Moral Justifications

Moral Justifications

                The American Revolution was not started by an illogically thinking mob of colonist but was constructed by a moral people who were justified by God. To understand what made the Founding Fathers and the colonies morally justified in their independence we have to take a look at what it is that a government such as Great Britain’s, is suppose to do for its citizens. Then we must understand how Britain was infringing on what they had no right to infringe on. Lastly we will see how the colonists clearly stated their wrongs and sought for redress.

            Why is it that people want a government? The answer can be given by looking at the reasons for government. In a talk by Ezra T. Benson, The Proper Role of Government, Benson claims that government is created to protect the rights of its citizens. We all have rights because we are God’s children. Even without an established government all mankind has the right to life, liberty, and property. They are inherent to life. We call these Natural Rights. The Government can only exercise power granted them by the governed. “This means, then, that the proper function of government is limited only to those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to act” (Benson). Great Britain infringed upon the Natural Rights of the colonies and did that which was unjust to do. Though Ezra T. Benson came much later the Founding Fathers understood their Natural Rights.

            All men have the right of life. No man should be able to take the life of another unless he does so for the protection of his own rights. In 1770 the British troops that were placed in Boston had a tough time keeping the frustrated colonists under control. Tension was high and the Colonists were tired of British abuses. The colonists in their anger threw snow balls at the British troops. In response the British troops opened fire on the colonists. Three colonists died and many others were wounded. The British troops had taken life from the protesters. There was no justification for that response. The fact that the British troops were there in the first place was a threat against the lives of the colonists.

The liberties of the colonists were also taken. Since arriving in the America’s the pilgrims had their own colonial governments. The British disbanded the Assemblies and even revoke some of the charters of the colonies. The Coercive Acts brought Massachusetts government under royal rule. Also as part of the Coercive act the Administration of Justice Act was passed which stated that royal officials no longer had to be tried in the colonies but brought back to Britain. This act aloud for the royal offices to stomp on the liberties of the colonists in any way they wanted to without the fear of having to stand trial by them.  Instead they were tried by friends of the King George the III. Another act that was passed was the Declaratory Act. This stated that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies in any way they wished. This was completely against the precedence previously established by previous kings. The colonists had always held to the fact that they could not be taxed without representation. Anything otherwise would be taken without the consent of the governed.

The Third natural Right, the right to own Property, was attacked through many attempts to tax the colonies. The Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Townsend Act were all passed to try to pay off the debt incurred by Britain from the French War. They felt that the colonies should help to pay off these debts. The colonists helped to fight in the war and felt they did their duty. They had given their lives and property to help the Mother Land. To be taxed again and without the approval of their legislator was nothing but theft by Parliament. It took away the hard earned property of the colonists. The opposition wasn’t so much that the colonists didn’t want to help because they still felt that they were British subjects but what bothered them was how the British put the responsibility solely on the colonies. The Stamp Act made any document without a stamp illegal. This means all the political papers, newspapers and other documents had a direct tax. This again went against precedence. The colonists were outraged.

            In response to these wrongs the Founding Fathers kept great composure. They tried to fix the problems between their colonies and Britain. Samuel Adams, one of our Founding Fathers, got the people of Boston to Boycott British goods as a peaceful way to oppose the injustices. Adams then sent out a circulatory letter and helped create committees of correspondence to unite the colonies and show the British that they were all together in the boycotts and protests. They supported groups like the Sons of Liberty, a political organization, which was made to protest acts such as the Stamp Act. They did so without getting out of control. In some cases action had to be taken like the Boston Tea Party for instance. A group of Colonists dressed as Indians dumped creates of tea into the Boston Harbor. Even this however was done with cool, calculated thought as opposed to mob chaos.

            The Founding Fathers met in Congressional Conventions where they repeatedly wrote to the King and Parliament trying to resolve differences. One such writing was the Olive Branch Petition, written by Thomas Jefferson, which stated that the colonist were still loyal to the crown but would fight for their rights.

John Dickinson in his Letters from a Farmer stated the Founding Fathers efforts best. Dickinson believed first in petitioning, then in boycotts and then with less peaceful mean while keeping dignity. The Founding Fathers made all such attempts in their quest to protect their rights. The British leaders however did not understand the Rule of Law.

The Rule of Law is that not even the leaders of the government are above the law. Parliament and King George the III placed themselves above the laws of the colonists and above the constitution. They thought they could take the rights guaranteed by the British Constitution from the colonists.

The Founding Fathers and the colonists where continually abused. Their Government was trampling their Natural Rights. In response those noble men petitioned, boycotted, and did all that was in their means to fix the problems. The Crown and Parliament thought it above the laws that should have protected the colonists. All this is shows how the Founding Fathers and the colonies were justified in declaring their independence from a government who misused the powers given it.                   

Works cited

The Proper role of Government, Ezra Taft Benson, Published in 1968.