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
In the year 1696, Britain instituted its first form of political power and jurisdiction in America in the form of vice-admiralty courts and boards. When King Charles I came to power in 1625, hostility towards Puritans in England began to rise. The second reason for the development of self-rule in the colonies was the conflicting views on religion between the American colonies and England. Unlike the Massachusetts Declaration of Liberties, this document did not state what power England had in America, but instead spoke about Native Americans and the division of law. This schism from the Church of England was what caused a large amount of people to leave England in search of religious freedom in America. Under the power of Charles I, the Church of England started to suppress Puritan practices. " (Brown, 40) The colony of Pennsylvania also showed freedom of religious practice and the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges stated that ". This board was based in London and among other things it scrutinized laws passed by American assemblies, looked over trade polices, and advised ministries on colonial issues. Because of this, the Puritans started to split apart into two groups, Separatists and Congregationalists. Eventually, the Separatists established their own religious bodies and restricted membership to the "saved. Roger Williams started to vocally preach his opposition to the Puritan Orthodoxy, and in 1635, he was banished from Massachusetts by the Massachusetts General Court.
Common topics in this essay:
John Winthrop,
Trade Plantations,
Church England,
Lack British,
Indians England,
Rhode Island,
Gouvenor Assistants,
Narragansett Bay,
Empire Franklin's,
Navigation Acts,
church england,
political presence,
form government,
american colonies,
conflicting views religion,
puritans started,
brown 18,
declaration liberties,
british political,
massachusetts declaration,
conflicting views,
massachusetts declaration liberties,
british political presence,
board trade plantations,
massachusetts bay company,
|
Acceptance Essays
