State your opinion on the following statement: A document known as ‘the Declaration of Independence of America’ was adopted.

Answer: I agree that the Declaration was adopted to assert the rights of the American colonies against unjust British rule.

• Britain imposed taxes like the Stamp Act and the tax on tea on the thirteen colonies without giving them representation in Parliament (‘No taxation without representation’).
• The colonists protested (Boston Tea Party, 1773) and the Continental Congress met at Philadelphia; war broke out in 1775.
• On 4 July 1776 the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson. It declared that all men are created equal and have the rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, and that people may overthrow a government that denies these rights.
• It inspired later democratic and freedom movements, including the French Revolution.