King to set a military rule upon the colonies.

Furthermore, this situation seemed like a forceful way of the King to suppress the majority's will. Additionally, this grievance elucidated that the King wanted to force the King's offensive revenue scheme. As such, Jefferson settles that if the monarch does not respect the people's will, then the later will be obliged to revolt.

The British Trade Policy prohibited the member colonies from trading with other countries such as France and Spain. It was because the ruling regime believed working with the other countries will distabilize it's soace. Notably, Great Britain imprinted this law with other supporting and punitive legislation. These restrictions became more stringent in the 1770s, and by 1774, the King stopped the territory of New England from conducting such trade in the Intolerable Acts (Jefferson 13). This action was a punishment against New England's restiveness. Jefferson notes that Great Britain sought to disable the independent growth of these thirteen colonies. Jefferson saw this as a motion seeking to make the colonies entirely dependent upon Britain. In consequence, Britain's wealth grew significantly while that of the colonies stagnated. Therefore, he states that such laws are unjust in the colonists' pursuit of wealth, growth, and happiness.

In the 18th century, there was significant migration into the colonies. However, the population did not grow significantly. The King did not want this population growth since that meant economic advancement and independence for the colonies (Jefferson 19). Jefferson highlights that the King and his advisors worried that the colonists' numbers increased and that the masses would become independent-minded. Hence, the King placed embargoes on migration from England and Europe. Further, the King gave the Royal Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting in western Appalachians. This move was a tipping point in the colonists' across all economic classes. Jefferson explains that the commoners sought to move to the West while the wealthy class owned businesses in the region. For this reason, he outlines that the King was suppressing the natural rights of inhabitation and growth for the colonists.

The tax imposition on people without their consent. It was believed that it was fierce to come up with taxes imposed on citizens without their consent since they are the individual whose economic activities were being taxed by those in authority. The colonists decried the system by the King to tax them, yet they are allowed no representation. In his draft, Jefferson refers to the Stamp Act, the Tea Act of 1773, and the Declaration Act. He argues that these laws enforced a new taxation scheme that resulted in the Boston Tea Party. For instance, the Stamp Act of 1765 directed the taxation of all kinds of paper. As a result, the colonists formed various groups united against such legislation (Jefferson 19). Importantly, Jefferson opines that the King sought to weaken the colonists' economic advancement, which forced the later to seek independence.

The King enacted the laws that imposed heavy taxes on the colonists without allowing their representations. Following this to band together and move, the Massachusetts Assembly curated a circular in 1768 to the other colonies' assemblies. This circular urged the assemblies to oppose the policies of taxing unrepresented colonists. In retaliation, the King directed that the governor disbands the body with immediate effect for its insubordination (Jefferson 15). Consequently, the King issued a warning to the other assemblies against acting like the Massachusetts assembly. Further, Jefferson states that the King dissolved North Carolina and Virginia's assemblies for barring him from taxing these colonies. Such aggressive authoritarian moves by the King incentivized the calls for revolution and the Declaration of independence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Declaration of Independence is the pronouncement of the thirteen states' sovereignty from British rule. The Second Continental Congress signed this document on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson drafted this article, and Congress edited it. In it, Jefferson outlines the grievances that the colonists suffered under the rule of Great Britain. The colonists saw these issues as an infringement of their inalienable rights as human beings. As such, Jefferson pinpointed that the people will rise against any government that denies them of these rights. Therefore, it was an essential move on coming up with the best features of explaining the argumentative means of explaining the Declaration and how it played a critical way of leading to independence.

Works Cited

Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of independence. Verso, 2019.