During the years immediatly prior to the Revolutionary War many British-Americans chose to break laws that they felt were unfair. Were the colonists justified? When, if ever, do you feel it is right to break the law?
36 Comments
Craigorius Judaius
10/6/2009 03:09:26 pm
The colonists were not justified to break laws that they felt were unfair. Even though there was an ocean in between Britain and the colonies, they were still a part of Britain. I understand they were trying to prove a point, but they already had it better than most Brits, but didn't necessarily realize it. Everyone has laws that they don't agree with but we obey them anyway because it's the right thing and it's for the common good. On the other hand, I am glad they stood up for what they believed in, because had they not, there would be no United States of America. It is never 100% "right" to break a law but I, along with just about everyone else with a drivers license, do on a daily basis. That commonly broken law is speeding. Whether it's 3 mph or 15 mph over the speed limit, it's still speeding and therefore, wrong. But we do it anyway, it just is what it is.
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bryon
10/7/2009 05:03:28 am
The colonists were not justified when they broke the laws. there were better ways that they could have chosen to go to war by instead of dumping all that tea. i think its only necessary to break the law when u are trying to defend yourself or someone else only.
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bryon
10/7/2009 05:06:28 am
i agree with Craigorius Judaius on that speeding example like speeding is speeding now like i said before the only time to break a law is to save yours or someone Else's life.
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Paige Luppo
10/7/2009 07:32:16 am
I strongly believe that the colonists were justified when choosing to break some of the laws the British enacted. I believe this because I think the British went about it the wrong way when they decided to start taxing on different goods. I think it's ok to break some laws especially when they aren't fair and they were trying to protest their freedoms at the same time. It's ok to do this if it's in a protesting manner, otherwise it's not very smart to break laws just because you don't feel like abiding by them.
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Schmaustin Branflakes
10/7/2009 10:26:52 am
The Colonists weren't justified in breaking the laws in the manners that they did. The Boston Tea Party, no matter how cool it was, was a little overboard. (Pun TOTALLY intended.) It would have been better for everybody, albeit a little less heroic, if we had left things to negotiations and not had a war. The law-breaking was definitely pissing the British off, and that in turn caused them to put all the taxes on the colonists. It's all a vicious circle, and it just goes to show that it's not okay to break laws.
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Professer Austin McBranchies
10/7/2009 10:30:52 am
Unlike Miss Paige, I don't think it's necessary to break rules to get your way. Under extenuating circumstances it might be okay, but that's when your in a situation like the Saw movies and you have to kill someone to stay alive. Then it's okay.
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Molly Gorczyca
10/8/2009 10:25:52 am
After the Revolutionary War many British-Americans broke the laws they thought were unfair by protests and rebellious acts. The colonists were justified to do this. Government is ruled by the people, and without the first protests against the laws our government may not have been based on the wants and needs of the people. The people needed to speak up and bring their concerns to the government. They could have chosen a different way to explain their point of view but they didn’t know any other way. This was their way of life. Everyone breaks the law every now and then and its okay. We are not perfect. The colonists were the same way. They were imperfect and without their protests against the law, our country might not be governed how it is today.
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Molly Gorczyca
10/8/2009 10:44:28 am
I agree with Paige,
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Ashley Coveney
10/8/2009 10:52:20 am
That is a hard question. We are taught to obey the rules even if we disagree with them, but when being treated unfairly I think it is justified just like in the colonists case during the revolutionary war. I do not know about breaking the law but I do feel at times like bending/breaking the rules if i feel it would benefit me better, which isn't always right.
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Sarah
10/8/2009 10:23:37 pm
I feel that it is necessary to break the law when it is unjust. Only if you are willing to face the consequences though. The colonist felt that the laws they were breaking were unjust and that was why they broke them. I think that they are justified in their actions, because in the end, they got what they wanted. Some of the colonist however went too far. I also feel that if you're going to break the law, it should not harm others. Some things that the colonists did greatly hurt other people, and that is wrong.
