Keeping Score.

 Declaration of Independence Grievances – Checklist

Government and Legislative Issues

☒ Prevented laws necessary for the public good from being passed.

☒ Refused to approve laws unless the people gave up their right to representation.

☐ Called legislative meetings in inconvenient locations to make governance difficult.

☐ Dissolved representative houses for opposing his policies.

☐ Refused to allow new representatives to be elected after dissolving legislative bodies.

Judicial and Legal System

☒ Refused to establish fair judiciary powers.

☒ Made judges dependent on his will for their office and salary.

Military and Enforcement Issues

☒ Created many new offices and sent officers to harass the people.

☐ Kept standing armies in the colonies without consent.

☐ Made the military superior to civil authority.

☐ Quartered troops among civilians without consent.

☐ Protected soldiers from punishment for crimes committed against colonists.

Trade and Economy

☒ Cut off colonial trade with the rest of the world.

☒ Imposed taxes without colonial consent.

Legal Rights and Due Process

☒ Denied colonists trial by jury.

☒ Transported colonists overseas for trial on false accusations.

Government Overreach and Tyranny

☒ Abolished colonial laws and fundamentally altered governments.

☐ Suspended legislatures and declared himself the sole ruler.

☐ Waged war against the colonies, burning towns and destroying lives.

☐ Hired foreign mercenaries to attack the colonies.

☐ Forced colonists into the British navy or army against their will.

Response to Colonial Petitions

☒ Ignored peaceful petitions for redress of grievances.

☒ Repeatedly acted as a tyrant rather than a fair ruler.