Lesson #2: Self-Governance and the American Revolution

Activity 2.1: Self-Government and Taxation

a copy of the Mayflower Compact, an example of self-government in the American colonies

The American colonies had a long history of self-government. Ever since the first British citizens came to settle in North America, they had to govern themselves. In other words, that had to take care of themselves, because no one else was going to do it. In this activity, you examine examples of self-government in the 13 colonies, compare it to the government of Great Britain, and determine why the colonists were so upset when the British government started taxing them.

Benchmark:

5.4.4.17.2: Describe the development of self-governance in the British colonies and explain the influence of this tradition on the American Revolution.

Learning Targets:

I can...define self-government.

I can...give examples of self-governance in the colonies.

Essential Question:

What was the tradition of self-governance in the colonies, and how did it impact the American Revolution?

To complete Activity 2.1 please follow the steps below:

STEP 1:

Read the information below.

History of Self-Government in the Colonies

The colonist had a long history of creating their own sets of rules and laws to live by. Self-government is governing a region by its own population. Because of the vast distance from England, the American colonists were forced to self-govern themselves in order to survive. Remember the history of Jamestown? They needed to set up some sort of order to live by in order to survive. The colonists were used to the systems of authority that they had created, and most were without major interference from the British government. The we’ve-got-control-of-this perspective from the colonists will end up causing conflict when the British government wants more influence in how things are run in the American colonies.

What are some examples of self-government at work in the American Colonies?

The Mayflower Compact:

An early example of self-government came from the Separatists. The Separatists aboard the Mayflower in 1620 (long before the American Revolution), created a document, The Mayflower Compact, that outlined how they should run their colony. They knew that they would land further away from any other colony at that time, so they would not fall under the rule of the people already there. They chose to govern themselves by meeting together to discuss issues, and deciding on what to do on those issues. They used a model of governing that is based on the majority.

Charter Colonies:

        A charter was a document that gave a colony the right to exist. In a charter colony the King gave a charter to a group of people, usually so businesses could be started. The charter outlined the rights of the people, but most importantly, it granted the group privileges to govern themselves by electing their own governor and creating their own laws and rules. Those laws and rules were set up to be similar to those in England. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts were all charter colonies.

Colonial Assemblies 

        Colonial assemblies were a group of people elected from an area to make decisions. Typically, the members of these assemblies were voted on from the people in the town or county they represented. The important point of these assemblies was that they were in charge of making budgets and determining taxes. An example of a colonial assembly was the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses was the first law making group of people with elected representatives in North America. It later became a place for colonists to make decisions about what to do about British policies that were unpopular in the colonies.

How did Government work in Great Britain?

The government of Great Britain was, and still is, a constitutional monarchy. This means there are two main influences: Monarch and Parliament. Monarch is the queen or king who is in power. One of the powers of the monarch is to appoint the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the leader of Parliament. Parliament is an elected body of elected representatives that makes laws for Great Britain. Both the Monarch and Parliament influence what happens politically. It is important to note there were no political representatives from the American colonies in Parliament. The British colonies around the world were under British rule, but were for the most part self-governing.

Left to Right: King George III, Prime Minister from 1763-1765: George Grenville, and the British Parliament

A Shift in Governing the American Colonies

Up until the end of the French and Indian War, the British took a hands-off approach to governing the colonies, which included allowing the colonists to raise their own taxes to pay for public needs. After the French and Indian War, British governing policies changed. The British government’s national debt nearly doubled. The French and Indian war was part of a bigger conflict, the Seven Years War, that was fought in places all around the world. It was very expensive. Although the British won the war, they needed money to pay the debts from fighting all across the world. In North America the French surrendered their land to the British, and now they needed money to pay for protecting the new lands. How would they pay for this?

        In Great Britain the citizens were already heavily taxed, so George Grenville, Prime Minister of Britain, and King George III thought it was a reasonable idea for the colonists to help pay the war debts. In their eyes, the British government is helping protect the colonies and the American colonists should help share in the costs. The British Parliament then passed a series of taxes on the American colonies. The colonists reacted very strongly to this.

The new taxes were not welcomed by the colonists and sparked angry protests. The colonists had a system of self-government in place that made decisions like the rate of taxation. From the colonists perspective, the British government did not have a right to tax them because there was no colonial representatives in the British Parliament. If there was no representatives, they had no voice in the decision. The colonists started a common protest cry “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!” to vent their frustration and objection to British taxation. This anger toward the British government would eventually fuel the conflict leading to the American Revolutionary War.

STEP 2:

Upload your responses to the add submission box

Comprehension check. Answer the following:

1. List and summarize the examples of self-government in your own words from the heading “What are some examples of self-government at work in the American Colonies?” Summaries should include 2-3 sentences of explanation for each example.

2. Summarize how the government of Great Britain worked.

3. Why did the history of self-government affected the attitudes of the colonists in America after Great Britain began taxing them?