The Colonists' Journey To Self-Governance And Lawmaking

The American colonists' journey towards self-governance began in the early 1600s, with the first colonial legislature being the Virginia House of Burgesses, established in 1619. The colonists' relationship with the British government was strained after the Seven Years' War, when the British imposed the Stamp Act to fund their army, which led to violent protests and boycotts. The colonists argued for No Taxation without Representation, as they were already taxed and represented in their own colonial assemblies. This marked a turning point, with the Continental Congress becoming the first political manifestation of the proto-nation, and the colonists began to make new rules and organisations of government. The process of creating a new nation involved protesting British rule, waging war, and designing new forms of government. The colonists' desire for self-governance was also influenced by their pursuit of religious freedom, with different faiths coexisting in the colonies, and their distance from Britain, which allowed them to operate outside British law.

The Stamp Act of 1765

The colonists objected to the tax, arguing that only their own representative assemblies could tax them, and that the act was therefore unconstitutional. They also took issue with the provision that those accused of violating the Stamp Act could be prosecuted without a jury in Vice-Admiralty Courts. The resistance to the Stamp Act included mob violence, with angry protests and intimidation of stamp collectors, some of whom were forced to resign. The Sons of Liberty, formed in the summer of 1765, opposed the act by destroying stamps, tarring and feathering stamp agents, and ransacking the homes and warehouses of the wealthy.

In October 1765, the Stamp Act Congress, composed of delegates from nine colonies, met in New York City. This was the first united action by the colonies, and they affirmed their loyalty to the king while also asserting that only the colonial assemblies had the constitutional authority to tax the colonists. The resistance to the Stamp Act, coupled with pressure from London merchants, led to Parliament repealing the act in March 1766. However, at the same time, they issued the Declaratory Act, reaffirming their authority to pass any colonial legislation they deemed fit. The issues of taxation and representation raised by the Stamp Act strained relations with the colonies, contributing to the colonists' armed rebellion against the British ten years later.

The Declaratory Act

The Act was passed to assert the authority of the British government to tax its subjects in North America after it repealed the Stamp Act, which had been hurting British trade due to boycotts. The Declaratory Act stated that the King, with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, had the power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America. It also declared that the colonies and plantations in America were subordinate and dependent on the imperial crown and Parliament of Great Britain.

The passage of the Declaratory Act outraged some colonists because it hinted that more acts would be coming. The Act was copied almost word for word from the Irish Declaratory Act, which had placed Ireland in a position of bondage to the Crown, implying that the same fate awaited the Thirteen Colonies. The political theorist Edward Mims described the American reaction to the Declaratory Act as "an outcry of horror".

Despite the Act, the British Parliament never again attempted to directly impose taxation on any of its colonies or overseas territories, except for the Taxation of Colonies Act 1778, which was passed during the American Revolution. The Declaratory Act remained in force for the remaining colonies of the British Empire in the western hemisphere even after the recognition of the independence of the United States. It was finally repealed in 1964.

The Mayflower Compact

The document was originally titled "Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth" and was signed by 41 of the ship's 101 passengers. It was a legal instrument that bound the Pilgrims together when they arrived in New England. The core members of the Pilgrims' group were Separatists, a Puritan sect that had split from the Church of England, which was the only legal church in England at the time. The compact established a civil body politic and outlined the colonists' intention to "enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony".

The Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress, made up of delegates from the colonies, convened in Philadelphia in 1774 in response to escalating tensions between the colonies and the British. This was largely due to the Intolerable Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government after the colonies resisted new taxes. The First Congress met for about six weeks, mainly to repair the relationship between Britain and the colonies while asserting the rights of colonists. It also successfully built consensus for the establishment of a second congress.

The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775, soon after hostilities broke out in Massachusetts. It sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, established the Continental Army, and elected George Washington as commander of the new army. The Second Congress served as the provisional government of the U.S. during most of the Revolutionary War.

In March 1781, the nation's first Frame of Government, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, came into force, and the Second Continental Congress became the Congress of the Confederation. This unicameral governing body would convene in eight sessions before adjourning in 1789, when the 1st United States Congress under the new Constitution of the United States took over the role as the nation's legislative branch of government.

The American Revolution

The colonists' desire for self-governance was strong, and they had already been accustomed to some degree of self-rule due to the distance from the British centre of power. Each colony had its own government structure, such as charters functioning as contracts between colonists and the King, royally appointed governors, or privately owned colonies with governors reporting to the King. These agreements often allowed colonists significant control over their affairs, leading to direct democracy in some cases and representative governments in others.

The right to make their own laws was a significant factor in the American Revolution, with the Continental Congress directing the colonies to suppress royal authority and create institutions based on popular rule. This marked a turning point towards establishing governments separate from the British Empire, which would eventually lead to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The revolution was a complex and multifaceted event, involving not just warfare but also the creation of new rules and governments, which scholars consider the most important aspect of the revolution.

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