United States Declaration of Independence and British Soldiers Essay Example for Free

United States Declaration of Independence and British Soldiers Essay 1. Examine the factors that led to the colonies’ declaration of independence from England. Make sure to explain WHY the colonies decided to break from their mother-country as well as any risks that doing so might have entailed. Also include your interpretation of whether or not breaking away from England was a good idea for the colonies. After the French and Indian War, Great Britain gained lots of territories but lost lots of money. Great Britain did not want to quickly occupy this territory so they decided to make the Quartering acts. The first quartering acts basically said that British Soldiers can board free at inns and stay at abandon houses. In order to make up for the loss of money. Great Britain put lots of taxes on imports and exports as well as other laws that limited Port Cities like Boston from making money off their ports. Taxation without representation was the main factor which led the American colonies to declare their independence from Great Britain. The Sugar Act was the first in the series of British Colonial taxation acts that provided fuel for revolutionary mood in American colonies. Shortly thereafter came the British Stamp Act. This time the new tax burden took form of official stamps that colonists had to purchase and that were required for legal contracts, newspapers, and other official paperwork. The protests in the colonies started as the news broke. This led to the creation of The Sons of Liberty. Under John Adams they organized riots and violent attacks to intimidate tax collectors. The Sons of Liberty decided to harass a couple of British Soldiers Stationed at Boston. The Soldiers had no choice but to fire on the crowd killing a few people, this was called the Boston massacre. Later a British Official decided to confront John Hancock for smuggling tea. Later the sons of liberty destroyed an entire shipment of British tea. This Caused Great Britain to bring in even harsher laws. These included the following, British soldiers and officials are to be tried in a British Court and not in the colonies. British Soldiers are to quarter any houses they want and board in them without the permission of the owner. The Colonies were prohibited from having their own town council meetings. This caused the Colonist to form the Continental Congress. John Adams, who represented Massachusetts, tried to convince the rest of the colonist to fight but he had trouble convincing other colonies, mostly Pennsylvania. A few meetings later with the help of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, Thomas Jefferson Wrote the Declaration of Independence. After years of fighting the Parliament and the King finally recognized the colonies as their own separate country. Although, breaking from their mother-country would make The British Empire, the largest in the world at the time, become their enemies, the Colonies would be free of obeying any laws set out by the British, could create their own democracy and get France as an ally.