Were The American Colonists Justified In Waging War Essay

Words: 571
Pages: 3

In the colonial era, colonists were primarily not justified in waging war against the British because the British taxes were fair and the colonists acted like terrorists; however, the British greatly limited the colonists’ rights.
American colonists were not mainly justified in waging war because British taxation was fair. The British fought the French and Indian War for the colonists. This led to an enormous amount of money spent on the war by the British. Therefore, the colonists complaints about unfair taxation are invalid because the British needed to pay for war costs. For example, in document 2, a farmer from Pennsylvania talks about how the British taxation was for “the single purpose of levying money upon us.” On the other hand, in document 1, the purpose of the taxes were to help pay off the expenses of the French and Indian War. If the British fought for the colonists in the French and Indian War,
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Limited rights made the colonists justified in waging war. After the French and Indian War, the British set the Proclamation of 1763 which told the colonists that they could not pass the Appalachian Mountains. For the colonists, this meant the war was useless, because they only fought for the land across the mountains. This was just the start of the British giving the colonists limited rights. In document 5, the Second Continental Congress wrote about how their rights are so little in the enormous power of Parliament. They question, “What is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited power?” This shows that the colonists feel as they are so insignificant due to their limited rights. Parliament is not aware of how much power they have and how much force they are putting on the colonies. The massive power of Britain would be another reason for the colonists to rebel. Giving limited rights to the colonists was a big part of why they rebelled to