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Marco A. Rosas
Ms. Angulo
English 11
22 November 2013
Oppression, No More
Papers, since they have been invented many things have been written on them: good
things, bad things, music, poems, and letters, all you can think of. They all have an importance to
the authors, but has a paper and its contents ever been so important that they were valued by an
entire nation? A document so significant it changed history? The answer is yes, there has been
such a paper, and the world knows it as the United States Declaration of Independence. The
Declaration of Independence had a great impact on the colonies because it convinced the
colonists that they should fight off the tyranny of the British Empire and the empire itself, but it
did it with logic and reason rather than just emotion. The French and Indian War the British had
been trying to gain more power over the colonies by passing numerous acts which the colonists
despised. This led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence in which reason and logic
was dominant and where we find the reasons the colonies decided to be free. The impact of the
Declaration was not only felt after it was passed and adopted, but also many years later. Finally,
the Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents the U.S. has ever had
because it showed that people will fight for whats right and for the freedom of many.
When describing the pre-revolutionary and the revolutionary era, images of tyranny and
people fighting against it come to mind. The French and Indian War from 1754 to 1763 led to
Britain ending up in debt for all the money wasted on the war; because of this they began to
demand more from the colonies. As if this wasnt enough, the British Parliament passed the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 which prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains
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(Kelly). The proclamation did not give any protection to the colonists at all, and this really
angered the colonists. Yet, the colonists kept on living their lives with no acrimony towards the
king. One year later, however, Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the
colonies. On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed The Sugar Act which was a modified version of
the Sugar and Molasses Act which had been passed the previous year (Kindig). However, unlike
its predecessor, The Sugar Act listed more foreign goods to be taxed including sugar, certain
wines, coffee, pimiento, cambric and printed calico; it also regulated the export of lumber and
iron (Kindig). The colonists were enraged because of all the things they now had to pay taxes
and because Britain really enforced the law which meant they could not smuggle the goods. This
was just the beginning of many acts to come; George III really wanted to have control over the
colonies. He passed The Currency Act on September 1, 1764. This act banned the colonies from
making and issuing paper money or any bills of credit (Garcia). This angered the colonists even
more, because since they had their own monetary system and this act just threw it off. Yet, there
was more to come, things that would exceed the colonists limits. One of these things was the
Quartering Act of 1765 which demanded colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there
wasnt enough room in the barracks (Garcia). Even though this did anger the colonists, the piece
of legislation that absolutely upset the colonists was The Stamp Act of 1765 which required
stamps to be purchased and included on many documents such as paper, playing cards, legal
document, etc. This was the first direct tax the British had imposed on the colonies (Garcia). In
response, 27 delegates of the colonies met in New York City, and wrote a statement of rights and
grievances against Britain. Secrets organizations were created, such as The Sons of Liberty and
The Daughters of Liberty. Events began to escalate with the passage of The Townshend Acts in
1767. Some of these taxes were created to help British Officials become independent from the
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colonists by providing them a source of income. To enforce the laws and stop the smuggling of
goods, British soldiers started to be placed on ports and cities. The first British troops arrived in
Boston in October 1768 and from then onwards there was continuous antagonism between the
people of Boston and those trying to enforce the King's rule (Boston Massacre Historical
Society). This fights led to The Boston Massacre in March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired
into a rioting crowd and killed five men. Even after all of this, the Parliament and King George
III had the guts to pass The Tea Act, which added a tax on tea. This was just the worst thing they
could have done because after the colonists just lost it, they could take no more and The Boston
Tea Party was the perfect example of this. Also, the Battle of Lexington and Concord which
ignited the revolutionary war and with all the events previously discussed, The Declaration of
Independence was created and with it a new nation that in time would become one of the greatest
nations that there has been in this world, The United States.
One important document to emerge from the pre-revolutionary era was The Declaration
of Independence. The Declaration of Independence officially declared the colonies as free and no
longer part of the British Empire. In anticipation of a vote for independence the declaration was
appointed to the Committee of Five, which included: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger
Sherman, Robert R. Livingston and Thomas Jefferson (Library of Congress).Although the
Continental Congress appointed five people to do the job, the one who contributed the most with
his ideas and writing was Thomas Jefferson, who became known as the Father of the Declaration
of Independence.
On July 1, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, and on the following day
12 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of Richard Henry Lees motion for independence. The
delegates then spent the next two days debating and revising the language of the draft by Thomas
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Jefferson. On July 4, Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, and as a
result the date is celebrated as Independence Day (Harrison). The Declaration of Independence
had a great importance to the colonies because it gave the colonists the fuel they needed to fight
against the British and it also proved to the British that the colonists were determined to end the
unscrupulous treatment even if it meant an all-out war against one of the greatest powers at the
time. The Declaration also had a great significance because it showed that as David, you needed
to be smart and have a lot of courage to stand up against the mighty Goliath, in this case Britain.
