Declaration of Indepence Question?

Question

I am studying the declaration of indepence in school and i need to know some of the grievances that were in it. Please put the right answers. Thanks!

Answer 1

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let the Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Answer 2

Most of the divisions are clear by the paragraph markings in the final draft
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

But actually, I can see how their might be some confusion about how the "list of grievances" breaks down at a couple of points. Basically, it looks like this,

There are *three* sets of grievances

A) first set -TWELVE charges, beginning with "He has refused his Assent to Law. . . ."
and ending with "He has affected to render the Military independent. . . ."

B) the second set is introduced by the following statement --"He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:"

This is not a separate charge but the setup for NINE specifics, from "For quartering . . . ." to "For suspending our own legislatures" (Note that this set of charges included Parliament in the indictment, but carefully avoids acknowledging that body, even so much as by naming it!)

c) third set --FIVE more charges, beginning with "He has abdicated. . . " and ending with "He has excited domestic insurrections. . . "

This last charge actually combines two charges from Jefferson's original draft.

Thus we have a total of 26 specific charges.

These are followed by two more paragraphs that, in some sense, continue to accuse.
The first is still about the King -- "In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."

The wikipedia article seems to read it this way -- see the table at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence#Annotated_text_of_the_Declaration

But I do not think this should be viewed as a separate charge -- it is simply closing the case by saying, 'we have no choice now because the King has refused to respond to our petitions about all these matters'. And it is followed by another paragraph that asserts the same about PARLIAMENT (though again pointedly refusing to refer to it by name).

An EXCELLENT treatment of the list of grievances (how were they structured, the sources for Jefferson's original draft, etc) which does NOT include the above paragraph about redress in the count is found in Paula Maier's book *American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence*, pp. 105-23.


So, at the very most you might argue for 27 charges against the KING, but in light of the structuring of this last section I believe 26 is the proper number for the final draft. (This leaves out the issue of additional material in Jefferson's draft that was cut by Congress, esp. that regarding SLAVERY. See the draft at http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/rough.htm#transcription)

Answer 3

i will not inform you the way he got here up with the perfect version yet i visit inform you that he became no longer the in reality one whom had a say he became mearly the only whom placed it into words on paper.besides the undeniable fact that what looks to me from the structure and the unique bill of rights is that the adult males of those time wanted destiny generations to proceed to be as loose from repression as they stumbled on themselves after the revolution.the adult males of those days did not worry any authorities for that they had now created their own and to make certain that destiny generations did not stay in worry of their leaders they gave the authorities body detrimental rights in witch they could no longer eliminate from the individuals.It became that genuine objective that made this u . s . large,it truly is their one flaw that has created the corruption and greed we've right this moment.If the adult males of those time did not upload the modification procedure to their record we may nonetheless be a prosperous u . s . in line with our organic aspects, besides the undeniable fact that the adult males of that aspect knew that they did not understand all of it and without that procedure we may nonetheless have slaves witch i do no longer believe.i have self belief the adult males of that aspect wanted all generations to experience as inspite of the truth that they themselves were area of the properly desirable theory set forth and that adult males of then to boot of right this moment could percentage our freedoms with one yet another without worry from any authorities.All this questioning led me to ask the bill of rights question the following on solutions

Answer 4

I'd really suggest that you read the document. It's quite short.

Answer 5

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.