As seen above the list of grievances are numerous, but four central topics stand above the rest: taxes, violations of the rights of the accused, forcibly quartering British soldiers in the homes of the colonists, and taking undue powers onto himself.
Taxes
Perhaps the biggest issue the colonists had with the British Monarchy was the continuous amounts of taxes that had been levied upon them in the run up of the Revolutionary War. These taxes include:
- The Tea Act (1773): This act gave the British East India Company the sole right to sell tea in the Colonies, cracked down on the smuggling of tea, and strengthened the enforcement of taxes on tea
- The Stamp Act (1765): This act required there to be stamps on all legal and commercial documents, as well as newspapers. This effectively taxed printing.
- The Sugar Act (1764): This act taxed all sugar and molasses imported to the American Colonies.
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Colonists believed these taxes to be unjust as they had been levied upon them without the Colonies having any representation in the British Parliament. The Tea Act inflamed them so much it inspired the Boston Tea Party. After the war and the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the Founders made sure to clearly define who had the power to enact taxes (Congress) and they could be held accountable by the people. The U.S. Constitution gives the power to draft tax laws to the House of Representatives, the branch of government that most directly represents the people of the United States.
Violations of the Rights of the Accused
Inspired by Enlightenment thinking, the leaders of the Colonies believed strongly in a fair judicial system. Many of the grievances that Jefferson listed had to do with unjust practices that were being conducted by the British. These include
- He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
- For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.
- For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses.
So inspired by these injustices were the founding fathers that they codified protections for civilians against a corrupt judicial system. Chiefly these protections take place in the Bill of Rights, specifically in amendments 5 and 6. The fifth amendment requires that the accused be present at the trial except in special cases, doesn't allow for citizens to be tried twice for the same crime, and prevents defendants from being compelled to testify against themselves. The sixth amendment assures citizens the right to trial held within a reasonable amount of time after charges have been drawn up. It also ensures defendants have legal counsel and that they will be tried in the district in which the crime took place.
Quartering
Quartering was enacted by the Quartering Act of 1765. This act required colonists to provide housing for British soldiers. Colonists were outraged that they were not consulted with before this law was put in place. The founding fathers found this practice to be so unjust that they outlawed it in the third amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Powers of the King
Finally, the colonists were fed up with the king increasingly taking powers onto himself. He dissolved several attempts by the colonists to form governing bodies and had assumed judicial and legislative powers. These grievances were listed in the Declaration of Independence and include:
- He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
- He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
- For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
When the founders later wrote the U.S. Constitution, they felt it was of the utmost importance that the President, nor any branch of government, have too much power. They wanted to prevent an American Monarchy. To do so they separated the government's powers into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. They also gave each branch a way to check the powers of the other two branches to ensure a continued equality among the three, known as checks and balances.
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The significance of the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence goes beyond a list of reasons to separate from Great Britain, though that itself holds much historical weight. It also served as a sort of guideline for which the new American government would be set up under the Constitution and Bill of Rights. These grievances highlighted the problems with British governance, problems that America could avoid if solutions were properly codified. Those solutions, such as the fifth and sixth amendment as well as the separation of government powers helped establish the identity and foundation of a nation.
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When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he formed a list of grievances that he felt Great Britain and the King were responsible for. Of these 27 grievances four main topics are covered. Most famous is their grievance of taxation without representation. Several tax acts, including the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and the Sugar Act, had been levied upon the colonists in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. Colonists felt not only were these taxes punitive, but they were also unjust because the Colonies had no legal representation in the British Government. To combat this problem in their own government, the U.S. gave the power to draft tax laws to the House of Representatives.
Jefferson, and the colonies at large, were also frustrated with unfair judicial practices that were being carried out by the king, such as the deprivation of a trial by jury. To ensure citizens of the U.S. were protected against a corrupt judicial system, the founding fathers passed amendments five and six which ensure rights such as that to a speedy trial and protection against incriminating oneself. The two other main topics that are seen in the grievances are the issue of quartering and the King amassing undue powers. The Quartering Act of 1765 allowed for the practice of forcing Colonists to provide housing for British Soldiers, an issue the U.S. would later outlaw with the third amendment. The colonists were upset that the King would enforce this without consulting the Colonies first. Lastly, the King was taking control of all government powers throughout the Empire. To prevent such a tyrant arising in the U.S., government powers were separated into three branches to ensure checks and balances.
