why the colonies were morally justified in declaring independence

The colonists were morally justified in declaring independence from Great Britain. One of the reasons the colonists gave King George III for declaring independence was the natural rights. These rights are rights that a man is born with, such as life, liberty, and the property. When King George III came into power he wished to change the government and make his power stronger, focusing on royal power. He began by removing the Whig leaders from the government who up to that point had held the most power. He then increased the amount of military in America. This started a series of events leading up to the American Revolution. To raise revenue the king began placing many taxes in the colonists. The first was the Sugar Act which increased duties on many imported goods. Some of these were wines, coffee, indigo, textiles, and or course sugar. Then there was the Currency Act which prohibited colonists from issuing any paper money. These Acts were in 1764. Then, in 1765 the king passed the Stamp Act. This put taxes on all printed goods such as newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards. He also passed the Quartering Act which forced the colonists to house British troops and provide food for them. The colonists were very upset over the excessive taxing of all their goods and imports. They were being taxed without representation in Parliament. They had no control or say over what they should be taxed on or for how much. This led the colonists to attempted boycott and they did their absolute best to prevent stamps from being available the day the Act was going into effect. Going back to the natural rights the colonists had the right to revolt in that the Acts took away from their natural rights. First, the fact that they had taxation without representation. Because of all these taxes the colonists could not only not afford simple items some may call necessities, but it also took away much of their earnings. They had a right to life and excessive taxing made it hard to provide for and afford life, not only for those trying to but goods but those trying to live off of selling them. They also had the right to property which the taxes also took away from. They couldn't afford possessions, or in other words property. The Quartering Act took away from all three natural rights. This is due to the fact that the colonists had to spend what money they had after taxes to provide for the troops. This took away from life and property. They also had to give up part of their property by housing these men which they could have used for themselves or family. Lastly, it took away from their liberty because they were forced to house these men weather they agreed to it or not. The colonists had never done anything to deserve punishment through taxes and other means that were placed upon them. They had always been loyal to the king and government and had traded with them fairly, which is another reason why the colonists were morally justified in revolt. In 1766 the Declaratory Act was passed which stated that Britain can regulate and tax the colonists in any way they see fit. At this point they still have no representation, meaning their rights are still being taken away. In 1767 the Townsend Act was passed which placed duties on imports like tea. This upset the colonists to a large extent because the colonists considered tea their staple drink and a staple of life. It was very important to them and they could no longer afford it. This led to the Boston Tea Party, which was a protest in which a group of colonists dumped large amounts of Tea into the ocean. The king also declared that any colonists moving towards the West must return to the East, thus taking away property opportunities for the colonists. In 1774 the Intolerable Acts were passed. It declared that the Boston Port was closed until the East India Trading Co. was compensated (which had a monopoly on imports and was the government’s trading company). They could no longer get their goods and foods which takes away from their life, liberty, and property. It also took away from colonial merchants who made their living off of trade. The Intolerable Acts also included the Massachusetts Government Act. The Massachusetts Government Act brought Massachusetts's Government under the control of the crown. The Administration of Justice Act declared that royal officials no longer had to face trial in the colonies. The colonists were being treated unfairly in their lack of representation and their natural rights being taken away. They were not being treated as equals, and later in the Declaration of Independence they will state that “all men are created equal”. Their right to assemble was taken away so they could no longer govern themselves which was another attempt of the king to ensure his own power over the colonists as well as the British government. This is another example of their liberty being taken forcefully from them. Another reason the colonists are morally justified in declaring independence is that when they had had enough of the taxes and unfair treatment they attempted to solve their issues with the British government and king peacefully. The colonists originally did not want to break from Britain and loyalty to the king. They tried to propose their concerns and ideas for resolve peacefully to the king, but king George III would not even listen to their proposal. Instead he continued to worsen the colonists situation until it drove them to revolt. In 1775 the colonists finally declared themselves to be in a state of rebellion. They had had enough years of unfair and poor treatment. The colonists then formed the Continental Congress in which they declared the abuses against them and declared their rights and the natural law. In the second Continental Congress they tried one last time to reconcile with Britain peacefully but were denied and declared their open rebellion. The revolution then began. The colonists had many reasons why they were morally justified in declaring Independence, and without their bravery and determination for liberty we would not live in this wonderful country the United States of America today.