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Grievance #2 of the Declaration of Independence

What happens when a government ignores its own laws?

In Grievance 2 of the Declaration of Independence, the colonists call out King George III for refusing to approve important colonial laws and then completely neglecting them. As Dr. Susan Brynne Long explains, this wasn’t just frustrating, it made it nearly impossible for colonial governments to function.

At the core of this grievance is a bigger idea: government exists to serve the people. Influenced by Enlightenment thinking, the colonists believed that when a government stops doing its job, the people have a responsibility to respond.

This wasn’t a one-time complaint either. Thomas Jefferson raised the same issue years earlier, showing just how long this problem had been building and why it became a breaking point in 1776.

This is Part 2 of our 27-part series breaking down every grievance in the Declaration of Independence, leading up to Independence Day.

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Grievance #1 of the Declaration of Independence

2 Min

What actually pushed the American colonies to declare independence? It wasn’t just one moment, it was a list of 27 specific grievances against King George III that built over time. In this first video of our 27-part series, Dr. C.C. Borzilleri breaks down the big idea behind the Declaration of Independence and where those grievances come from. From the influence of the Magna Carta to John Locke’s natural rights, the Founders weren’t starting from scratch. They were building on centuries of ideas about freedom, government, and the rule of law. So what happens when a government stops protecting people’s rights? That question is at the heart of the Declaration and this series is here to unpack every single grievance, one by one. This video kicks off our Constitution Day Live programming starting September 1. Follow along as we break down the Declaration in a way that actually makes sense.