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Why did about one third of the colonists choose not to take sides on declaring independence from Great Britain?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
In any revolution the majority do not wish to become involved. Most revolutions in history have been carried out by a small but determined part of the general population. The American revolution was about taxation. The taxation was imposed to pay for the very high costs of protecting the British settlers in America from the French and Native Indians. The settlers could not or would not defend themselves. So it was by no means clear that the uprising was justified or that the colonies would be able survive the combined threat from the French army and native population. If the New England colonies had not been so determined the other colonies would have been happy with the situation as it was.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
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Why does thomas Jefferson choose to end the declaration of independence with these words?
To show the depth of the colonists' commitment to independence
What caused colonists to break away from Britain?
The reasons colonists separated from Britain are numerous. King George III would not let the colonists govern themselves. After the colonial protests against the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, saying that the colonists had to do whatever Parliament said. Britain would not allow colonists to trade with whoever they wanted. They believed in mercantilism, the theory that colonies exist for the sake of the mother country. Therefore they passed the Navigation Acts, a series of laws that made the colonists only allowed to trade with England. This upset the colonists. They wanted the right to choose who they sold to. Also, to pay for the French and Indian War, they had to raise taxes on the colonies. They passed the Sugar Act, the first act that was passed to raise money, not control trade. King George and Parliament merely saw it as another tax, and a just one, but the colonies did not have any representatives in Parliament, and they saw it as unfair. Protesting and smuggling led to the Sugar Act being repealed, only to be replaced by the Stamp Act. That was when the Declaratory Act was passed. After that came a succession of taxes, each disliked by colonists: the Townshend Acts, which taxed lead, paper, paint, tea, etc., and then the Tea Act, which came after colonial protests caused Parliament to repeal all of the Townshend Acts except the one on tea. This caused the Boston Tea Party. To respond, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, which canceled the Massachusetts charter, closed Boston harbor, and forced colonists to quarter soldiers in their homes. The last straw before fighting broke out was when the British tried to steal American guns and ammunition. Paul Revere and William Dawes warned the colonists, and they met the British in battle in Lexington and Concord. Then King George ignored the Olive Branch Petition, a peace treaty sent by colonists. All of these contributed to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. For a list by the colonists themselves, read the second section of the Declaration.
How did the Declaration of Independence start?
It started by Great Britain violating there rules and not giving citizens the right to do what ever they choose like what religion. So people moved away from Great Britain and started a new country made the declaration of Independence.
Why did the American colonists choose to break from England?
The American colonists chose to break to break apart form England because of the unfair taxes such as the Coercive Acts- stamp, tea, etc.- and the trade restrictions that England placed on them through mercantilism.
Why did African Americans choose to be loyalist or patriots?
They beleved the patriots would never win the war
Why does thomas Jefferson choose to end the declaration of independence with these words?
To show the depth of the colonists' commitment to independence
Why did the colonists omit some of the colonial actions in the declaration?
Why did the the colonists choose to omit se colonial actions in the declaration of independence
Why was it hard for colonists to choose sides during the signing of the declaration of independence?
n.The war between the American colonies and Great Britain (1775-1783), leading to the formation of the independent United States.Read more: american-revolution
What influence did the pamphlet common sense have on the colonist?
It impacted the colonists by helping them choose to go to war or not to go to war. The pamphlet 'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine provided a list of positive reasons why the colonists should approve and get behind the war for independence. The pamphlet was written almost a full year after armed conflict began in the United States (between the colonists/colonies and Great Brittan), so it did not provide reason to start the war, only reasons for unsure colonists to back it.
What is a state in which the citizens choose representatives to run the government?
The type of government in which citizens choose representatives to run the government is a representative government. This is the type of government that the United States borrowed from Greece once their independence from Great Britain was obtained.
Why you choose Great Britain?
not choose born here
Why did the some colonist choose the side of patriots?
Some colonists were loyalist for same reason some Americans are Republican today, they like being subservient and doing as they are told instead of thinking for themselves
How does Britain choose its leader?
Political parties choose their leader by democratic means.
Why were other colonists able to choose their work and others not?
some could not pay for work so they could not choose
What did many colonists choose to do about the proclamation?
The colonist rebeled against the proclamation.
How did Sudan gain it's independence?
Both Britain and Egypt claimed dominion over Sudan during the first half of the 20th century. Due to a lot of strife in the region, both of these countries decided to allow Sudan to choose whether or not they wanted independence. A the beginning of 1956, the new country of Sudan raised its flag for the first time, having voted for independence.
What does the term taxayion without representation means?
"Taxation without representation!" was a slogan used by the American colonies leading up to and during the Revolutionary War for independence from Great Britain. Though the colonies had to pay taxes to Great Britain, they were not allowed to choose their own colonial representatives to the British Parliament.
