Final answer:
Jefferson listed grievances against King George III in the Declaration of Independence to emphasize the severity of the King's abuses, rally support among colonists, justify the need for independence, and highlight the violation of natural rights and civil liberties. The correct option is A.
Step-by-step explanation:
Thomas Jefferson dedicated a significant portion of the Declaration of Independence to outlining the grievances against King George III to illustrate several important points. Primarily, Jefferson aimed to emphasize the severity of the King's actions and their impact on the colonists' lives, rally support and sympathy from other colonists, provide a historical record of the abuses that warranted independence, and highlight the King's disregard for the colonists' rights and freedoms.
This list of grievances helps justify the need to establish a new and just government, as the consent of the governed was a foundational principle being violated.
The negative impact of the King's actions, such as unfair taxation, interference with trade, denial of trial by jury, and deprivation of self-government, were clear signs of absolute tyranny. This fueled the colonists' desire for independence, as they felt their natural rights were being unjustly infringed. Jefferson's comprehensive account of grievances in the Declaration reinforced the idea of natural rights and civil liberties, grounded in the philosophy of John Locke, and served as a precursor to the American government's founding principles.