Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence could be considered a break-up letter because, in a way, it was America breaking up with Britain. King George believed that what he was doing in America was a way of protecting the colonies, whereas the colonists saw it a different way. They felt as if they were being controlled against their will and were being oppressed and repressed.

The preamble is similar to the Enlightenment philosophy because it mentions the unalienable rights -- Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. It also mentions consent of the governed and the people’s safety and happiness.

A grievance is “a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment.” The Americans decided to include them in the Declaration of Independence because it included their claims of the poor behavior they had been receiving from the British. One example of a grievance is when King George forbid them to pass laws until he accepts, and he sometimes became lazy. This was upsetting to the Americans because they had no ability to pass laws on their own. One last grievance is when King George dissolved representative houses against the rights of the people.