Question

Which of the following was a grievance of the American colonists against the British government in the years before the Declaration of Independence?
A. Their representatives in Parliament were given no respect.
B. The king kept his soldiers in the colonies.
C. They had to pay much higher income taxes than people in England.
D.The king had moved to the colonies.

Answer 1

Correct answer: B. The king kept his soldiers in the colonies.

Explanation/context:

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).  One of those grievances was that the king kept armies in the colonies without the permission of colonial legislatures.  As far as taxation, the complaint was not about comparative amounts, but that the colonists had no voice in giving consent to tax policy.  "No taxation without representation" became the refrain of the colonists.

The Declaration of Independence's list of grievances included concrete reasons for action against the British government, 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.

Answer 2

C. They were paying higher income taxes, which they found to be unfair, and it was.
A. Isn't right because they didn't have any representation at that time.
B. Soldiers didn't become a grievance until the King forced American colonists to house them during a war that I can't remember, I'm terrible at recalling specific events accurately.
D. The King never came to the colonies in person so that's immediately ruled out.