After a rather serious disagreement with neighbors and the money problems that came with it, a parent decides to take a more active role governing his nearly grown son, who has enjoyed too much independence over the past 150 years. The son reacts poorly, ultimately cutting ties with home — a poor choice in the parent’s view.
That, in a nutshell, is the story of the American Revolution. And that is the perspective from which to answer the question: “Were the British really that bad?”
Compared to the dictators and totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, British rule in 1776 seems almost mild. Parliament imposed a few unpopular taxes, cracked down on smuggling and expected the colonies to contribute their share to imperial defense.
For their part, the colonists disliked taxes and British-tea monopolies, and they resisted contributing to European wars. Yet, that interpretation misses the deeper political conflict at the heart of the American Revolution.
The American colonists came slowly to the idea of independence, particularly outside of New England. They were loyal British subjects who considered themselves entitled to the traditional rights of Englishmen.
The colonists had largely governed themselves for more than 150 years. They maintained their own legislatures, imposed their own taxes and managed their own internal affairs with relatively little interference from London.
In many ways, the relationship resembled absentee parenting. Britain had been distant for generations, literally, allowing the colonies tremendous freedom to develop their own traditions of self-government, functioning political institutions and thriving local economies. By the mid-1700s, however, the colonies were no longer children.
What led to the Declaration of Independence?
After the 10-year French and Indian War ended in 1763, Britain suddenly decided to become a far more involved parent. Imagine absentee Mom and Dad showing up when their children are on the cusp of adulthood and announcing new rules. Even fairly reasonable rules, as in “It’s time to start contributing to household finances,” would likely produce resentment. Such was the imperial crisis.
But the problem was not just taxation. The Stamp Act, Townshend Acts and Tea Act certainly angered the colonists, but the deeper issue was authority. Americans increasingly believed Parliament lacked the constitutional right to govern their internal affairs directly. Taxation without representation was a violation of colonial self-government.
The colonists reacted, not by immediately declaring independence, but by repeatedly petitioning for constitutional compromises and seeking reconciliation. Many colonial leaders argued for what became known as the “dominion theory”: the king could remain sovereign over the empire, but local legislatures should govern local affairs. Ironically, this resembles the structure Britain would later adopt successfully in Canada and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
Britain’s response to colonial dissent ultimately turned resistance into revolution. For example, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts of 1774 in reaction to the Boston Tea Party — a relatively isolated act of protest by a group of Boston radicals — and which proved to be a catastrophic overreaction. The Intolerable Acts closed Boston Harbor, suspended Massachusetts self-government, undermined trials by jury, and forced colonists to quarter British troops. This military occupation would eventually lead to battles in Lexington and Concord.
Even colonists who disliked the antics of the Boston Tea Party, feeling that New Englanders were troublemakers, were alarmed. If Britain could eliminate self-government in Massachusetts and wage war on British subjects, what would stop it from doing the same in Virginia or South Carolina?
The 27 grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence were not merely propaganda. They were a list of legitimate complaints detailing the systematic eradication of political liberties long enjoyed by Americans. The British had ceased behaving like a constitutional government and had devolved into tyranny.
So were the British really that bad? By the standards of the 18th century, perhaps not. But they made the oldest parenting mistake in the book — ignoring their children for years, then trying to control them when it was already too late. The colonists did not simply want lower taxes. They wanted to be treated as adults. Britain’s failure to recognize that reality transformed a family dispute into a revolution that would change the world.
This bit of history is courtesy of the Center for constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University. Learn more about how CCS is marking the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary.