In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson provided a list of "facts to be submitted to a candid world" to demonstrate that the British king had been seeking to establish "an absolute Tyranny over these States" (the colonial states which were declaring their independence).
Jefferson's list included items such as:
The king refused to assent to laws that were wholesome and necessary for the public good.
The king had forbidden colonial governors to enact laws or implement laws without his assent (which, as the prior point noted, he was in no hurry to give).
The king forced people to give up their rights to legislative assembly or forced legislative bodies to meet in difficult places that imposed hardships on them.
The king dissolved legislative assemblies and then refused for a long time to have other assemblies elected.
The king obstructed justice in the colonies and made judges dependent on his will alone for their salaries and their tenure in office.
The king kept standing armies in place in the colonies in peacetime, without the consent of the colonial legislatures.
The king imposed taxes without the colonists' consent.
These and additional items listed in the Declaration were meant to support the colonies' position that tyranny was standard operating procedure by the British monarchy, and therefore revolution was justified.
RIGHTS
The list of grievances gives an idea of the kinds of rights the colonists believed all citizens should have. Protections against the sort of things listed in the grievances would later be included in the US Constitution. The most famous statement about rights in the Declaration of Independence is this classic line: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "
