Colonial America Declaration Independence

¶ … French and Indian Wars ended in 1763, the American colonies banded together for the first time, sowing the seeds of one of the greatest rebellions of all time. The colonialists realized they shared in common not only mutual mistrust of French interests in North America, but also a desire to solidify their presence in North America. However, the colonies were unable to work with the British government to pursue their mutual best interests. One reason why the colonies ended up rebelling was that the Crown demanded that the colonies pay for the war debts, imposing unfair systems of taxation that benefitted only the British but not the colonies. Another reason was that the British government disallowed colonial systems of self-governance such as independent courts of law. Furthermore, the British refused to grant the colonies greater power, even though the Crown had come to depend on the colonies for its own economic and territorial growth. Ultimately, the Declaration of Independence establishes a clear and logical list of grievances that justify the rebellion.

The residents of the colonies joined together for the first time during the French and Indian Wars, providing the British Crown with a certain victory over the French in the New World. The victory over the French paralleled British victories in Europe, too. Yet even though the Seven Years' War also led to the Crown's ballooning debts, the British government decided that the colonies would foot a disproportionate amount of its war bills. The Sugar Act of 1764 imposed a tax on all sugar products like molasses, which were produced exclusively from raw materials acquired in the colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765 unfairly taxed all paper documents and paper materials. Instead of granting the colonies greater independence, the British instead imposed the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, as well as mandate a standing army ("Effects of the War," n.d.).

The reason behind the new standing army was made abundantly clear during the French and Indian Wars; the Indians who had sided with the French would continue to repel the British colonialists as they sought to encroach on Native territories. Yet mandating a standing army presented a serious imposition on the colonies, which were receiving nothing in return. Moreover, the authors of the Declaration of Independence state that the King had "affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power," ("Declaration of Independence," 1776). The Declaration of Independence lists the standing army issue as a specific grievance against the crown.

Although the British retained control over the colonies, the French and Indian Wars resulted in the colonial governments desiring far more independence and freedom from the crown. Westward expansion became an increasingly important goal for colonial governments, who witnessed population growth as well as clashes with Native Americans ("Effects of the War," n.d.). The British government wanted to impose "taxation without representation," to extract as much money and power from the colonies without giving any representation in Parliament. Even though the colonies directly allowed the crown to prosper and expand its colonial boundaries, the government of Britain refused to recognize the rights of the colonies to self-governance. Depriving the colonies of fundamental rights and democratic institutions is what ultimately led to the Declaration of Independence.