He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

By ratifying the Declaration of Independence, the signers wished to formally express their disapproval at being ruled by a foreign government. Their indictments, specifically the charge “He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation” explicitly voice their displeasure at the British parliament, and therefore the King, in ruling from abroad and subjecting the American colonies to foreign laws. The indictments are directed to the King because he was the only figure they had to profess their independence to, as they considered themselves absolved of the British Parliament[1]. The charge could be reworded as “The King, along with Parliament, subjects the American colonies to foreign jurisdiction, and has therefore created the following acts of false legislation:”

Americans began to disapprove of Parliament at least ten years prior to the Declaration of Independence[2]. Initial protests were against internal taxation, or taxes within the colonies, such as the Stamp Act[3]. Although Americans believed Parliament had authority over them, they appealed internal taxation, stating Parliament had authority in every aspect except internal taxation. Parliament seemed to acquiesce with the Americans by repealing the Stamp Act, but then imposed external taxes on common imports which affected the people just as harshly as internal taxes. Americans upheld the British constitution and believed it “assured the protection of the peoples’ rights,” so they could not understand such restrictive laws as the Stamp Act and the later Declaratory Act, which asserted Parliament’s right to tax and legislate colonies of America[4][5]. Americans were convinced that of conspiracy of Parliament to undermine the colonies and regretted their assertion that Parliament had authority over them in every area but internal taxation[6]. Their reasons for displeasure varied but would have been due to one or more of the nine indictments following the aforementioned charge, including: the Quartering Act, the Fisheries Act, the Stamp Act, the Paint, Paper, and Glass Act, the Quebec Act, various taxing acts such as the tea tax, and the Declaratory Act, among others.

Dave Millett

[1] Carl Keyes, October 16th, 2007.
[2] Stella F. Duff, "The Case Against the King: The Virginia Gazettes Indict George III," William and Mary Quarterly 6:3 (Jul., 1949), pp. 383-397. (http://www.jstor.org/).
[3] Sidney George Fisher, "The Twenty-Eight Charges against the King in the Declaration of Independence," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 31 (1907), pp. 257-303. (http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=68 )
[4] Stella F. Duff, "The Case Against the King: The Virginia Gazettes Indict George III," William and Mary Quarterly 6:3 (Jul., 1949), pp. 383-397. (http://www.jstor.org/).
[5] Carl Keyes, October 16th, 2007.
[6] Sidney George Fisher, "The Twenty-Eight Charges against the King in the Declaration of Independence," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 31 (1907), pp. 257-303. (http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=68 )