The Moral Foundation for the American Struggle for Independence

            Although the Revolutionary War era technically began in 1773, the moral reasoning for independence began in the 1600’s with Enlightenment. John Locke argued that all humans are born with natural rights, which include life, liberty and property. According to Jean Jacques Rousseau the Social Contract means that citizens have the right to overthrow a tyrannical government. In other words, if a government violated its citizen’s natural rights, then they had the right to revolt against it. The Enlightenment led to the American Enlightenment, which centered on many of the same ideas. The American Enlightenment also set the stage for an American Revolution. Therefore, when it was apparent that the British Government had become tyrannical, due to repeated abuses of the colonist’s natural rights, the colonies felt it appropriate to sever it’s ties with the British in whatever way necessary.

            The British Government violated the American’s natural right to property in many ways. One way they did this was imposing taxes on the colonists without their representation. This is a violation of property because they had not agreed to give up their property for the common good. Whether they would have agreed or not agreed is irrelevant. According to the natural rights, you cannot take away another person’s property without their consent. Clearly taxation without representation is a violation of this right. As the Declaration of Independence states in its list of reasons for severing ties with the British Empire: “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” In 1775 the Sugar and Currency taxes were imposed upon the colonists. In the following year, parliament enacted the Quartering and Stamp Acts. The quartering Act can be interpreted as a violation of the right to property because if you are forced to house people against your will, is your house really your property? This was listed as a reason for independence in the declaration, “For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.” The Stamp Act was a big deal because it was the first real direct tax that the colonists faced. This required official documents, newspapers, and other paper goods to have the stamps. This Act faced opposition from people in all 13 colonies, as well as a secret group that was formed called the Sons of Liberty. They threatened anyone who would sell the stamps. As a result of these efforts, no one sold the stamps and no one could buy them. Even still, most colonists still considered themselves loyal subjects of the king.

            Another way the British Government violated the American’s natural rights was through the practice of mercantilism. They required all trade to be done within the British Empire. They attempted to block the colonies from trading with the world. Most notably, it blocked trade with the French Empire, the Dutch Empire, and the Spanish Empire. It resulted in causing difficulty for the colonies in their trading endeavors. As the list of grievances from the Declaration of Independence states, “For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.” This mercantilism was a violation of natural rights because it restricted their liberty and in a sense, their right to property. This was not well received by the colonies and it further increased the tensions between the colonies and the British Government.

            The Intolerable Acts were further violations against the natural rights of the colonists. The Intolerable Acts, also known as the Coercive Acts were imposed as a result of the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was in opposition to the harsh Tea Act imposed by parliament upon the colonists. A group of colonist men disguised as Mohawk Indians went to the harbor and dumped out Tea from the East India Company. They dumped approximately 90,000 lbs. of tea. costing at least ₤10000. Four parts of the Coercive Acts were in response to the Boston Tea Party and one was unrelated. The first was the Boston Port Act. It shut down the Boston Harbor until Boston had paid back the debt to the East India Company. This was unfair because they were punishing everyone for something that only a small group of people did. The second act was called the Massachusetts Government Act. It brought the government of Massachusetts under the control of the British Crown. Most of the positions in government were to be appointed by the king and town meetings were limited to once every year. This was a big step in pushing the colonies toward revolution because it showed the tyranny of the British Government. Next was the Administration of Justice Act. This act was created under the rouse of giving fair trials to British officials by allowing them to travel elsewhere to be tried. What this really did was give officials a free pass to do what they wanted to colonists because the witnesses would not be able to leave their work and travel long distances to testify against them. George Washington referred to this as the “Murder Act.” The next was the Quartering Act- the least oppressive of all the Coercive Acts. It allowed soldiers to take residence in uninhabited buildings in all colonies. The final of the Intolerable Acts was the Quebec Act, which was not related to the events in Boston but was seen as a way to punish the colonists.

            Before the war broke out, the colonists made one last effort to communicate peacefully and reasonably with the King. They adopted the Olive Branch Petition that affirmed their loyalty to Britain. However, the king rejected it and the colonists had no choice but to call upon their militias and fight back as best as they could.

            In conclusion, the reasons behind the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence were reasons of morality and the prevention of injustice. The main reason behind the revolution was the King’s disregard for the colonist’s natural rights. According to John Locke those rights are Life, Liberty, and Property. In taxing the colonists without representation in parliament of any kind, they were stripping the Americans of their right to property. In spite of their attempts to communicate with the King, the colonists still received many unfair taxes. The colonists used did what they could to avoid conflict but Britain rejected that option and chose to fight a bloody war.