Colonial America 1607 - 1783 |
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All American
People
Events
1660: December 1, when the Navigation Acts became effective.
1763: The Proclamation of 1763, the Currency Act, the Sugar
Act and the Quartering Act were enacted upon by British Parliament.
1765: British Parliament enacted the Stamp Act upon the
colonists.
1773: Boston
Tea Party, led by Samuel Adams, is when they dressed as Indians and dumped
over hundreds chest of tea into the Boston harbor.
1776: The
Townshend Act was issued by Great Britain.
1776: On June
11, 1776, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R.
Livingston and Roger Sherman where instructed to write a document what would
become known as the Declaration of Independence.
1776: July 4th, United States declared our Independence from Great Britain with the famous document called, “The Declaration of Independence.”ResourcesAccount
of a Declaration This resource was very informative in my research dealing with the events leading up to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. It discusses and gives detailed descriptions on the feud the colonists had with Great Britain’s Parliament and their struggle to fight for their freedom and independence from the Great Britain monarchy. Constitutional Topic: Declaration of Independence This was an excellent resource because of its overview of the Declaration of Independence. It discusses the three main parts of the Declaration of Independence and gives a summary of what the content of the document holds to the people it governs, meaning citizens of the United States of America. Updated Month date, year
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The History Behind The Making Of The Declaration Of IndependenceBy
Jerry Aguirre Great
Britain’s Impact on the Colonists The colonies of North America were founded by
Great Britain. During the time
of colonization, Holland was the center of the world where shipping was
concerned. Great Britain wanted
the power that Holland had and, therefore this led them to develop the
Navigation Acts. The Navigation
Acts became effective on December 1, 1660, and this stated that English ships
were the only ones that could transport goods to and from, and between
Britain’s colonial outposts.
Goods originating outside of the colonies could only be shipped to
England by English ships, or directly from the producing county in its own
ships. No such foreign goods
could be shipped to any colonial port except through England and on English
ships. After the Navigation Acts
were put into play this gave Great Britain total control over the imports and
exports of the colony. Due to
this growing power, Great Britain decided to impose internal taxes upon the
colonies. The taxes on goods
continued for many years with much anger and frustration from the colonists
because they were losing money (LeftJustified Publiks). In the
years to follow, 1763 through 1765, the British Parliament enacted several
laws which the colonists sharply disagreed with. The Proclamation of 1763
prevented settlement of the area south of the Appalachians; the Currency Act prohibited
the use of paper money for the payment of debt; the Sugar Act placed a tax on
goods imported into the colonies, such as sugar, wine, and coffee and
provided for tight control on its enforcement; the Quartering Act required
colonists to board soldiers upon request. In 1765, a final, pivotal law - the
Stamp Act. The Stamp Act placed a direct tax on the colonists themselves, not
just on imports. The Act required tax stamps be purchased and affixed to all
manner of paper goods, from legal documents to newspapers to playing cards.
By itself, the Stamp Act might not have started a revolution, but combined
with all the previous acts, it lit a fire.Soon after, in 1776 the Townshend
Acts was issued by Great Britain, which placed duties on many staple imports
such as glass, paper, paint, and tea. The colonists rebelled against the tax
by once again boycotting the goods (The United States Constitution Online). The Colonists Take a Stand To protest from the colonists against the growing taxation problem led to one prominent event, the Boston Tea Party, led by Samuel Adams, took place in 1773 in Boston, Massachusetts. Colonists took over a ship, which contained tea from Great Britain and to make a point that they were not going to purchase the tea along with being taxed, they decided to throw the tea overboard. This certain incident demonstrates how the colonists were beginning to seek freedom from Great Britain (LeftJustified Publiks). The colonists rallied together and decided that they wanted their freedom from Great Britain. They were tired of Parliament making laws for them and telling them how to live. They therefore came up with a document to declare their freedom from Great Britain, which was titled The Declaration of Independence. On June 11, 1776, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman where instructed to write a document declaring freedom from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson did the original writing of the document. Many revisions were made by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, “The Road to Its Adoption”). After these revisions where made, the document was presented to a committee and then was submitted to Congress. On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Not all the men who helped create or voted for the Declaration of Independence signed it (National Archives and Record Administration). For example, Robert R. Livingston helped in the creation of the Declaration, but did not sign (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, “Signers of the Declaration”).
This document consists of three main parts, which include the preamble, a list of grievances and justification and then the declaration. The preamble establishes that all men have rights and that the government is established to secure those rights, and if and when such a government goes against those rights, it should be eliminated from power. The list of grievances and justification mentions the crimes of the King against the people of the colonies. It promises that the new nation holds no grudges against the people of Britain, but that it will fight them if need be. The declaration states that the people of the colonies ought to be free and independent with their lives (The United States Constitution Online). Works Cited· LeftJustified Publiks. Account of a Declaration. 23 Feb. 2002 <http://www.leftjustified.com/leftjust/lib/sc/ht/decl/home.html>. · National Archives and Records Administration. The Declaration of Independence, A History. 24 Sept.1997. 23 Feb. 2002 <http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declartaion/dechist.html>. · The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Declaration of Independence, Signers of the Declaration. 23 Feb. 2002 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/03510SignersoftheDeclaration.html>. · The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Declaration of Independence, The Road to Its Adoption. 23 Feb. 2002 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/03510TheRoadtoltsAdoption. html>. · The United States Constitution Online. Constitutional Topic: Declaration of Independence. 23 Feb. 2002 < http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_decl.html>.
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