Having concluded the list of complaints whereby Britain denied Americans their right of self-government, the Declaration turns to the assault of the British government on the Americans' lives, liberties, or properties, contrary to the purpose of government, which is "to secure these rights." This line refers in particular to a series of actions taken by George III, culminating in his approval on December 22, 1775, and again on February 27, 1776 of an act of Parliament which declared the colonies out of the King's protection. The British government issued this declaration because of what it viewed as the intolerable degree of unruliness of the colonists.