Confronting a Long Train of Abuses and Usurpations: America Submits Facts To a Candid World by a Declaration of Independence
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.— Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”
The Declaration of Independence serves as the cornerstone of our nation, and the men who created this statement of natural rights did not do so lightly. Their causes to break from Great Britain were not “light and transient causes” and they wanted to make sure that the world who was going to be reading this declaration would understand the events and circumstances that brought the colonies to the point of separation in the summer of 1776.
The above portion of the Declaration shows us the point in the document where the necessary change that is required by the colonies should be independence, as well as showing how we have arrived at this point and who is to blame. The document had previously stated that we were separating from Great Britain and started to explain the justification for doing so. It also details that the colonies are not taking this usurpation lightly, but have strong reasons for doing so. The Declaration details that most people throughout history have been content to suffer under oppressive forms of government, but these men are not. In this section, the writers of the Declaration are submitting to the world why they will not be suffering under the rule of King George III any longer.
“A long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism..” – The colonies had been enduring what they felt were abuses and usurpations (abuses of power with no right to do so) for years. The French and Indian War had ended in 1763 and the British Empire was heavily in debt as a result. The British felt that the American colonies were going to have to shoulder some of the burden of paying this debt.
The colonies were also told where they could and could not settle by the Proclamation of 1763, which told the colonists that they could not settle West of the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists were outraged by this and the subsequent taxes and acts that followed from 1763 through the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775. The colonists, as British subjects, also felt that their rights under the English Constitution were not being recognized or respected. Some colonists also believed that King George III was abusing his power at the expense of the colonists and that, because of this, he was not fit to be their king.
“..it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
After realizing that their king had betrayed them, the colonists now felt that they needed to do something about it. They believed that not only was it their right to get rid of the king and the British Empire as their rulers: it was their duty! They felt called to do this for themselves and the future generations of their new nation. The king’s actions had led the colonists to this place in history and their sense of betrayal was felt very heavily. The colonies then adopted measures to prevent these actions from continuing. Those who boycotted British goods and protested the king and Parliament’s legislation believed they were being deprived of their rights as free Englishmen and that they deserved representation by the British Parliament as a voice for their concerns as well. They took action when those rights were not given to them and those actions would lead the colonists towards revolution.
“Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.”
Most colonists had tried to maintain patience throughout the various acts of Parliament and the effects and consequences that had resulted from them. That patience partially came from the fact that most colonists believed a reconciliation would occur with the King. They wanted that to happen. They were British subjects and hoped for an amicable reunion. However, after several acts, taxes and policies that the colonists felt were unfair and oppressive of their rights as English subjects, they had had enough and felt that it was time to do something to remedy it. The colonist arrived at the conclusion that they needed to change their situation. By the summer of 1776, after over a year of open warfare, it was difficult, if not impossible to reconcile with the mother country. The colonists wanted to escape an oppressive government that they believed was not respecting them or looking out for them; they wanted a better life for themselves and their future ancestors. The results of that oppression now made it absolutely necessary for the colonists to change their form of government from a monarchy to, eventually, a republic.
“The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”
In the recent years of history (the 1760s and 1770s), the actions of the King and Parliament indicated to the colonists that England was trying to oppress them. An objective of these actions was to harm and mistreat the colonies. Furthermore, King George III also had an objective to rule as a tyrant. As a result of these actions, the colonies were now going to leave the British Empire.
“To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”
The Declaration will now be transitioning to a list of grievances that will give the evidence to the world that will show how the colonists had been suffering under this monarch and his actions. These facts attempt to prove that the king is an oppressive ruler and an unfit king to these colonies. They will also attempt to show that he has been and will continue to be, an oppressive and tyrannical ruler, which is why we are declaring our independence.
Val Crofts serves as Chief Education and Programs Officer at the American Village in Montevallo, Alabama. Val previously taught high school U.S. History, U.S. Military History and AP U.S. Government for 19 years in Wisconsin, and was recipient of the DAR Outstanding U.S. History Teacher of the Year for the state of Wisconsin in 2019-20. Val also taught for the Wisconsin Virtual School as a social studies teacher for 9 years. He is also a proud member of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission (America 250), which is currently planning events to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence.
Podcast by Maureen Quinn
I believe these lines from the Declaration are perhaps the most important lines ever written, and are the key to our Declaration. Our government is now tettering on the edge of despotism.. What will our recourse be? We must fight through the courts and through our state legislatures.. Through elections, we can throw off such governments, and provide the new guards for our future security. This has never been more important.