Chapter 4 – Section 1
“Governing the Colonies”
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Focus Question: How did English ideas about
government and trade affect the colonies?
The English Parliamentary Tradition
*English colonists brought the idea that they had
political rights.
Magna Carta
*In 1215 English nobles forced King John to sign
the Magna Carta (translation “great charter”)
*The Magna Carta was the first document to
place restrictions on the monarch’s rights
~ limited the king’s right to levy
(impose/force) taxes without consulting the
nobles
~protected the right to own property
~guaranteed the right to trial by jury
*At first this was limited to nobles’ rights, then it
was extended to all English citizens
Parliament
*Parliament was created as a Great Council to
advise the king
*Parliament is a two-house legislature (group who
has the power to make laws)
*House of Lords
*made up of nobles
*inherited
*House of Commons
*made up of rich
men/landowner
*elected
*Parliament’s greatest power was the right to
approve new taxes; kings could no longer raise
taxes (gave Parliament some control over the
king)
English Bill of Rights
*1688 - Parliament removed King James II from
the throne
*He was replaced by his daughter Mary and her
husband William (called the GLORIOUS
REVOLUTION)
*1689 - King William and Queen Mary signed the
English Bill of Rights (a written list of freedoms
that the government promised to protect); they were
required to accept Bill of Rights to be recognized
as monarchs by Parliament.
~It restated many of the rights of the Magna
Carta, such as trial by jury
~Upheld habeas corpus – that person cannot
be held in jail without being charged with a
specific crime
~required Parliament must meet regularly
~declared no monarch could levy taxes
without Parliament’s consent
Colonial Self-Government
*The rights that Englishmen had won over time
led the English colonists to expect a voice in their
government
*They wanted a part in governing themselves
Colonial Legislature
*As stated earlier, the Virginia Company allowed
the House of Burgesses to make laws for
Jamestown (It was the first legislature in British
North America)
*Massachusetts’s colonists had the General Court
legislature and eventually gained the right to elect
representatives to it
*The British government gave William Penn
ownership of land to be called Pennsylvania
~The governor and a large council made laws
that an assembly could only accept or reject
~1701 - The colonists forced Penn to agree
that only the General Assembly could
make their laws
~The king could overturn the laws, but
neither Penn nor the council could make them
**By 1760 every British colony had a legislature
of some kind; legislatures periodically clashed
with colonial governors appointed by king.
The Right to Vote
*The settlers had greater political rights than they
would have had in England. From 50 – 75% of
white males in the colonies could vote. This was
far greater than in England.
*Women, Native Americans, Africans or enslaved
people could NOT vote
Freedom of the Press
*1735 - court case that established FREEDOM
OF THE PRESS (the right of journalists to publish
the truth without restriction or penalty)
*John Peter Zenger, a publisher of the New York
Weekly Journal, was arrested for printing a series
of articles that criticized the governor
*He was charged with libel (the publishing of
statements that damage a person’s reputation)
*At this time, English law punished writings that
criticized the government even if they were true!
*Zenger’s lawyer admitted that Zenger did print
the statements but that they were true
*The jurors found Zenger not guilty of libel
*The Zenger trial established the principle that
the press has the right and responsibility to keep
the public informed of the truth
(informed citizens = democracy)
Regulating Trade
*The colonies were established on the theory of
mercantilism (to serve the economic needs of the
parent country – colonies were source for raw
materials and a place to sell the country’s goods)
*1651 - English Parliament passed Navigation
Acts to support mercantilism
~Shipments from Europe to the colonies had
to go through England first
~Imports to England from the colonies had to
come in ships built/owned by English subjects
~Colonies could sell key products
(tobacco/sugar) only to England
*Acts created jobs for English workers
*The Navigation Acts helped the colonies by
giving them a sure market for their goods in
England and contributing to the shipbuilding
market in New England
*Colonists came to resent the Acts (believed laws
favored English merchants and that they could
make more money if they were able to sell to
foreign markets themselves); some colonists
avoided Navigation Acts by smuggling
*Colonists were developing their own ideas, far
from England and its lawmaking bodies
Questions
1. How was the power of English monarchs
limited?
The monarch’s needed Parliament’s
permission to raise taxes or an army. Parliament
was allowed to meet regularly.
2. Which groups of people were permitted to
vote in colonial elections? Which were not
permitted to vote?
More than half of the white males were permitted
to vote, but women, Native Americans, and
African Americans could not.
3. Why was the Zenger case important?
The trial established the principle that the press
has both the right and the responsibility to inform
the public of the truth.
4. Why did many colonists resent the
Navigation Acts?
The colonists believed the acts hurt them
economically.