The United States sought to break free from British rule, severing emotional and political ties with the reigning monarchy after the long- and short-term disagreements over intellectual, economic, and political ideals. This paper analyzes the primary motivators that promoted America’s founding fathers to secure self-rule and sustain the US political culture without interference from Britain. The central argument is that Americans could only achieve virtuous self-governance by eradicating influences from the ruling monarchs.
Freedom from political influence by a foreign nation was the most significant motivator towards American independence. Locke and Wright (2019) stated that American colonists realized Britain’s political failures and sought to devise their political institutions. Moreover, male colonists who joined the ruling elites realized that monarchs used conspiracies and tyranny to corrupt power and undermined virtuous leadership (Locke & Wright, 2019). The implication is that Americans declared independence to secure their political culture by neutralizing Britain’s dominance. (5).
Americans declared independence to secure self-governance, which was the only way to control the unfair economic pressure imposed by Britain. Economic strain on Americans resulted from unfair legislation such as the Sugar and Stamp Acts, which were vehicles for overburdening colonists with tax (Locke & Wright, 2019). Three categories of resistance that magnified the need for independence were the elite’s legislative resistance, an economic uprising by merchants, and local protests from ordinary civilians (Locke & Wright, 2019). Unscrupulous economic reforms by the British reflect unvirtuous leadership, which Americans had to reform only through independence. (5).
Americans could only achieve virtuous self-governance by eradicating influences from the ruling monarchs. The need for political freedom, secured self-governance, and economic reprieve from over-taxation were reasons for the declaration of independence. Americans believed that virtuous leadership was the most critical precedence to self-governance, an attribute that Britons failed to demonstrate. Therefore, the founding fathers picked inspiration from colonizers’ irrational economic oppressions, political corruption, and lack of freedom to push for US independence.
Reference
Locke, J. L., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2019). The American yawp: A massively collaborative open US history textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877. Stanford University Press.