COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED BY
POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
Colonial governors
Were assisted by advisory councils
People selected the governor and
council in proprietary colonies
King selected governor and
council in royal colonies
WAIT!! Which colonies
were royal colonies?
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Virginia
New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
North Carolina
South Carolina
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED
BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
• Elected representatives (like members of
Parliament in England)
• Made laws
• Set policy
• Served on assemblies
• Passed laws after they have been approved by
governor
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED
BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
Virginia created the first colonial legislature in the year
1619.
Virginia legislature was a single body that was later
split into two houses
One house
One group of
people makes
the laws
Two house
2 groups of people makes the laws
Ex: House of
representatives
Ex: Senate
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED
BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
Center of politics in New England was the town
meeting, which was a regular gathering of
townspeople to discuss local issues (like paying for
schools)
• Southern colonies: too far apart  less town
meetings, more county meetings
• Middle colonies: town and county meetings
• New England colonies: town meetings regular
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED
BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
• King James II comes to power in 1686
• He believed he should control all of English
government
• In 1686, he created Dominion of New England
with Sir Edmund Andros as governor
• Colonists = angry
I control
all!
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED
BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
Parliament replaced King James II and passed English
Bill of Rights, which reduced the powers of the
monarch.
How did the Bill of Rights change government?
• Colonists valued their right to decide
on local issues.
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS WERE INFLUENCED
BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.
Courts
• Used for controlling local affairs
• Reflected beliefs of local communities
• Protected individual freedoms
ENGLISH TRADE LAWS LIMITED FREE TRADE IN
THE COLONIES.
Why did England want to have control of American
colonies?
• Mercantilism: system of carefully controlled
trade to create and maintain wealth
ENGLISH TRADE LAWS LIMITED FREE TRADE IN
THE COLONIES.
NAVIGATION ACTS (1650-1696)
• Why? To make more money for England (at colonists’
expense)
• Colonists couldn’t trade sugar or cotton with any other
country (only England)
Sure, but
you can only
buy it from
me and I am
going to
charge more
than
everyone
else!
I need to
buy cotton
to make
my dress
King
William
Colonist
ENGLISH TRADE LAWS LIMITED FREE TRADE IN
THE COLONIES.
NAVIGATION ACTS (1650-1696)
England
• liked these acts they made money
• Claimed it was good for colonists to have steady
market for goods
Colonists
• did NOT like acts  unfair
• Wanted to trade with whomever because they
could get the best price
RESULT = Smuggling (colonists traded illegally)
ENGLISH TRADE LAWS LIMITED FREE TRADE IN
THE COLONIES.
Triangular Trade: System in which goods and slaves
were traded between Africa, Britain, and Americas
ENGLISH TRADE LAWS LIMITED FREE TRADE IN
THE COLONIES.
Americans trade sugar (molasses) for people (slaves)
Middle Passage:
Journey from Africa to Americas (up to 3 months)
Conditions = BRUTAL
Lived in small spaces
Slaves died of disease
Hot
Contaminated food and
water
• Slaves only allowed above
deck for an hour per day
• Many of them were chained
on their backs for 23 hours
per day
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THE GREAT AWAKENING AND ENLIGHTENMENT LED TO
IDEAS OF POLITICAL EQUALITY AMONG MANY
COLONISTS.
Great Awakening: religious movement that swept
through colonies in 1730s-1740s
Jonathan Edwards
• Massachusetts
• Seek forgiveness for your sins or face punishment in hell forever.
George Whitefield
• Held revivals from Georgia to New England
Why did people listen? Ideas from other colonies, talking about
issues that affected many people
People changed got more involved with political and social
issues
THE GREAT AWAKENING AND ENLIGHTENMENT LED TO
IDEAS OF POLITICAL EQUALITY AMONG MANY
COLONISTS.
Enlightenment: movement that spread the
idea that logic and reason could improve society
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Social contract between government and
citizens
People have natural rights like equality and
liberty (John Locke)
Running government should be logical