AS+September+23rd,+2009

//Justify the actions of the American colonists in declaring and fighting for their independence.//

Since the beginning of English colonization of America, the people living on both sides of the Atlantic have always had the same rights. That was one of the defining rules of the establishment, the people living in the colonies were still citizens of England, and their nationality was one in the same.

As time progressed, so did the feelings of pride in the citizens of the colonies. Salutary neglect was in play (Until the Seven Years War), and the colonies were functioning fine together. Over time, this created sense of pride that was different from the pride that they had in being English. In the Seven Years War, the were fighting //along with// the English, not as English soldiers. Once the Proclamation Line was put into place, it frustrated the colonists beyond belief. Acts like these, and acts like the Stamp Act, Tea Act, Currency Act, and all the other acts that King George and his helpers declared law, built up the tensions. These acts were not enforced on people living in England, and the colonists were guaranteed the same rights, which caused the colonists to rebel.

As cliche as it is, "No taxation without representation" really was a huge part in the Revolution. It is also an extremely good reason to back all the actions and rebellions that the colonists did towards Britain. People in Britain had representation in Parliment, so most of the people had their voice heard about local laws. Parliment decided all the laws for the colonies, except the colonists had no say. So their actions were a direct result of the lack of representation of Parliment.

Combining the acts that took place and no representation gave very good reasons for the colonists to act out toward Britain. They wanted to be treated equally, and when that did not happen, they stood up for what they believed in.