The Declaration of Independence lists 27 specific grievances against King George III, most focusing on Parliament's claim that it could tax colonists without their consent. The 1765 Stamp Act required colonists to pay taxes on legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards—payable in hard-to-get British sterling, not colonial currency. Those accused of violating the tax faced trials in Vice-Admiralty Courts with no juries, anywhere in the British Empire.
Colonists argued this violated their rights as Englishmen: the British Constitution said taxes required consent through representation in Parliament, but the colonies elected no members. The slogan "No Taxation Without Representation" captured this principle. Parliament also forced colonists to house British troops through the 1765 Quartering Act, maintained standing armies in peacetime without colonial legislatures' consent, and cut off colonial trade with other countries. These abuses convinced colonists they were part of an increasingly corrupt empire where their traditional liberties faced extinction, providing the basis for declaring independence in 1776.