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SAMPLE ESSAY - EXPERIENCE AND EXPECTATION OF SELF-GOVERNMENT Question - Between 1607 and 1763 the British North American colonies developed experience in and the expectation of self government. Analyze the relative importance of three of the following factors in fostering that experience and expectation. Social development Religious development Economic development Political development The development of representative democracy is the primary factor explaining the development of colonial experience in and expectation of self-government. Religion, social development, and economic development also contributed, in descending order of importance, to the institutions of self-government. In all instances British preoccupation with internal and European affairs, salutary neglect, allowed colonial development largely unfettered by British control. Almost from the outset of the colonial experience, representative democracy was the order of the day. Emerson's contention that "we began with freedom" is supported by the development of the House of Burgesses in Jamestown in 1619, and by the early establishment of representative assemblies, such as the Massachusetts General Court, in virtually every colony. In New England the establishment of charter colonies placed government in the hands of the settlers and instilled both the expectation of and experience in self-government. Written constitutions, such as the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, placed the primary power to govern in the hands of the people, while expressing great distrust for a concentration of power in executive hands. Even when representative assemblies did not develop, such as in Plymouth, the tendency was to establish the rule of law through agreements such as the Mayflower Compact, which placed the power to govern in the hands of the majority. In proprietary colonies the dominance of the individual quickly gave way to representative assemblies in colonies such as Maryland and Pennsylvania. Thus from the beginning, colonists became used to and expectant of self-government. Religious philosophy, toleration, and the separation of church and state also provided the impetus for self- government. In New England the congregational organization of the Puritan church allowed a degree of self- government in the church which easily transferred to the political arena in the form of the New England town meeting. The Puritan and Quaker impulse to move away from a hierarchical structure in religion is reflected in the dominant power granted to representative assemblies (rather than the executive) in many colonies, which gave more people the opportunity to have a voice in government. Religious toleration (Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, The Maryland Act of Toleration) led to the separation of church and state (first initiated by Roger Williams) which broadened suffrage and allowed greater political participation in government by the general public. Even in the Southem colonies where the Anglican Church was the state religion, the low population density forced settlers to make religious decisions themselves and fostered the expectation of competence in govemment as we". The First Great Awakening further challenged established authority as New Lights unseated ministers whose views differed from those of the majority. This sense of power to control one's destiny in religion easily provided the expectation that the same would be true in the political arena. The frontier isolation of the colonists led them to develop a self-reliant and independent psychology which fostered the expectation that settlers were competent to rule themselves. The availability of vast areas of free land forced less religiously and polltically tolerant colonies to loosen the bonds or risk losing population to more tolerant colonies. Social mobility was largely determined by wealth, which meant making use of the Protestant work ethic, thus giving individuals control over their own social status. This created a sense of personal power in the minds of the colonists which led them to expect, and demand, determination of their own political destiny. Traditional European ways of limiting participation in government (land ownership) were largely meaningless because of the ease with which colonists could acquire it. From the outset, the impulse toward universal, white, male suffrage was much stronger in the colonies than in Europe. Thus experience and expectation of self-government grew to be considered a right rather than a privilege in the colonies. The salutary neglect of England in the economic sphere led the colonists to experience a degree of economic freedom not usually associated with mercantilism. Despite British attempts to control the colonies economically (i.e. The Trade and Navigation Acts), smuggling, triangular trade routes, and the development of early manufacturing saw the colonies exercise their individuality in the economic arena. They became used to doing pretty much as they pleased and expected that their economic self-determination would continue. Addltlonally, the economic self- sufficiency experienced by yeomen farmers led them to believe in the ultimate control of their own lives. Thus when Britain made sporadic attempts to reexert control over the colonies, such as with the Dominion of New England, the experience and expectation of self-government led the colonists to ignore the attempts or to actively resist them. 83
