How the Declaration of Independence Was Accepted in America and Europe - Essay Example

How the Declaration of Independence was accepted in America and Europe The American Revolutionary War, which was also referred to as the American War of Independence, started as a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and former British colonies at the continent of North America. This war ended as a global conflict among quite a number of European extraordinary powers, even though the British colonies were able to finally attain their independence, as well as alliances from other European countries like France, Netherlands, and Spain (Graves 44). American Revolutionary War was the last part of the political American Revolution, so it was expected that the Great Britain would offer its colonies their rights; unfortunately, the colonists had refuted the civil liberties of the Parliament of Great Britain in ruling them with no representation. In the mid 1770s, revolutionaries were in charge of all of the thirteen colonial governments. They established the Second Continental Congress, while at the same time forming a Continental Army. Formal requests to the King to intervene on behalf of the colonial governments were ignored; rather, the outcome was the Congress declaring the colonial governments as traitors, which led to rebellion by the state in the following year. This led to Americans taking action and proclaiming themselves a new independent nation. They asserted jurisdiction and declined any obligation with the British rule. Later on in 1770, the Continentals incarcerated a British army, which resulted in France joining the war and supporting the Americans. Early the following year, the military had empowered with Britain, which resulted in Spain and Dutch Republic joining forces with Britain as French allies. During the course of the war, the British had utilized their naval power in taking over, as well as inhabiting the coastal cities. They had also gained control over the countryside where most of the occupants were avoiding them due to their comparatively small land army. The involvement of France was significant, since in early 1980s, there was a victory in Chesapeake which led to the surrendering of the second British army in Yorktown. Later on there was the signing of the Treaty of Paris that acknowledged the supremacy of the United States over a number of territories (Vigil 23). Effects of the Declaration of Independence on Revolutionary War Declaration of Independence had a number of effects on the Revolutionary War, some of which were negative, as well as positive. All the stakeholders involved in both the signing of this treaty and the revolutionary war either suffered or gained as a result. These impacts were tremendous, since the expectations of the Great Britain were completely diminished, while at the same time their colonies gained independence. By giving out the Declaration of Independence, which was accepted by the Continental Congress, the thirteen American colonies totally damaged their political connections with the Great Britain, since the Declaration highlighted the colonists’ tenacity in achieving their independence. By asserting themselves as an independent nation, the American colonists were capable of finalizing a legitimate coalition with the French government. Therefore, they achieve their cooperation in the war against the Great Britain. The British Imperial policies had for a long time oppressed the North American colonists, especially when it came to issues relating to taxation and frontier policy. Despite protests on these British policies, Great Britain did nothing to change the situation; instead, this resulted in the closure of the port of Boston, along with the declaration of martial law in Massachusetts. Apart from that, the colonial government propelled representatives to a Continental Congress so as to synchronize a colonial ban on British goods. As a result of this, when war began between the British forces and American colonists in Massachusetts, the Continental Congress collaborated with the local groups, who were originally expected to boost the embargo so as to organize resistance towards the British. Although there were determined loyalist sentiments in some areas, in most cases, the authority of British officials was increasingly challenged by the informal local government. In spite of all these differences, the colonial leaders were willing to make peace with the British Government, although most of the radical affiliates of Congress were hesitant in declaring independence. Nonetheless, in the mid 1770s, Benjamin Franklin, who was an affiliate of the Secret Committee of Correspondence, tipped off French agents, as well as other European well-wishers, that the colonies were headed towards searching for freedom. At this point, Franklin was also confident that he would persuade the French to aid the colonists. The colonists felt that freedom as a necessity whether the French officials could agree to a coalition or not (Greene 2004). As time passed by, the Continental Congress perceived that the chances of having reconciliation with the Great Britain were pretty small and, therefore, viewed freedom as their only means. As a result, when British banned trade with the colonies, Congress reacted by opening colonial ports, which was an enormous milestone towards damaging the ties with the Britain. With the help of Thomas Paine’s journal “the Common Sense”, which was a pamphlet that was widely distributed to the colonies, the colonists campaigned for their independence. Within a short period, the colonists were engaging in dialogue about forming alliances with foreign countries and started drafting the Model Treaty, which later on served as a foundation for the coalition between the colonies and France. The