According to the drafters of the Declaration of Independence, how did the king prevent the colonial population from growing?
1 Answer
- By making it difficult for people to become citizens
- Opposed encouraging migration to America
- By creating laws that made acquiring land hard
Explanation:
In the Declaration of Independence, the drafters write about the abuses of King George III. Number 8 on the list is, "He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands." (National Center for Constitutional Studies).
What the drafters are saying here is that King George III has prevented the colonial population from expanding by ensuring the naturalization (becoming a citizen) process is hard if not impossible for foreigners. He also opposed colonial laws passed for the purpose of encouraging migration to America. And finally, he made it difficult for colonists to obtain land.
