What led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence?

There were many events that led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. After the French and Indian War ended, the British passed laws that upset the colonists. The Proclamation of 1763 prevented the colonists from moving to the new lands we got from France as a result of French and Indian War. The Quartering Act required the colonists provide housing for the troops that would enforce this law. The colonists didn’t want to have to provide housing for troops to enforce a law they didn’t want or like.

As time passed, the British wanted the colonists to pay for some of the costs of running the colonies. When the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts were passed, the colonists claimed these laws weren’t legal because the colonists didn’t have representatives in Parliament that could speak about and then vote on these proposed taxes. The colonists claimed their rights were being violated.

When events became more aggressive and violent, the relationship between the colonists and Great Britain deteriorated further. Five colonists were killed at the Boston Massacre. When the colonists protested the Tea Act by dumping tea into Boston Harbor, the British responded with the Intolerable Acts. The colonists refused to obey these laws. The colonists also formed their own militias.

When fighting broke out in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord, more people believed independence was going to be a reality. The rejection of the Olive Branch Petition and the publication of Common Sense moved us closer toward declaring independence. Eventually, the Second Continental Congress debated resolutions regarding independence. While this was going on, the Declaration of Independence was being written. It was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The United States declared its independence from Great Britain with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.