leaders who were engaged in the course for freedom ensured that they had garnered sufficient support from their supporters before they brought the matter to the vote. Although Richard Henry Lee in Congress to declare independence introduced a motion, most of the Congress members felt that some colonies were not yet ready, and so this led to the formation of a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson who was responsible for the drafting of a declaration of independence. The committee was able to show its final draft to the Congress; this was followed by its approval, as well as its adoption as the Declaration of Independence. The British Government was unhappy with this Declaration and rallied its supporters against it by highlighting the flaws found in the document. By doing so, the British government succeeded in splitting the colonists’ supporters, since some of them perceived the Declaration as going too far. As a result, most European governments declined to support the colonists since they felt that this would provoke the British government which would, in turn, direct its outrage unto them. Following the signing of several treaties, including Treaty of Alliance, Treaty of Paris and Model Treaty, colonists were able to obtain the support of France, Netherlands and Spain. It was a long struggle which eventually led to the acknowledgement of the United States as a sovereign, as well as an independent nation by the Great Britain (Janda 42). When Continental Congress grew closer to achieving their independence, they recognize the importance of forging foreign alliances and the advantages that would accrue from these alliances; which ranged from support in their struggle as well as expanding in trade. However, United State noted that France stood to gain more from this alliance in the Model Treaty, and they included conditions which neither accepted troops from France, nor required them to submit to the French authority. This was considered only as a commercial treaty, since it was interpreted as searching for free trade agreement between the two countries; in its absence, the commissioners were expected to seek a most favored nation clause. The Model Treaty required both France and United States to give each other the favorable trading privileges, while, at the same time, allowing the presence of ambassadors in each other’s cities. In addition to that, France accepted never to search for peace with the Great Britain without their acknowledgement of the American independence; neither of the allied countries was permitted to seek peace without permission from the other. However, other countries were persuaded to form alliances, only if both American and France negotiators were in attendance. The treaty contained a secret section that suggested that some articles could be altered in case Spain joins the alliance. It ensured that any Spain diplomat in the United States had no designs of Spain territory; this would be risky, since Spain that was formerly an ally of France could join forces so as to regain lost territory. The Model Treaty acted as a successful starting point in the negotiations. The United States succeeded in obtaining most of the terms it desired and, therefore, the treaty proved to be extremely beneficial for U.S. trade. Apart form that, the treaty also acted as a structure for future trade compacts, more so the Convention of 1800 among France and United States, which ended the undeclared Quasi-War with France, thereby restoring peace between these two countries (Graves 93). All through the American Revolution, the American colonies dealt with numerous challenges, majority of which they were unable to handle. However, the most notable of these challenges was carrying out international diplomacy and searching for the international support it required so as to fight against the Great Britain, which was a very powerful state. The chief diplomatic triumph of the colonists throughout the War for Independence turned out to be crucial connection they formed with France. This resulted in delegates of both the French and American governments signing the Treaty of Alliance and a Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Even though other European powers perceived their treaty requirements abrogated by the France, the United States regarded it to be effective, in spite of President Washington’s policy of neutrality in the conflict between Britain and France. This led to the partial eruption of Citizen Genet Affair since some clauses in the alliance treaty infringed the neutrality policy. On the other hand, the Treaty of Paris remained officially in effect all through the undeclared Quasi-War with France, which was officially finished by the Convention of 1800, while terminating the Quasi-War (Richards 78). Work Cited Graves, Kerry A.. The Declaration of Independence: the story behind America's founding document. Philadelphia: Chelsea Clubhouse, 2004. Print. Greene, Jack P., and J. R. Pole. A companion to the American Revolution. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2004. Print. Janda, Kenneth, Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey M. Berry, Jeffrey M. Berry, Jerry Goldman, and Jerry Goldman. The challenge of democracy: government in America. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print. Vigil, James Diego. From Indians to Chicanos: the dynamics of Mexican-American culture. 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1998. Print. Richards, Norman, and Tom Dunnington. The story of the Declaration of Independence. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1968. Print. John, Mike. 1776 Americana: a catalogue of autograph letters and documents relating to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War.. Philadelphia: Rosenbach Co., 1926. Print. Read More