Being free from the control of another, or others, is what Americans celebrate
on the Independence Day holiday. We celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of
Independence, and the enormous efforts, lives lost, and ultimate courage of many
Americans, allowing citizens of the United States to live freely. From 1775 to
1783, Americans fought for our independence, and the right to govern ourselves.
Eight years full of protest, battle, and eventually, the Revolutionary War. It
was indeed a revolution, and Americans today enjoy the freedoms from another
ruling country, because of the American colonist's courage and enduring goal of
independence for its people.
Great Britain governed the colonies in 1764. Parliament, Great Britain's
governing body, initiated unrest in the colonies, by increasing tariffs, or
taxes, on goods or services imported, known as The Sugar Act. Next came the
Quartering Act, which forced colonists to supply housing to British soldiers,
and The Stamp Act, requiring the colonists to pay extra taxes on paper goods.
Because these taxes, along with the Tea Tax, seemed unjust, The Sons of Liberty
formed, staging demonstrations on behalf of the colonists. Their platform was
“No Taxation Without Representation”, suggesting that the colonist's be allowed
a seat and a voice, in British Parliament. While demonstrating in a group,
Crispus Attucks was shot and killed, when British soldiers fired into the group
of protesters. Known as the Boston Massacre, this event was a breaking point of
the colonists, and the beginning of the revolution.
On April 19, 1775, England attempted to destroy the colonies' ammunition in
Concord, and that stray bullet was the “shot heard 'round the world”, the
initiating sound of the American Revolution. The Olive Branch Treaty was drafted
by colonists in 1775, offering to make peace with the king, but King George
rejected the petition. The Revolutionary War began as a last effort for the
thirteen, then British colonies in North America, to become independent of the
rules of British Parliament. The Revolutionary War lasted for eight long years,
killing thousands of people. Britain attempted to make peace with the colonies
in 1778, yet realized that with the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
the colonists were determined to be a free entity. Because the Revolutionary War
involved many countries, the War finally ended in 1783, after the Articles of
Peace were ratified in France.
Although America's fight for independence continued even after the Declaration
of Independence was signed, the declaration of the thirteen colonies' rights and
liberties, let all countries know that the colonists were united as states. The
colonists of these united states would not bow to the governing rules of any
other country. They were independent, one nation, and indivisible, with
liberties and justices for all people living in their unified United States of
America.
