Colonial Politics and Government
What was with it?
(all photos were found by google search, individual sources included.)
Page 1. Cover
Page 2. Title page
Page 3. Table of Contents
Page 4. Introduction
Page 5. Laws and Consequences
Page 6. English-Colonial-Government
Page 7. Important Politicians
Page 8. Conclusion
Page 9. Glossary
Interesting fact about courthouses in colonial times, they were actually symmetrical! Court took place in courthouses. You would go to court if you broke laws, and the jury would decide your consequence. These laws and consequences would vary depending on the government style, of all these government styles one was probably the best, the English style. In these governments, there were politicians that were truly important. Read on to learn about colonial politics and government.
One of the most important laws you had to follow was that you had to go to church, or the meeting house, on Sunday. At the meeting house, the community would discuss current problems and news in the community. Imagine being in the meeting house, your friend is sitting next to you, you notice their asleep, suddenly someone walks over and hits him/her on the head with a wooden pole! That's what would happen if you fell asleep in the meeting house. The meetinghouse also served as the puritan church(which you were supposed to go to).
Other than going to church on sunday, there were a lot of other laws you had to follow. These included: not getting drunk, only some people could own guns, etc.
If you broke laws, the consequences would vary from spending a day in the stock, to being hung.
The English-Colonial-Government was one of the best government styles, in theory, of the colonies. They thought all people should have a say in law. This included citizen participation, and self judgement in religion and politics. The English colonies were also known for being more sophisticated than the other colonies, having newspapers, libraries, and schools. 
The English-Colonial-Government shares a great similarity to present day government. If you think about it; doesn’t religious freedom, freedom of speech, and citizen participation, describe our present day government? Could the English-Colonial-Government have been the model for our present day government?
One important document that was declared was British, but not for the colonies. That was the English Bill of Rights. It was very similar to the American Bill of Rights. Its only difference was that it was in England instead.
One Famous politician in Colonial Times was Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry is most famous for his “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech. People only know Patrick Henry for his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, though actually he was involved with politics more than that. Patrick was in the house of burgesses, and was in strong belief that citizens should own guns. He was also a quaker, and had 17 kids (two wives).
Another really important politician was William Pitt. He was against the stamp act, and actually helped end the stamp act.
You will probably know this Politician, he was the 3rd president, he was………………………Thomas Jefferson! Before I continue, there is a very familiar quote from Jefferson, “When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred”. I am going to tell you about young Thomas Jefferson, for he was very different then, then you imagine. For example, he actually enjoyed music and dancing, and was a member of a dance circle. At one of those he proposed, and was also denied. Jefferson also played the violin. As for his political life, he served as virginia’s governor at one point. It is interesting to note that he went from governor, to the 3rd president.
There were a lot of great politicians who signed the declaration of independence. Here is a list of some of the people who signed the Declaration: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton, etc.
In this book, you have learned that there were many laws, and horrible consequences. You have also learned about one of the best government systems in colonial times. And finally about a couple of important politicians. Without this stepping stone of Politics and Government, how would it have affected today?
(Picture by pinterest, edited by Duncan)
Glossary
- Courthouse, a building were court took place
- Politics, actions related to government
- Government, the governing body of a nation
- Sunday, a day of the week
- Stamp Act, a tax on paper
- President, a leader of a nation
- Colony, a settlement
- Sophisticated, smart
