Question

why did the colonists believe they were justified in breaking away from british rule

Answer 1

As put in the Declaration of Independence
There were many grievances(issues/problems) that were addressed and put as to why the colonists felt they had to break away from British Rule
One of the biggest reasons I feel is the breaking of the Social Contract
A Social Contract is the natural "god given" rights that you are born with
The king was denying these rights from the colonists because they werent in Britian
Another big reason they broke away from Britian was because of taxation without representation. This is a heavily used/taught term that you probably know. The king wouldn't allow the colonists to state what they felt like they should be taxed on.
If you need anymore reasons i will be happy to state some, just comment
The best place to get these answers would be straight from the declaration of independence.

Answer 2

Answer:

The Declaration states that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it . . .” This means that, according to the creators of the Declaration, the main purpose of government was to protect and uphold the rights of citizens. If a government fails the people it governs, those people have the right to rebel and overthrow the government. The colonists included a long list of grievances they had with British rule. These included unfair taxes and no representation in British Parliament. To the colonists, their treatment at the hands of the British government was an abuse of power that gave them the justification to break away and form their own government.

Explanation:

sample answer