A List of Grievances
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet was an inspiration to Thomas Jefferson as he sat down to write the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson understood that Common Sense was a polemic designed to enflame the passions of the colonists. The Declaration had to be a combination of persuasive argument, and a legal document outlining the alleged abuses that the King had inflicted on his formerly loyal British subjects. As Jefferson so beautifully put it:
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
To meet that criteria he provided 27 specific charges, which can be roughly divided into three categories:
- Abuse of Power by the King
- Violations of the British Constitution
- Acts of War Against the Colonies
He detailed the abuse of power focusing mainly on the process of governing, and the ways the King hindered the colonist’s ability to govern themselves. These included his refusal to approve needed laws, or to allow governors to pass laws on their own, his dissolving of elected legislative bodies, a castration of the power of judges, the creation of a standing army, and his usurpation of all decision-making authority to himself.
The present state of America is truly alarming to every man who is capable of reflection.
Thomas Paine
Common Sense (1776)
Jefferson outlined the violations of the British Constitution by charging the King with isolating the colonies from fair trade, imposing unjust taxes, ending trial by jury, negating the authority of elected officials, and authorizing the plundering of ships, ravaging of coastal communities and the destruction of businesses.
And finally, he described the Acts of War the King had inflicted on his former subjects. These included forcing impressed American sailors to fight against their brothers, inciting native Americans to acts of violence against the colonists, and refusing to defend the colonies from invasion.
After the listing of charges, Jefferson points out that the colonists had tried to reason with the King, to no avail.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
And so, Jefferson’s List of Grievances stands as a powerful indictment of the actions of a power crazed and heartless monarch, giving legal justification for the Declaration of Independence from said Tyrant.