The Declaration of Independence is often misunderstood, which I wrote about here. One of the most important, yet overlooked, sections of the document is the list of indictments against King George III. The indictments are further evidence that the Declaration was never meant to be a revolutionary statement. From the Magna Carta to the colonial constitutions, George III was indicted for violating existing laws. Jefferson listed a total of 27 indictments against the King. Throughout February, we’re going to look at one indictment a day, why it was levied, and why it is still relevant.
Indictment #23 reads as follows:
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
Why was the indictment levied: In 1775, George III declared that the colonies were in a state of open rebellion in his message to Parliament. As a result, he stripped the colonies of the protections they received as subjects of Great Britain. Fearing violence, several of the royal governors fled. Lord Dunmore of Virginia, Governor Tryon of New York and Governor Martin of North Carolina all boarded ships for England, abdicating their positions.
George III convinced Parliament to send troops to the Americas to help squash the rebellion. In addition, he arranged deals with the German princes to send assistance in the form of Hessian mercenaries. He also encouraged the Indian tribes to rise against the colonists, which will be detailed in a later indictment.
The Prohibitory Acts were then passed in late 1775, closing off the colonies from all trade with England. The colonies had already been denied access to trade with the rest of the world per the Navigation Acts. Total economic war was being waged.
Even John Adams, who provided legal defense for British troops charged with murder as a result of the Boston Massacre of 1770, declared these acts a bridge too far. It was very clear from these economic and imminent military actions that King George III was going to wage war against the colonies.
Why is this important today: The Federal Government has never waged war against its own citizens, or has it?
The founders understood that war was always a possibility. The Constitution has mechanisms in place in the event the country needs to wage war. We have waged war against other states several times in history. But today, we have a war against poverty, a war against terrorism, a war against drugs, a war against pollution, a war against everything.
How do you “wage war” on poverty? War isn’t something you can turn on an abstract. But war often gives politicians the excuse to do whatever they want. The abstract wars that are waged today are directed towards U.S. citizens. And under the guise of “war” they have also been used to bypass the Constitution.
These wars have resulted in the Federal Government confiscating property, violating privacy, denying the right to association, and even denying the right to due process and fair trial. The government that is supposed to be for your protection has abdicated that role by “waging war against us.”