« In practise the American colonies were self governing in 1776 ». If this is so why did they feel the need to declare independence in 1776.

Whether the colonies were independent by 1776 is a question with numerous aspects that historians have debated over the last 300 years and which comes to the inevitable conclusion that they were, to an extent, independent by 1776, but not sufficiently to remove the need of a declaration of Independence. There was also the clash of ideologies and the growing craving for independence which along with some Acts which proved to the Americans that they were not totally independent that the presence of the British was a threat to their « just and long enjoyed rights ». One also must not undermine, when looking at the extent to which the colonies were independent, the different degrees of freedom granted to the different colonies by the Crown in the view that the Declaration itself was signed by all 13 colonies.

By 1776, Britain’s control was as Perry suggests a « light touch and with little or no control ». The colonies all had a different degree of independence so that some were more or less inclined to declare independence in 1776. Connecticut and Rhode Island, the charter colonies, enjoyed considerable independence. There was an annual election for a governor and key officials including judges in Rhode Island so that there was a minimum of interference from Britain, this situation can be described as a sort of Republic. Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware were proprietary colonies (the proprietor of the colony was granted a charter), the British still held a lot of rights but they were allowed an Assembly. Pennsylvania had a governor who was the proprietor’s deputy and an annually elected Assembly. The Assembly could lay down the legislation which would then be sent to Britain where it could be vetoed. Massachusetts was granted a charter in 1761 but all the other colonies were under royal government and their governor was limited by a rigid constitution.

The Assemblies, seen by the Americans as parliaments held considerable power and authority over the colonies so that they were a real factor in the argument that suggests that the colonies were independent by 1776. Assemblies had the right to agree to legislation, to initiate legislation and the Governor was under law forced to hold regular sessions with them. In some colonies such as New York the Governor’s salary was voted annually by the Assembly which gave the Assemblies considerable power over the governors. Some Assemblies had executive powers so that in Pennsylvania and New York the Assembly had taken over the executive power of chosing some officials and controlled the militia.

However there were limits to the colonies and the Assemblies independence. All legislation from all colonies were subject to royal veto but the time during which the British had the right to veto changed from colony to colony so that it was 3 years in Massachusetts and 6 months in Pennsylvania. The governor could be manipulated and controlled by the Crown so that his power over the Assemblies limited their influence. The governor had the right to adjourn the Assembly, withdraw his consent from any legislation and veto legislation. However, as Christie suggests: « By the mid 18^th century some of the principles and practises of imperial control had long vanished before the insistent pressure of the Assemblies ». Britain still controlled trade and generally, the economy. The Navigation Acts stated that trade to and from the colonies could only be carried out by British ships. The colonies were also not allowed any industry that might lead to competition with a British industry which meant that Iron and cloth making industries were not permitted. However the Americans accepted this situation as it was also to their advantage to be economic dependencies and after independence their pattern of trade remained pretty much the same and in the day to day running of things they had a great deal of independence as it long so long for information and decisions to reach the colonies.

The colonies had a great deal of independence by 1776 so that their reasons for then actually declaring independence and starting a war have an ideological side. As Perry puts it: « United States political tradition had been less patrician than that in Britain, emphasising inalienable rights of individuals, asserting popular rather than legislative sovereignty and cultivating a disrespect for political authority. » This conflict in ideology meant that many Americans wanted the British to either accept their views or leave, they believed in democratic issues such as « no taxation without representation » which could not be assured by Britain which was a monarchy.

This was a major issue during the Continental Congress as this quote by J.J Zubly, a delegate from Georgia at the Continental Congress suggests: « Parliament can no more make laws which are against the constitution and the inalienable privileges of British subjects than it can alter the constitution itself » At the same time the colonies were developing a view of their own as they became big enough to have a sense of independence. However as Christie suggests, principle could be overlooked:« New England merchants were prepared to compound to pay at least a small proportion of the statuory duty on molasses indicated their difference to the point of principle ».

The main reason for the colonies declaration of independence is the period preceding 1776 which proved to the Americans how much power and control the Crown still had. The first major sign of the Crown’s wish to control the colonies came with the Stamp Act in 1765 which required newspapers, legal documents and newspaper advertisements to bear a government stamp, the Rhode Island Petition says of it: « The Stamp Act is a manifest violation of their just and long enjoyed rights ». Lord North’s ‘Intolerable Acts’, which banned public meetings, revoked the Charter of Massachusetts and closed down the port of Boston is another reason for the Americans wish to stop British rule and it also was the reason behind the Philadelphia Congress in 1774 which was the first sign of American unity.

By 1776, the colonies «  had already escaped many of the leading strings supposedly held by the hand of Westminster » but what remained was a conflict of ideologies which meant that Britain and the colonies could never completely agree and when Britain showed the colonies that the independence they enjoyed was an illusion then the Declaration and the War became necessary.

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