Question

What were the reasons for the growth of representative government during the early colonial period?

Answer 1

Religious freedom was a main cause for the establishment of the American colonies. Religious groups (Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers, etc.) created communities that were self-governed.

Isolated, subsistence societies are always run by consensus- there is too much at stake to squabble about details. The first Virginia colony almost died because the colonists could not get extraneous issues such as class, entitlement, personal interests out of the way. The Plymouth colony, and most succeeding colonies focused on immediate needs and governed by informal consensus. It helped that during the 17th Century, Britain was engulfed by civil wars of various kinds and did not interfere with the American colonies much. Given the Anglo-Saxon tradition of general representative government (annual ‘wappentake’ events, the Magna Charta, ‘Common Law’) it was natural for the American colonies to govern themselves in the traditional way- consensus among adult, white males.

Answer 2

8.3C Describe how religion and virtue contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies. Religious freedom was a main cause for the establishment of the American colonies. Religious groups (Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers, etc.) created communities that were self-governed.