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A Long Train of Abuses…
''We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'' We all remember that part of the Declaration of Independence. It's quoted almost all the time. But most people would be surprised to find out that a good part of the Declaration of Independence is actually a list. Almost half of the actual document is a list of grievances the American colonies had against the king of England. When the Declaration talked about ''a long train of abuses and usurpations,'' it is clear the Founding Fathers were not joking.
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After winning the American Revolution, the Framers were concerned about making sure the abuses of the British government and the crown were not repeated in the new republic they were creating. To that end, they addressed those concerns in the body of the U.S. Constitution and later in the Bill of Rights, which consists of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Taxation
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The Declaration of Independence accused the British king of ''imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.'' To pay off debts from fighting the French and Indian War, the British parliament passed a series of taxes to raise money, including the Stamp Act, the Townsend Act, and the Tea Act. The colonists had no representative in Parliament to vote on these measures, and they protested under the popular slogan, 'no taxation without representation.' Outrage over the Tea Act, in particular, inflamed colonial passions against the British government, leading to the Boston Tea Party, which in turn would pave the way for the American Revolution.
The Constitution then addressed this issue by defining who could collect taxes. Congress would have the power to tax and borrow, as well as pay debt, regulate commerce, and coin money. In addition, tax legislation would start in the House of Representatives, the house of Congress most directly accountable to the American people because its members are elected every two years.
Rights of the Accused
The Declaration also listed infringements on the rights of people accused of crimes, accusing Britain of ''depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury,'' and ''transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.'' To crack down on rebellious elements in the colonies, the British government ordered strict measures, including arresting 'troublemakers' and taking them back to London for trial. This meant accused colonists would not be tried by a jury of their own peers. Witnesses to the crime would have to sail across the Atlantic to testify at the trial, if they could make the journey at all.
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The Bill of Rights addressed the rights of the accused. The Fifth Amendment insisted that a defendant must be indicted by a grand jury for capital or infamous crimes. It also prohibited double jeopardy or self-incrimination, and established due process of law, meaning that no one could be deprived of life, liberty or property without certain legal procedures being followed. The Sixth Amendment established that the accused must be tried in the jurisdiction where the crime had been committed. A defendant must also have a speedy and public trial by a jury, be informed of the criminal charges, be allowed to confront the witnesses against him or her, and also have the right to legal counsel.
Quartering
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In the Declaration of Independence, the king was also cited ''for Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.'' According to the Quartering Act of 1765, Britain required the colonies to house troops in barracks or other public buildings if barracks were not available. The impact of quartering has generally been exaggerated and has become an urban legend. The act did not require Americans to house British soldiers in their private dwellings. The colonies, however, were incensed that they were being told to house soldiers without being consulted first, or having to permit troops at all. ''He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures,'' the Declaration also stated. The Third Amendment to the Constitution specifically dealt with quartering, saying, ''No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.'' As for standing armies, Congress was invested with the power to raise and maintain an army by Article I of the Constitution, allowing the people to have a say in whether they would have a standing army or not.
Separation of Powers
The Declaration also accused the king of taking powers that belonged to other public offices. ''He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.'' The king was also accused of ''Suspending our own Legislatures,'' and saying ''he has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.''
To prevent a king or the head of government from having power to control or take away the powers of other branches of government, the Constitution built the U.S. government on the principle of separation of powers and checks and balances. Each branch of government has not only separate but equal powers, but also have powers to check and balance the other branches. Federal judges could be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but they would serve for life and could not be arbitrarily removed by the president. Congress as an institution was also defined, with regular elections for its members, and cannot be abolished by the president.
Lesson Summary
The Declaration of Independence not only established the moral right of the colonies to separate from England, but also listed the grievances the colonies had against the mother country. The king of England acted to curb many liberties of the American colonists, including denying a person accused of a crime a trial by a jury of their peers. The British parliament also denied the colonies representation in voting on taxes that would be levied on them, including the Stamp Act and the Tea Act. These problems with government overreach would be dealt with by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
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