The way Jefferson and the other writers were very smart was that they did not use emotions or
feelings of hate, but rather facts. Although the declaration is not officially divided into sections it
is commonly referred to in five distinct parts: the introduction, the preamble, the indictment to
the King, the denunciation and the conclusion (Summary of the Declaration of Independence.).
The introduction refers to the Laws of Nature and Natures God entitling the people to assume
any type of political independence. It also states that the reason for independence must be of
reasonable causes. The preamble states that there are rights that the government cannot and
should never violate; which include Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Thse were
adopted form John Locke, however, instead of the pursuit of Happiness, the original idea was
the right to own land, but this would mean everyone in the U.S. would have to own land, and that
was not good for the congress whom owned big quantities of land. The indictment is where King
George III is accused of twenty seven abuses against the colonies, one of the most famous and
that caused the most indictment was, For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent. The
denunciation is the portion of the Declaration of Independence which basically covers and
finishes their case for separating from England in the hopes for a peaceful resolution, but with
the clear understanding that war is almost inevitable (Summary of the Declaration of
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Independence.). The conclusion, is the final statement in which the Congress clearly states that
the colonies are now free of any British power, these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to
be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British
Crown. This declaration had a great impact on society because it changed the social and
political ways of the now new nation. Socially, there were families, such as Franklin and his son,
who separated from each other because some were still loyal to the King and political because a
Democracy was created. This document was and it is one of the most important documents, not
only for the U.S. but for other nations who wanted freedom.
The Declaration of Independence is not only important because of the impact it had in the
revolutionary era, but also because of the impact it had in the modern world. The declaration had
a great impact socially and politically in the nation that had just been created. The Declaration of
Independence was not accepted by all colonists, about two-thirds of the population was in favor
of it, while one-third, was against it (Impact of Declaration of Independence). These parts of
the population were known as loyalists since they remained loyal to King George III. One of the
most famous loyalists was William Franklin, the son of Benjamin Franklin who is a founding
father of the U.S. and a well-known patriot. Since they both had different opinions and views
they ended up separating from each other. This is a perfect example of what happened to many
other families that had different views on what was going on. It also impacted the political part
of the colonies since it united them into one nation and under one government. Although the
political changes were not immediate they were very important. The declaration did not only
have an impact on the U.S. but it did world-wide. After the translation of the Declaration of
Independence into several foreign languages, many countries started questioning their own
government (Impact of Declaration of Independence). The Declaration of Independence has
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also left lasting effects upon other foreign nations, including the French Declaration of the Rights
of Man and Citizen and the Declaration of Independence for the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam (Effects of the Declaration of Independence). The declaration did more than it was
intended to, it shaped the new nation socially and politically and it helped other nations to do the
same. It opened their eyes to make them see and everyone see that oppression against the
governed is not right, that when the people are being pushed down people should stand up
because everyone have rights, rights that no man, no government, no one can take away.
As readers have seen one single paper can be significant, so much that it can change
history forever. The Declaration of Independence which fueled the colonists to fight against the
reign of tyranny and doing so with logic and reason; is a great example of one of these papers. It
was born the day that the King decided that he wanted full control over the colonies. Everyone
knows that when people are being oppressed they will fight back, and the colonies did so with
The Declaration of Independence; they started the fight like gentlemen, with their words rather
than with their fists. The Declaration right away impacted the social and political ways of the
colonies, and years after it gave other nations inspiration to fight back. After all of what has
happened the Declaration of Independence is surely one of the most important documents in
history. Finally, paper can be found anywhere, what happens to them and the importance they
have is all up to their authors.




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Works Cited
Garcia, Jesus. Creating America: a history of the United States. Evanston, Ill.: McDougal Littell,
2005. Print.
"Summary of the Declaration of Independence." Independence Day Fun RSS. Independence Day
Fun, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://www.independencedayfun.com/263/summary-of-the-
declaration-of-independence>.
Kelly, Martin . "Declaration of Independence - Background." About.com American History.
about.com, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
<http://americanhistory.about.com/od/declarationofindependence/a/declaration_sg_2.htm>.
Kindig, Thomas. "The Sugar Act." The Sugar Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/sugaract.htm>
Harrison, Elizabeth . "9 Things You May Not Know About the Declaration of Independence."
History.com. A&E Television Networks, 4 July 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-declaration-of-
independence>.
Boston Massacre Historical Society. "Boston Massacre Historical Society." Boston Massacre
Historical Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bostonmassacre.net/>.
"Impact of Declaration of Independence." Impact of Declaration of Independence. Maps of
World, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/american-
revolution/declaration-impact.html>.
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"Effects of the Declaration of Independence." Independence Day Fun RSS. Independence Day
Fun, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.independencedayfun.com/268/effects-of-the-
declaration-of-independence/>.
Library of Congress. "Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents." Declaring
Independence: Drafting the Documents. Library of Congress, 23 July 2012. Web. 21 Nov.
2013. <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara3.html>.