Independence Proclamation: Verbatim Copy
The Declaration of Independence: A List of Grievances Against King George III
On July 4, 1776, the thirteen united States of America made a significant historical declaration, outlining their reasons for separating from Great Britain. The document, known as the Declaration of Independence, was a powerful statement that justified the colonies' decision to become independent states.
The Declaration listed specific grievances against King George III and British rule that justified the separation. These grievances reflected the colonists' complaints about the king violating their rights and exercising tyrannical power, leading to their decision to break free.
One of the key grievances was the interference with colonial laws and legislatures. The king took away colonial charters, abolished valuable laws, suspended legislatures, and altered the fundamental forms of colonial governments.
Another major grievance was the refusal to assent to necessary laws. The king repeatedly refused to approve laws important for the public good. This obstruction of justice was a significant concern for the colonists.
The king also maintained standing armies in the colonies without the consent of the colonial legislatures, a practice that was seen as a violation of their rights. Furthermore, he forced colonists to house and supply British troops, a burden that was heavily felt.
Imposing taxes without the approval of colonial representatives was another fundamental grievance against Parliamentary and royal authority. The colonists were often denied the right to trial by jury, and some were sent to Great Britain for trial, denying them local justice.
The king was also accused of inciting Native American and slave uprisings against the colonies, a charge that added to the growing list of grievances. The colonists had petitioned the king humbly and repeatedly for rights and remedies, only to face further injury and oppression.
These complaints indicated a pattern of tyranny and oppression, making the king unfit to rule a free people. The Declaration asserts that due to these repeated injuries, the colonies had a right to dissolve their political ties with Britain and establish themselves as free and independent states.
However, it is worth noting that an initial condemnation of the slave trade and the king's role in perpetuating slavery was removed by Congress before the Declaration's final adoption.
In sum, the Declaration's grievances focus on violations of political and legal rights, usurpation of colonial self-government, and abuses by the king that justified the colonies' break from British rule. The document remains a powerful symbol of American independence and the principles of self-government and individual rights that it embodies.
Some of the representatives who signed the Declaration of Independence included Thomas McKean, Benjamin Franklin, William Williams, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Huntington, John Morton, Caesar Rodney, William Whipple, George Taylor, James Wilson, Benjamin Harrison, Oliver Wolcott, Roger Sherman, Robert Treat Paine, Richard Stockton, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Nelson, Jr., John Adams, George Read, Lewis Morris, Thomas Jefferson, William Floyd, John Witherspoon, George Ross, Francis Hopkinson, Francis Lewis, George Clymer, Philip Livingston, and Samuel Adams.
The Declaration of Independence, in its list of grievances, also addressed the issue of general-news, as it condemned the king's involvement in inciting Native American and slave uprisings against the colonies, further solidifying the colonists' general-politics stance and their decision to separate from British rule.
In the Declaration of Independence, the colonists complained about the Parliament's infringement on their political rights by imposing taxes without their consent, a grievance that falls under both general-news and general-politics, as it concerns the political and economic relationship between the colonies and Great Britain.
