Final answer:
By 1776, representative government was an established tradition in America, serving as a precursor for the leaders who would draft the Constitution. The answer is C. Representative government; Constitution, reflecting the colonial experience and the push for a system balanced between a strong federal government and the protection of individual liberties.
Step-by-step explanation:
By 1776, representative government was a well-established tradition in America. Most colonial legislatures had been operating for over 100 years, and they became the training grounds for the political leaders who wrote the Constitution and, later, the U.S. Constitution. The correct answer is C. Representative government; Constitution. As the colonies moved towards independence, they emphasized the importance of having governments based on the consent of the governed and framed their constitutions accordingly. The Articles of Confederation were created as the first national constitution, reflecting the hesitancy to create a strong central government.
The drafting and adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 marked the culmination of this process, creating a stronger federal structure that included a bicameral Congress, an executive, and a judiciary, a system that balanced the need for a stronger national government with the protection of state rights.