What Led to Discontent in the American Colonies?

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Foundations Timeline

The colonists were very unhappy living under British rule because of the seven things listed above. A group of men led by Samuel Adams called themselves the Sons of Liberty. They began to protest against all of the injustices by the British government. They harassed British soldiers and agents in the colonies. Colonists began to boycott British items. In 1774, each of the colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress where they drew up a list of the colonies' rights and demands, and they sent these to King George III of Britain. They agreed to meet again in 1775 if their demands were not met.

The colonies then began assembling armies and gathering weapons and ammunition. British troops went to Concord, Massachusetts, to begin seizing weapons from the colonists. They planned to work their way through all colonies doing the same. The colonists at Lexington defended themselves, and fighting broke out. This began the American Revolution. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress met. King George III rejected all of their requests, so the delegates sent him what was known as the Olive Branch Petition, a request for delegates to meet with him to work out compromises so that war could be avoided. King George III refused and ordered the British navy to blockade the entire eastern American coast. This meant that no ships but British ships could enter or leave American ports.

Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense which explained all of this to the colonists and called for the colonists to declare their independence from Great Britain.

Think about it! What do you think Thomas Paine meant by this statement?

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil."

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson and the Second Continental Congress wrote the Declaration of Independence and sent this to King George III. It stated that "all men are created equal" and that the colonies should be given their independence and should be allowed to rule themselves. The Declaration was written in four parts. It begins with its statement of purpose (to justify the coming move for independence from Britain and to put forth the founding principles of the new country). It then gives a description of basic human rights ("right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"). Next, the declaration provides a basic description of the complaints against King George III and, last, is a statement of the colonists' determination to gain independence. In 1783, Britain officially recognized the United States' independence.

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