Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
 Governing the Colonies
- English colonists expected certain rights that came from
living under an English government called the “rights of
Englishmen”
-Most of these rights were established under the Magna Carta
in A.D. 1215 (noblemen could not have their properties seized
by kings & they had a right to trial by jury)
- The Magna Carta limited the powers of the king and over
time all English people were granted these rights
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
 Parliament & Colonial Government
- Parliament, England’s chief lawmaking body, was the
colonists’ model for representative government
- Most colonists wanted a say in the laws governing them, so
they formed their own elected assemblies that imposed taxes
and managed the colonies (Bi-cameral legislature-law making body made
up of The House of Burgess and Council of the State)
- The king of England appointed royal governors to rule some
of the colonies on his behalf, but the colonists greatly disliked
the laws they passed (privy-council-set laws and policies)
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
 The Dominion of New England
- Because King James II wanted to rule England and its
colonies with total authority, the colonists were no longer
allowed to practice self-government (Dominion of New England)
- Many colonists had rebelled against the British, especially
after the Navigation Acts were implemented, and felt the king
had no right to impose laws on them
- King James II sent the royal governor, Edmund Andros, to
the New England colonies to end their representative
assemblies and town governments that had been set up.
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
- With their assemblies outlawed
(Andros), some colonists refused to pay
taxes (they felt being taxed without
having a voice in government violated
their rights) WOULDN’T YOU??
- Fortunately, a revolution in England
swept King James II & Governor Andros
from power starting “England’s Glorious
Revolution”
Edmund Andros
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
 England’s Glorious Revolution
- In A.D. 1688, the English Parliament overthrew King James for
not respecting their Protestant rights, since he was a Catholic
- King James’ Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband,
William were offered the crown after King James II fled
- This change in leadership was called England’s Glorious
Revolution
- William & Mary agreed to uphold the English Bill of Rights of
1689, which was an agreement to respect the rights of English
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
-The king or queen could not cancel laws or impose taxes
unless Parliament agreed, which further strengthened the
rights of the people
- The American colonists quickly claimed these rights, placed
Edmund Andros in jail, and asked Parliament to restore their old
government
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
 Colonial Government
- Colonists regained selfgovernment, but still had to
answer to a royal governor
- From 1689 – 1753, England
interfered very little in colonial
affairs, which was a policy
called salutary neglect
- The colonists got used to
acting on their own with very
little English interference
Ch.5, Sec.1 – Roots of
Representative Government
 The Zenger Trial
- Colonists moved toward gaining
a new right, freedom of the press,
in A.D. 1735
- John Peter Zenger, editor of the
New York Weekly Journal, stood
trial for printing criticism of New
York’s governor
- Zenger won his trial (from
ury)from his attorney (Remember
who?) claiming people had the