Opinion: America’s independence

”Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America.”

— Thomas Jefferson, Nov. 29, 1775

The above quotation is from a letter to John Randolph, a planter and legislator from Roanoke, VA. He was a traditionalist, and Jefferson was expressing his opposition to the tradition of yielding to the proclamations of the British government. Less than seven months later, Benjamin Franklin convinced Jefferson to write the first draft of a document that we now refer to as the Declaration of Independence.

Why Issue the Declaration?

In order to understand the Declaration of Independence fully, we need to know that the war between the United States and Great Britain was already underway. For years, tensions had been building between the residents of the 13 American colonies and British authorities. In 1765, Great Britain imposed the Stamp Act on American colonists. This edict demanded that colonists print all documents, even playing cards, on stamped paper produced in London. The tax on the paper had to be paid in British currency. 

Two years later, Americans were subjected to the Townshend Act, which required them to pay taxes to Great Britain on tea, paint, and other commodities. In 1770, colonial resistance caused British soldiers to kill 5 Americans, an event that was known as the Boston Massacre.