{"id":7492,"date":"2020-07-02T15:27:07","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T19:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/?p=7492"},"modified":"2025-01-06T12:07:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T17:07:03","slug":"independence-day-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/independence-day-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Noteworthy Accounts of our Nation\u2019s Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noteworthy<\/span><\/b> Accounts of <\/span><\/b>our Nation\u2019s<\/span><\/b> Independence\u00a0<\/span><\/b>
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cNo <\/span><\/b>taxation without representation<\/span><\/b>\u201d\u202f<\/span><\/b>
\n<\/span>British <\/span><\/b>Parliament provokes <\/span><\/b>the <\/span><\/b>people of <\/span><\/b>Boston\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1765, Great Britain\u2019s Parliament, the United Kingdom\u2019s highest legislature, enforced \u202f<\/span>The Stamp Act<\/span><\/b>, one of many <\/span>tolls<\/span> on the British colonies in America. This levy made it legally required <\/span>for many<\/span> printed materials <\/span>to be<\/span> made on stamped paper <\/span>produced<\/span> solely in London, <\/span>rendering<\/span> it impossible for colonists to pass messages without commissioned stamp distributors collecting monies <\/span>first<\/span>hand.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most colonists <\/span>weren\u2019t initially concerned about<\/span> the tedious taxations. <\/span>But <\/span>as time carried on and conflict continued, colonists began to rebel, <\/span>protesting that the Parliament did not have <\/span>the right to tax them without colonial government representation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>struggle<\/span> between Great Britain and colonists <\/span>escalated<\/span> in 1770 when British troops killed five <\/span>colonists<\/span> in the \u202f<\/span>Boston Massacre<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Colonists also <\/span>opposed<\/span> the Parliament during\u00a0 <\/span>T<\/span><\/b>he\u202f<\/span><\/b>Boston Tea Party<\/span><\/b> on December<\/span> 16,<\/span> 1773, <\/span>when the British government sanctioned a mono<\/span>poly on tea through the <\/span>Tea Act<\/span><\/b>. <\/span>Here<\/span>, <\/span>colonists<\/span> objected<\/span> to<\/span> the <\/span>a<\/span>ct by disguising<\/span> as Mohawk Indians<\/span> in the Boston Harbor<\/span>. Residents of Massachusetts then<\/span> boarded three British tea ships<\/span> and<\/span> dump<\/span>ed<\/span> 342 chests of tea into its waters<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Intolerable Acts further<\/span><\/b> the prospect for independence<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To punish Massachusetts colonists for their defia<\/span>nce among Boston harbor\u2019s docks, <\/span>Britain <\/span>then <\/span>retaliated<\/span> against colonists, passing a series of acts, now known as the \u202f<\/span>Intolerable Acts<\/span><\/b>,<\/span><\/b>\u202fthat denied residents many of their accustomed rights.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1774, British <\/span>reactive<\/span> restrictions on the rights of Massachusetts colonists <\/span>accelerated<\/span> when Parliament closed the port of Boston through the\u202f <\/span>Boston Port Act<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional acts of vengeance<\/span> enforced by the British included the\u202f <\/span>Massachusetts Government Act<\/span><\/b>, which set Massachusetts under the British government\u2019s control, assembling all governmental positions to be appointed by the Parliament. This act also limited town meetings to one per year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among other vengeful actions in effect<\/span> by the British<\/span> was the\u202f <\/span>Administration of Justice Act<\/span><\/b>, which allowed the trials of accused court officials to take place in the UK if not deemed a fair trial in <\/span>Massachusetts. The act specified<\/span> that witnesses in the trail would be reimbursed for travel to the United Kingdom. Still, the law omitted reimbursement for lost earnings, leaving little colonists the option to testify. George Washington coined this constraint the \u201cMurder Act\u201d because he believed it allowed British officials to hassle and harass Americans and escape justice across the Atlantic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, t<\/span>he first Quartering Act required local American colonies to provide British soldiers with shelter and food; if they didn\u2019t, punishment could <\/span>lawfully<\/span> prevail. When colonial legislatures persistently proved uncooperative in <\/span>the act<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s<\/span> implementation, the revised \u202f<\/span>Quartering Act<\/span><\/b>\u202f permitting soldiers to receive housing elsewhere<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In defense of the <\/span>unlawful acts placed upon <\/span>the <\/span>colonists<\/span>, a convention of delegates from various British American colonies formed the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774, condemning the monarchy\u2019s movements and British bullying tactics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The words that changed the world\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the beginning battles of the Revolutionary War took place in April 1775, few colonists wanted complete liberty from Great Britain. However, with hostility from Parliament <\/span>cultivating quickly, and with British armed forces bringing death and destruction in masses, <\/span>considerations<\/span> of a revolution seemed like the only real answer for colonists.\u202f \u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In January 1776, a man by the name of\u202f <\/span>Thomas Paine <\/span><\/b>\u202ftook his <\/span>contemplations<\/span> of rebellion and created a published a 50-page pamphlet <\/span>called<\/span> \u201cCommon Sense.\u201d\u202f<\/span><\/i><\/b>In this work, though prose and persuasive measures, Paine projected his passion for patriotism and advocated independence from Great Britain with allure. In the text, Thomas Paine encouraged equality of the 13 colonies, and through his carefully constructed call to action, ignited inspiration for our nation\u2019s independence.\u202f \u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our c<\/span><\/b>ountry\u2019s <\/span><\/b>Continental Congress c<\/span><\/b>ontinued<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 7, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House, where Virginian representative <\/span>Richard Henry Lee<\/span><\/b> introduced a proper motion for the 13 colonies\u2019 freedom. After much delegate debate, the Congress postponed <\/span>Lee\u2019s<\/span> proposal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202fNevertheless,<\/span> with growing support <\/span>of<\/span> the separation from the kingdom, <\/span>on July 2, 1776, Congress <\/span>officially<\/span> voted in favor of independence from Great Britain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202fOn July 4, Congress appointed a five-person committee (<\/span>Thomas Jefferson<\/span><\/b>\u202f of Virginia,\u202f <\/span>John Adams<\/span><\/b>\u202f of Massachusetts,\u202f <\/span>Roger Sherman<\/span><\/b>\u202f of Connecticut,\u202f <\/span>Benjamin Franklin <\/span><\/b>\u202fof Pennsylvania, and\u202f <\/span>Robert R. Livingston<\/span><\/b>\u202f of New York) to draft a formal statement <\/span>inclusive of <\/span>all reasoning <\/span>tied to the desire for<\/span> a life of liberty. Written by Thomas Jefferson, <\/span>we<\/span> would later come to know<\/span> this document<\/span> as the \u202f<\/span>Declaration of Independence.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the committee had the go-ahead to air their apprehensions<\/span> on the aristocratic rule<\/span>, they listed 27 grievances against King George III in the declaration. Accusing King George III, in detail, for his actions of \u201cabsolute tyranny over the states.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A few i<\/span><\/b>llustrations of specific grievances against King George III<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>in the Declaration of Independence include:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n