|
Politics in the colonies developed based on traditions brought over from England, including their experience with the Magna Carta and the British Parliament. However civil war in England and the policy of salutary neglect strengthened the role of colonial assemblies. The development and functioning of colonial assemblies demonstrated the growing self-reliance of the colonies. Colonial assemblies played a key role in influencing the Royal Governors who were supposed to be controlling the colonies. Colonists believed that only their colonial assemblies had the power to tax them, a tradition outlined in the Magna Carta.
|
The social and political aspects of the New England colonies centered around the Puritan Church. Only male members of the Puritan Church could vote or partake in governmental discussions. Town hall meetings were a popular way of discussing topics that needed attention in the community. There was no separation of Church and state. Town Hall meetings are still popular in New England communities today.
A desire to read and share the bible was prominent in the New England colonies. Due to the large numbers of small towns and growing numbers of large cities, the church was able to provide lessons on reading and writing. This was the beginnings of an educational movement that would grow during the early 1800s. |
|
Colonists brought their political traditions from England to the colonies and implemented what they had always known in the new land they were living in. The Mid-Atlantic colonies and some populous Southern colonies developed democratic institutions, such as the Virginia House of Burgesses. This was the first legislative body in the colonies and played an important role in shaping the minds of some of the future founding fathers. The colonists based the structure and interworkings of this colonial body from Parliament.
This assembly was not a truly democratic body. To vote in the House of Burgesses, one must be a male member of society who owned property. In a truly democratic society, all members would have the ability to vote, not just property owning members. |
The Southern colonies developed a hierarchical social structure due to the plantation system. Few large cities and towns emerged due to the geographical characteristics of the region, however it was regionally understood that the more land one owned, the more power one had. The top of the social pyramid was the coastal plantation owners and wealthy elite, including merchants. This was the smallest number of colonists. The middle of the social pyramid consisted of small land owners, artisans, and shopkeepers. This was the majority of the white colonists in the Southern colonies. The largest group, located at the bottom of the social pyramid, consisted of the slaves and freed blacks, as well as non-property owning whites. The slave trade played a key role in the economic and social characteristics of the region. Georgia was originally developed as a penal colony and outlawed slavery. However, due to a climate ideal for growing tobacco, it soon became a plantation colony that allowed and was economically strengthened by slavery.
|
|
|