Essay 2 Final

As a citizen of the state of New Jersey, I know where my loyalties lie. I have seen, as my fellow patriots have, the many injustices and tyrannies committed by Great Britain against us. Their behavior is incorrigible and indefensible. She strikes now at the very core of our values, taking from us what is never meant to be taken. I have seen horrible battles and unnecessary bloodshed taking place in my own backyard caused by conflicts with the Tories. Our ancestors were forced to flee from Britain to escape religious persecution; now however, we are strong enough to fight back that same cause. Those that blindly and willingly support this tyranny over us are just as dangerous as the great power we seek independence from. As patriots, our duty to those who are fighting now, to those who died in their fight for freedom, and to those brave men who will spill blood for our cause isn’t blind support. Our duty is to demand change. Demand that the monarchy gives us back the rights we were born with, and demand that we be given the same rights as any Englishmen. I am a patriot to fight these unjust laws, underhanded taxes and vicious oppression.

Firstly, in enforcing these unjust laws and underhanded taxes, Britain has infringed on our natural rights. The purpose of government is to serve the interests of the people. The rights of the monarchy stop at cruelty, and they have far surpassed that line. It is not wrong that one group of people should lead over the masses? In our own constitution, we are entitled,” That all criminals shall be admitted to the same privileges of witnesses and counsel, as their prosecutors are or shall be entitled to.” (Avalon). There have been too many instances to name where the accused have been tried with no impartiality. Further, Britain chooses to fight New Jersey on our ground. Coming to this land, this state, they attempt to deprecate the ideas of the hearts and minds of people. The monarchy is compromised, instead of a pillar of strength; a greedy clique taxes the people of this state into poverty.


Britain has slapped us with a title akin to slave. Our society is built on the principal of justice; we are receiving neither justice nor respect. The king had long abused all of the colonies, treating us like enemies instead of kin. There is no difference between New Jersyians and menial workers now. We are having our core taken from us, our backbone, inarguable birthrights. Patrick Henry concurs, “I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery”. Do we wish to bend our backs to the cruelties committed? Will we bend like serfs to the will of a power 3000 miles away? No. We should stand together united, as a single thinking force. We are no different than those souls in England. We are the same people, suffering under the same despotism. Why are we impaired by laws, why are our towns filled with soldiers, why are we crippled from full potential? It isn’t equitable.


What could be more critical than our independence from this despotic government? As Tomas Paine stated, “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth”. If you do not wish to raise a fist against injustice for yourself, if you as a citizen do not care about the deprivation, the starvation of freedoms that are rightfully yours, consider the future generations. One who inflects cruelties will do it again, even larger in scale. For your children, for your husbands and sons facing an imposing army, the cause is of utmost importance. Britain can burn our towns, it may exert more wrongs upon us, and patriot blood will be spilt. But we are a state, tied together, bonded through our hardships, our sights singularly focused on the great power looming over us. The time is now for revolutionary behavior. This is a war that will be remembered by all, because it is just that: a revolution. As a united whole, the people state of New Jersey will join this desperate fight. Oppression will be stopped. Taxes will be revoked. Laws will be repealed. The people of New Jersey are worthy of fair governing, just taxes, and freedom from oppression.


Bill, Alfred Hoyt. New Jersey and the Revolutionary War. Rutgers University Press, 1992.

“Constitution of New Jersey; 1776” http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/nj15.asp

Henry, Patrick. "Give me Liberty or Give me Death." 23 Mar 1775 Page 1, Paragraph 1. 17 Nov 2008 .

Paine, Tomas. "Thoughts on Present State of American Affairs." Common Sense Page 1, paragraph 4. 17 Nov 2008 .