Franklin`s extensive work in journalism, science, and invention often obscures his many contributions to the creation of the Constitution and the protection of American freedoms. “. A unanimous statement. Often we know that a document is important, and we may understand why the document is important, but the details of the message are lost as decades (and even centuries) develop between us and the past. How many of you have heard or read the Declaration of Independence and wondered what each complaint (or complaint) relates to? What were Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration Committee referring to when they wrote this document, which was ultimately an incredible act of betrayal of their king and their country? As you read this, you will see the story through their eyes as you discover the meaning behind the words. Complaint 1 “He refused to consent to the most salutary and necessary laws for the common good.” This usually refers to whenever colonial legislators passed domestic laws that the British Parliament did not want to ratify. Complaint 2 “It prohibited its governors from passing laws of immediate and urgent importance unless their application was suspended until its consent was obtained; And when he was suspended, he absolutely did not take care of her. An indication that colonial autonomy has been abolished; Royal governors were appointed by England, and parliament sometimes ordered their governors not to ratify laws with which they disagreed. Complaint 3 “He refused to pass other laws to house large neighborhoods of people unless those people renounced the right of representation in the Legislative Assembly, a right invaluable to them and impressive only to tyrants.” Another reference to Parliament`s attempt to restrict colonial self-government. The reference to the “renunciation of the right to representation in the Legislative Assembly” refers to Parliament`s attempt to dictate internal regulations in the colonies, such as the imposition of settlements. When settlers submitted to the internal tax by parliament, they submitted to the “tax without representation.” Complaint 4 “He summoned legislative bodies to unusual, troublesome places and far from filing their public records, for the sole purpose of tiring them to comply with his actions. This is a direct reference to the Massachusetts Government Act of 1774 (known in the colonies as “The Intolerable Acts”), which was passed by the Legislature after the Boston Tea Party. He revoked the Charter of the Colony of 1691, appointed General Thomas Gage military governor, and allowed him to dissolve the current legislature, appoint a new one, and force it to meet wherever he wished.
Complaint 5 “He repeatedly dissolved the House of Representatives because he resisted with male determination his interference in the rights of the people. As tensions between the colonies and England increased, royal governors had the power to suspend and/or dismiss all colonial legislators who ignored parliamentary laws or refused to respond to parliamentary laws with which they disagreed, or when expressing views considered subversive to the British government. The New York legislature was deposed in 1767 and 1769 for refusing to apply the Quartering Act to British troops in the colony. It wasn`t until 1771 that a New York legislature finally followed through on the measure. Complaint 6 “He has long refused to let others vote after such a dissolution; where the legislative powers, incapable of destruction, have returned to the whole people to be exercised; the State, which in the meantime remains exposed to all the dangers of invasion from the outside and to internal convulsions. This is based on the fifth complaint. Sometimes royal governors simply suspended the legislature to force it to comply, as no internal government could be put in place during the suspension of the legislature. Complaint 7 “He tried to prevent the population of these States; to this end, obstruct the application of the laws on the naturalization of aliens; refuse to bypass others to encourage their migration and improve conditions for further land acquisitions.” The first part deals with the repeal of the Plantations Act of 1740 by Parliament in 1773. The Plantation Act gave each colony the right to enact laws naturalizing immigrants in its colony. It was considered another example of the abolition of colonial autonomy by Parliament. The second part on “new land credits” is the reference to the Proclamation Line of 1763 and the Demarcation Line Treaty of 1768.
Complaint 8 “He obstructed the administration of justice by refusing to consent to laws creating judicial powers.” This is another part of the “intolerable actions” against MA. In 1774, Parliament abolished the colony`s right to choose and appoint its own judges and appointed the judges themselves. Complaint 9 “He made the judges dependent on his will only for the duration of their term of office and the amount and payment of their salaries.” A follow-up to the above complaint. Since the king/parliament appointed the judges, they also paid the judges directly, instead of the judges receiving their salaries from the colony. The settlers feared that this would result in judges no longer being truly impartial, as they wanted to make Parliament happy to ensure that they continued to be paid (and keep their jobs). Complaint 10 “He set up a variety of new offices and sent swarms of officers here to harass our people and eat their substance.” These are all the laws that Parliament has attempted to pass to regulate the internal affairs of the colonies, which would require newly appointed officials to implement them. The best known to the public would be those who were responsible for issuing the stamps under the Stamp Act tax. Lamentation 11 “He has kept armies standing among us in peacetime, without the consent of our legislators. Anyone growing up under English law had an inherent distrust of full-time professional armies, as they were seen as potential tools that could be used by corrupt officials to enforce martial law and help potential dictators.
As for the colonists, with the French defeat and the (relatively) peaceful Indian borders, there was no longer any need for British troops in the colonies. They refused to recognize that England, with a considerably expanded empire, would have to maintain a military force in the colonies in order to maintain peaceful borders with the Indians and other European powers. Trial 12 “He made the army independent and superior to civilian power.” This is another direct reference to “The Intolerable Acts” introduced in Massachusetts after the Tea Party. General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of the British armed forces in America, was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts, and the army was to be deployed to enforce the law if necessary.