What is each complain about? Write a brief description of each complaint in your own words.
<u>Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us</u>: To find out why this was added to the Declaration of Independence, we must first look at history. Before the years of the American Revolution, there was a war fought now commonly known as the <em>French and Indian War</em>. Following British intervention to help her colony, large amounts of British troops were sent to help stave the invasion. This led to a large build-up of troops that could not return home quickly, leading to the Quartering Act, which forced colonists to quarter British troops in their houses. This became unpopular, for many colonists believed that there was no need for a sudden influx of troops inside their colonies.
<u>Cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:</u> To ensure that France (then ruled by Napoleon) did not have access to trade outside of Europe, as well as making sure that Britain got 100% of the profit from her American colonies, Britain issued a law that made it so that her American colonies could only trade with the Empire. This became extremely unpopular, and led to the creation of blockade-runners and an increase in smugglers.
<u>Imposing Taxes on us without our consent:</u> As we can see from the outcome of the French-Indian war, while Britain won the war, they carried a heavy-debt that needed to be payed off. As the colonists generally paid less taxes then those who lived in Britain, the U.K and Parliament decided to impose taxes on the colonies to lighten the load of their citizens who still live in the mainland.
Who is "He", that the colonists refer to in the grievances?
The "He" is referring to generally the King of Britain (as well as the Parliament under him), who was the leader that imposed these taxes and restrictions on the 13 colonies.
Who are the colonists blaming for their grievances? Why do you think they are blaming him?
The colonists are blaming the King of Britain for their grievances, for while the Parliament creates the law, the King of Britain passes the law. Because laws are passed by the King, so the blame is placed on the King for passing the bills.
