Copyright 2005 Heathcock 1 4-2 The Colonies Grow 1607-1770 Government, Religion, and Culture

Copyright 2005 Heathcock 1

4-2 The Colonies Grow1607-1770

Government, Religion, and Culture


English Colonial Rule

In England, Parliament replaced King James with his daughter, Mary, and her husband, William.This “Glorious Revolution” showed how much power elected representatives have.


In 1689, William and Mary signed the English Bill of Rights. It guaranteed certain rights to all English citizens and later inspired the people who created the American Bill of Rights.


England viewed its North American colonies as an economic resource. The colonies provided England with raw materials, which they used to produce goods they in turn sold to the colonists.


Remember, the theory of mercantilism says that as a nation's trade grows, its gold reserves increase, and the nation becomes more powerful.


To make money, England had to export more than it imported.

To be sure that onlyEngland benefited fromtrade with the colonies, Parliament passed a series of laws.


The Navigation Acts said who the colonies could (and could not) trade with. They kept the colonists from sending things like sugar or tobaccooutside England'sempire.


Navigation Acts


Some colonists ignored these laws and began smuggling, or trading illegally, with other nations. Later, these controls on trade caused problems between the colonies and England.


Colonial Government

The colonists brought ideas about government with them from England. By the 1600s the English people had political liberties, like trial by jury, that were almost unheard of elsewhere.


At the heart of the English system were two principles of government. Limited government and representative government greatly influenced the development of the United States.

STOP


The idea that government was not all-powerful had first appeared in the Magna Carta in 1215.


The Magna Carta established the principleof limited government.Even the king was not above the law! The Magna Carta protected the citizens from unfair punishment and from the loss of life, liberty, and property.


How the Magna Cart came to be…


Magna Carta


FROM

An Emerging Culture

From the 1720s to the 1740s, a religious revival called the Great Awakening swept through the colonies and led to the formation of lots of new churches.

TO


The Great Awakening


Most colonists valued education. Education began in New England where 85% of men and half of the women could read. School systems were set up to make sure that everyone could read and study the Bible.


The first was Harvard College, established in 1636 by the Puritans in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Anglicans founded William and Mary College in Virginiain 1693.


By the middle of the 1700s, many educatedcolonists were influencedby the Enlightenment. This movement began in Europe and spread the idea that knowledge, reason, and science could improve society.


In the colonies, the Enlightenment increased interest in science. People

observed nature, staged experiments, and published their findings. The best known American scientist was Benjamin Franklin.


Enlightenment


In 1735 John Peter Zenger of the New York Weekly Journal faced charges of libel for printing a critical report about the royal governor of New York.


His lawyer argued that free speech was a basic right of English people. He asked the jury to

base its decision on whether Zenger's article was true, not whether it was offensive.


The jury found Zenger NOT GUILTY. At the time, the case appeared insignificant. Today it is viewed as an important step in the development of a free press in America.

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Copyright 2005 Heathcock 1 4-2 The Colonies Grow 1607-1770 Government, Religion, and Culture