Carissa Lei
Ms. Vershleiser
US History
October 25, 2014
After the French and Indian war, American colonists started to disagree with their mother country. Loyalists in the colonies wanted to stay under British rule. However, others, known as patriots, wanted to seek independence. The colonists were justified in breaking away from Great Britain. One of the greatest reasons of why the colonists were justified in breaking away from Great Britain was because the colonists were taxed without representation. After the war, many laws were passed which taxed the colonists to help pay off Britain’s debt. It was said that the British government never thought of giving liabilities to America. But in the end they did, and it upset the colonist tremendously. “Till the Stamp Act administration... All before, are calculated to regulate trade... The raising of revenue... was never intended... Never did the British parliament, [until the passage of the Stamp Act] think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising a revenue” (Doc 2). Until the war, the British government used salutary neglect among the American colonists. Salutary neglect was when a mother country would not enforce parliament rules against a colony. The British parliament passed tax laws. However, there was no representative from the colonist in the British parliament. Even though the British government had great reasons to tax the colonists, there was no advocate for them. An addition reason, the colonists were justified in breaking away from Great Britain because Britain had an unreasonable king. “ The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations [unlawful seizures], all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states” (Doc 7). This unreasonable king also passed several unlawful acts that taxed many products. “Committees are appointed to inspect into the character and conduct of every tradesman, to prevent them from selling tea or buying British manufacturers” (Doc 6). The colonists created a boycott against Great Britain to show that they don’t need Great Britain for anything. This was done as a respond to the Sugar Act that put taxes on all imported British products. Therefore people from the colonies were told to make sure colonists did not trade or buy anything from British manufacturers. The Quartering Act was also passed that stated that all colonists are required to provide food and lodging for British troops that were in the colonies. The colonists objected to this because this was considered an invasion of privacy. Another reason the colonists were justified to seek independence was because of Thomas Paine and his pamphlet. Common Sense was a pamphlet that was published by Thomas Paine in 1775-1776. This pamphlet used simple language that explained the advantages of being independent and the need for immediate independence. In the beginning Thomas Paine wanted to reconcile with