The Imperial Debate

Abstract

This chapter covers the imperial debate between the colonists and Great Britain between the early 1760s and 1776. The debate began with the differing ideas of representation held by the colonists and the mother country. But eventually it came to focus on the doctrine of sovereignty that said that in every state there must be one final supreme lawmaking authority. The colonists’ inability to deal with the doctrine of sovereignty forced them to create a new conception of the British Empire in which they were outside of Parliament’s authority and tied only to the king. The debate climaxed with the Declaration of Independence.