Question

we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. but when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. the history of the present king of great britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. to prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. read the excerpt from the declaration of independence (1776). how does thomas jefferson justify revolution? the british government had unlawfully confiscated the colonists property. england had exerted too much control over the colonies economies and internal affairs. the colonists natural rights had been abused by the english government. king george iii was a despot.

Explanation:

The excerpt emphasizes that people have unalienable rights (like Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness). It states that when a government (here, the English government over the colonies) becomes destructive of these ends (abuses rights), it is the people's right (and duty) to alter or abolish it. This directly ties the justification for revolution to the abuse of natural rights. The other options either focus on more specific aspects (property confiscation, economic control, or just calling the king a despot) rather than the overarching principle of natural - right abuse which is central in the text.

Answer:

The colonists' natural rights had been abused by the English government.