Self-Rule in America Prior to the Revolutonary War
In the year 1607, the first permanent English colony called Virginia was established in America. In the years to follow, Britain established several more colonies in the area. As these provinces became more and more developed, they became concerned about the systems of power that governed them. Prior to the American Revolution, colonists tried to experiment with the idea of self-rule because of the lack of British political presence and conflicting views on religion between the colonists and the English. Prior to the institution of the Navigation Acts in 1651, British political presence in the colonies was almost non-existent. Because of this, the colonists began to develop ideas on forms of government and laws. One of the first examples of this self-rule in the colonies was the Massachusetts Declaration of Liberties written in 1661. The purpose of this document was to show that the laws of England didn't apply in America. One of the statements made in this declaration stated, "The Gouvernor, Deputy Gouvenor, Assistants, and select representatives or deputies have full power and authoritie, both legislative and executive, for the gouvernment of all the peoples here..." (Commager, 34) This statement was basically saying
As time moved on and Britain started to impose taxes and laws in the colonies, the view of Americans started to change. In the year 1754, Benjamin Franklin wrote the first document containing a solution to the problem of imperial order in the colonies and real self-rule called The Albany Plan of Union. Franklin's solution to the lack of government was that the colonies form "one general government" (Commager, 43) The government proposed stated that each colony could keep its current constitution, except for certain exceptions where a change in law might be needed. However, because of the colonists deep down desire to stay part of the English Empire, Franklin's plan of union was turned down. In New England, religion played a huge role in the forms of government. They even went to the extent of basing the criminal codes on the Old Testament and they required colonists to attend religious services. The Puritans also expected the church to influence the conduct of politics. The Massachusetts Declaration of Liberties even said that "Wee conceive the patent (under God) to be the first and main foundation of our civil politye..." (Commager, 34) that Parliament and the king had no right or ability to tax or enforce laws upon the people residing in the colonies.
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Approximate Word count = 1854
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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