Why were the Americans justified in fighting the British?

The Americans were justified in fighting the British. There are several reasons why this is true. One reason was that the British began to violate the rights of the colonists. When the British passed the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts, the colonists didn’t have representatives in Parliament that could speak about and vote on these taxes. This is a right all British citizens have. However, the Parliament still passed these laws without the colonists having representation in Parliament.

The colonists were concerned that the British were trying to control them. The Proclamation of 1763 restricted the colonists from moving to the new lands that the British had gained from France in the French and Indian War. The British also required the colonists to provide housing for the British troops that were enforcing this unpopular law.

Eventually, events became more violent. Five colonists were killed in the Boston Massacre in March 1770. When the colonists destroyed the tea that was on the ships in Boston Harbor by throwing the tea into the harbor, the British responded with the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts were designed to punish the colonists, mainly those in Massachusetts, for the Boston Tea Party. The colonists began to form their own militias. When the British marched to Lexington and to Concord in April 1775, fighting occurred with both sides suffering casualties. After this event, many colonists believed it was only a matter of time before they would declare their independence from Great Britain. This would lead to the Revolutionary War.

The colonists were justified in fighting the British.