Usurpation, in the context of the Declaration of Independence, refers to the act of taking control of power or rights that belong to someone else, without legal authority or justification. The term is used to describe the oppressive actions of the British Crown against the American colonies.
The Declaration lists numerous grievances against King George III, highlighting how his usurpations violated the rights of the colonists. These actions included imposing taxes without consent, dissolving governing bodies, and maintaining standing armies in peacetime without permission. Each of these examples illustrates a breach of the social contract between the government and the governed.
By using the term usurpation, the authors of the Declaration emphasized the illegitimacy of the King’s actions, arguing that such abuses warranted the colonies’ separation from British rule. In essence, usurpation signifies tyranny and the unlawful exercise of power, which was central to the colonies’ call for independence.