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Sarah
10/8/2009 10:26:07 pm
I agree with Molly. We are not all perfect, and in this day an age, it is very common for people to break the law. The colonists were more justified than we are now, because they broke laws to change them. We break them for less important reasons (sometimes).
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Mike "Muma (hola @ meh 281-330-8004)
10/9/2009 02:44:52 am
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Muma (just kidding on the last 1)
10/9/2009 02:50:15 am
In some instances breaking the law is right and just. The colonists were justified when they deliberately broke the law. In order to get what you want, on occasion, you have to do something unexpected and/or drastic. That is exactly what the colonist did when they decided to violate the various acts that were passed by the British during the time leading up to the Revolution. MLK and the other members of the American Civil Rights Movement did the same cause they felt it was the only way to get what they needed to do done.
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Paige Luppo
10/9/2009 04:57:34 am
I agree with Ken on the fact that sometimes when you are standing up for what you believe in you need to do something unexpected. I believe this because it is a way to get your point across and obviously it worked for the colonists when some of the acts were revoked after strong protesting.
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Taylor Dean
10/10/2009 07:42:16 am
I don't believe that it is ever reasoned to break the law. The laws are in place for the common good for society. They are there to protect us and keep us safe, not to be broken whenever someone feels it is appropriate for a law to be disobeyed. I don't think the colonists were justified for breaking laws. Even if they were standing up for what they believed in. I think things back then would have went smoother and easier had everyone done what they were suppose to be doing, not what they felt like due to the circumstances.
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Taylor Dean
10/10/2009 07:46:08 am
I agree with Austin. I loved his pun, by the way. I think that by the colonists rebelling against the British, it just caused more unnecessary problems and it took a lot longer for the colonists to get what they wanted. I think that had they just went along with the British and sucked it up, they would have gotten their independence without having a war.
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Ashley C.
10/10/2009 09:30:01 am
I completely disagree with Craig on the issue about the American colonies. They did not have it so good, back then America is not what it is today. It was not the land of the free. They were being pushed around and being used in petty fights against the Indians. They suffered and died in the name of their country on a daily basis and then they pulled some taxing crap on them. The residents of Britain had it better, not the American colonists. Would you rather have taxes or suffer and die. You have it backwards.
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Bobby
10/10/2009 11:10:44 am
I think the colonistis were justified on breaking the tax laws. Some of them had absolutly no point when they were put in. Like when Grenville first enacted the stamp act. It lost money because the administrative costs were four times that of the revenue it was bringing in. The administration of King George III at that time was stubborn and in turmoil from constant ministry changes so instead of repealing the act they put in more taxes. Seeing that the Englishmen in England could only be taxed by their representative in parlament the colonists became angry because they had no representative. No representation coupled with Britain's ministry in disarray creating taxes that hurt not only the colonists, but Britain also, and keeping the taxes in place only to be stubborn makes me believe that the colonists were justified in breaking the law and away from England.
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Craigorious Judaius
10/10/2009 01:00:48 pm
I disagree with Sarah because you are not always thinking of the consequences when you are doing something illegal. Crimes sometimes are commited in the heat of the moment not thinking of the outcome.
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Shark Attack
10/10/2009 01:59:20 pm
I believe that there is deffinately a right time to break the law. this is the only way any revolutions and new countries are formed. If you strongly believe something is right, then i believe it should happen and the consequences, whether good or bad, will come.
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Shark Attack
10/10/2009 02:00:09 pm
I agree with craig in disagreeing with sarah. When breaking the law, its all emotion, no thinking involved
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Shark Attack
10/10/2009 02:00:55 pm
WOOOOW NINE SECONDS LATE if you mark that Tardy i will be angry and may call you the R word...
