©Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 35 Colonial Government The English government ruled the colonies in the New World. However, England was many miles and an ocean away. At one point, England was also busy with its own civil war and at times warring with France. So, England was mainly just interested in making the most money it could make from the colonies. This led to the idea that the colonies were only there to make money for England. This idea is called mercantilism. Without England watching too closely, the colonies became very independent. It was important to them to have a say in how they were governed. They began to make decisions for themselves. Parliament allowed colonists permission to make their own laws and taxes. (Parliament is the group that makes laws in England.) The House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact were the two first forms of government in which the colonists were able to represent themselves. This type of government is called representative government. From the House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact, more structured forms of government were established as the colonies became more populated. The early colonial governments were modeled after Parliament. The King or Queen was at the head. Parliament included the House of Commons, a group of people that were elected, and the House of Lords, a group of people appointed by the King or Queen. The two Houses worked together to make laws. The House of Lords was also the highest court in England. Like the government in England, most colonies had three parts: a governor, council, and an assembly. The governor controlled the military and set assembly meeting dates. The governor made all decisions in place of the Crown, which is the king or queen of England. This made him the most powerful person in the colony. The governor had the power to veto, or stop, any law that was made. Money was the main thing that governors did not have control over. Assemblies limited the power of the governor by controlling the money. The assembly also paid the governor’s salary, which gave them some power over him. Assemblies were comprised of colonists from each town. They worked together with colonists from other towns to make laws. White landowning males were the only ones who were eligible for election to the assembly. The citizens of each colony elected the members of the assemblies. FAST FACT: The first colonial assembly was the House of Burgesses, which was organized in Virginia in 1619. Word Count: 518 AMERICAN COLONIES VOL. 2 The third governing body in the colonies was the council. Each colony had a council, also known as the Senate. They enforced laws, advised the governor, and helped pass laws. The Council was also usually the highest court in the colony. Council members were chosen to serve by the Crown. They were usually the wealthiest people in the colony. There were many towns within each colony. Each town had its own local government. The local government took care of issues that only related to the individual town, such as local roads. Selectmen were elected by the people to run the local government. They appointed the people who ran the town, such as the tax collector. The New England region’s local government was based on towns and town meetings. Local governments in the Southern region were based on counties. Towns were few and far between in this region because of plantations. The Middle region had a mix of both town and county local governments.
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©Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 35
Colonial Government The English government ruled the colonies in the New World. However, England was many miles
and an ocean away. At one point, England was also busy with its own civil war and at times warring with France. So, England was mainly just interested in making the most money it could make from the colonies. This led to the idea that the colonies were only there to make money for England. This idea is called mercantilism.
Without England watching too closely, the colonies became very independent. It was important to them to have a say in how they were governed. They began to make decisions for themselves. Parliament allowed colonists permission to make their own laws and taxes. (Parliament is the group that makes laws in England.) The House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact were the two first forms of government in which the colonists were able to represent themselves. This type of government is called representative government.
From the House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact, more structured forms of government were established as the colonies became more populated. The early colonial governments were modeled after Parliament. The King or Queen was at the head. Parliament included the House of Commons, a group of people that were elected, and the House of Lords, a group of people appointed by the King or Queen. The two Houses worked together to make laws. The House of Lords was also the highest court in England.
Like the government in England, most colonies had three parts: a governor, council, and an assembly. The governor controlled the military and set assembly meeting dates. The governor made all decisions in place of the Crown, which is the king or queen of England. This made him the most powerful person in the colony. The governor had the power to veto, or stop, any law that was made.
Money was the main thing that governors did not have control over. Assemblies limited the power of the governor by controlling the money. The assembly also paid the governor’s salary, which gave them some power over him. Assemblies were comprised of colonists from each town. They worked together with colonists from other towns to make laws. White landowning males were the only ones who were eligible for election to the assembly. The citizens of each colony elected the members of the assemblies. FAST FACT: The first colonial assembly was the House of Burgesses, which was organized in Virginia in 1619.
Word Count: 518
AMERICAN COLONIES VOL. 2
The third governing body in the colonies was the council. Each colony had a council, also known as the Senate. They enforced laws, advised the governor, and helped pass laws. The Council was also usually the highest court in the colony. Council members were chosen to serve by the Crown. They were usually the wealthiest people in the colony.
There were many towns within each colony. Each town had its own local government. The local government took care of issues that only related to the individual town, such as local roads. Selectmen were elected by the people to run the local government. They appointed the people who ran the town, such as the tax collector. The New England region’s local government was based on towns and town meetings. Local governments in the Southern region were based on counties. Towns were few and far between in this region because of plantations. The Middle region had a mix of both town and county local governments.
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