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Zain
10/11/2009 12:16:04 am
the colonists were not justified in their illegal acts. they had no need to take such radical efforts when passive movements would have gotten the job done and sent the message they wanted to the British better than destructive behavior. the Boston tea party for instance didn't need to happen, the colonists instead could just stop buying tea the British would see this and rethink their situation. if the entire group of colonists was not willing to give up the tea then a small group destroying the tea is not representative of the entire population. Laws should only be broken when the government that creates them begins to break them themselves.
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Zain
10/11/2009 12:21:05 am
I agree with Mr Branflakes in that negotiations would have been just as effective. if a large representative colonial body had hoped on over to Britain all violence could have been deterred and we could all have really cool accents today.
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Ryan
10/11/2009 06:45:07 am
the colonists were not justified in breaking laws they thought unfair. if i did that then i would be breaking a lot of laws. in reality, the colonists had a good life. they did not pay nearly as much money as the people living in britain did.
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Ryan
10/11/2009 06:47:17 am
I agree with Professer Austin McBranchies its unnecessary to break laws just to get your way. the colonists acted like a bunch of little kids.
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Amberleigh Varney
10/11/2009 11:24:43 am
The colonists chose to act out in ways that were sometimes extreme and some that were not so extreme. When you protest for or against something you believe in peacefully, at that time (Revolutionary War era) it would have been considered unlawful, but they were not hurting anyone so they should not have gotten in trouble looking at it from today’s standards.
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Muma (Depressed and Lonely on Saturday Night without his left guard)
10/11/2009 11:26:38 am
I agree with Shark Attack. You need to stand up for what you believe in no matter the consequences.
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Amberleigh Varney
10/11/2009 11:30:20 am
I agree with Ashley,
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Bobby
10/11/2009 01:25:48 pm
I disagree with Taylor. It was actually best for England and the American colonies to want some of the taxes repealled. The stamp act and I believe the Townshend act was actually costing the British money from such high administration costs. The new taxes and tighter control over the colonies created an oppresed feeling for the colonists. When you feel you are being treated unfairly it is natural to revolt. Especially when the administration in England was terrible and made no sense keeping taxes that cost the colonists money, but did not raise revenue for the British Empire.
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Natalie
10/11/2009 01:57:29 pm
I don't think the colonists were justified by breaking the laws/rules. they seem to take things to a higher lever than it sometimes needed to be. you can acheive your goals sometimes by not rebeling. look at the civil rights act martin luther king jr. preached on how you can prove your point by non-violent protests they did all that without being drastic, i think they made a bigger impact on how humble and patient they were rather than outlandish. nobody is above the law nor should be. if you want to prove a point or have things go your way there are many diffrent ways in doing this.im not saying the law is always fair but thats not up to us to think were above it. it is never ok to break the law because in the end it looks out for US and protects US. and if we do by some chance break the law then there will be consequences each and every time and weather your willing to accept those consequences follow the rules anyway.
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Natalie
10/11/2009 01:59:44 pm
i agree with austin by doing so it just slowed things down. who did they think they were anyways?
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Sir Zacharius Scotticus Corwinicus Lantisius Rex Ph.D Esquire
10/11/2009 11:31:32 pm
I believe that the colonists were not justified in breaking the law just because the british suck. It didnt really get them anywhere because the British never let up, they just kept piling on the laws and taxes. I mean, what if i dont agree with the law about killing someone and i go to Austin's house at 3 o'clock in the morning on a saturday evening and commit a crime... just because i dont think the law is fair doesnt mean i should break it to prove a point.
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Sir Zacharius Scotticus Corwinicus Lantisius Rex Ph.D Esquire
10/11/2009 11:34:11 pm
I agree with Austin, it'll all just come back around in a circle and no one will win... soooo yea.
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Gaston
10/14/2009 10:09:27 am
I feel that the colonist were justified when breaking the laws that they felt were unfair, because they were unfair!!
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Gaston`
10/14/2009 10:13:05 am
I agree with Paige. If the British peoples had gone about throwing the laws they did on the colonist in a more fair and better way then the colonist wouldn't have had to rebel like they did. But since the Brithish are DORKS!!! The colonist were in the right!
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