Gavin Howe
The creation of laws in the colonies was influenced by the British Constitution and the idea of Englishmen's rights and liberties. The British monarch established royal, proprietary, or corporate colonies through colonial charters, with each type having a distinct relationship with the Crown. The colonies' political systems featured a governor and a bicameral legislature, mirroring the British model. The legislative branch was divided into a governor's council and a representative assembly, with the latter elected by men who met property qualifications. While the colonies had some autonomy in domestic matters, the British government held veto power over their legislation. The Privy Council, later the Board of Trade and the Privy Council Appeals Committee, exercised appellate jurisdiction. Immigration and naturalization laws in the colonies were influenced by both colonial assemblies and Parliament, with the former seeking to attract immigrants to meet labor demands. Tensions arose due to conflicting naturalization laws and taxation policies, contributing to the American Revolution and the colonies' eventual independence.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Basis of laws | [The Laws were based on the idea that] [Englishmen were entitled to a special heritage of rights and liberties] |
| Legal bonds | [Colonial charters] |
| Legislative power | [The first fundamental, positive law of all commonwealths or states] |
| Law-making bodies | [Colonial assemblies] |
| Naturalization laws | [Alien residents] |
| Naturalization laws procedures | [Affirming allegiance to an authority and a mandatory period of physical residence] |
| Naturalization laws powers | [The highest legal status an alien resident could obtain in the colonies] |
| Naturalization laws restrictions | [Parliament started to restrict local powers over the denization and naturalization of aliens] |
| Political systems | [A governor exercising executive power and a bicameral legislature made up of a council and an assembly] |
| Executive branch | [An advisory council to the governor] |
| Judicial system | [The county court] |
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What You'll Learn
Influence of the British constitution
The British Constitution heavily influenced the political systems of the Thirteen Colonies. The colonial governments that emerged during the American Revolution featured a governor who exercised executive power and a bicameral legislature consisting of a council and an assembly. This system mirrored the British model, with the governor corresponding to the monarch, the council to the House of Lords, and the assembly to the House of Commons.
The Thirteen Colonies were founded with royal authorization, and authority flowed from the monarch as colonial governments exercised power in the king's name. The British monarch issued colonial charters that established three types of colonies: royal colonies, proprietary colonies, and corporate colonies. In royal colonies, the British government appointed the governor and the council. In proprietary colonies, the proprietors made these appointments, while in corporate colonies, voters elected these officials.
The colonial charters also played a significant role in shaping the legal bonds between Great Britain and the American colonies. These charters often professed that alien residents in the colonies would become "loving subjects" and live under British allegiance. However, ambiguity in the charters created uncertainty regarding the authority to naturalize alien residents, leading to conflicting naturalization laws issued by legislative bodies in both the colonies and Parliament.
The rights of colonists were also influenced by the British Constitution. Colonists asserted their rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as their right to support and defend these rights. They believed that legislative power should be established as the first fundamental positive law of all commonwealths or states, and that the legislative branch should not have arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people. Additionally, colonists claimed that they, as British subjects, were entitled to the same rights and liberties as those born in Great Britain, as stated in acts of the British Parliament and the Massachusetts charter.
The British government's attempts to regulate colonial trade and impose taxes, such as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Duties, led to colonial resistance and resentment. Colonists objected to what they perceived as taxation without their consent and the presence of a "standing army" in the form of British troops on their soil. These grievances contributed to the growing tensions that ultimately led to the American Revolution.
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Naturalization of alien residents
The naturalization of alien residents in the colonies was a complex process influenced by various factors, including the colonial charters, legislative powers, and social attitudes of the time.
The colonial charters, which established the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonies, professed that alien residents would become "loving subjects" and live under the allegiance of the British Crown. However, ambiguity within these charters created uncertainty regarding the authority to naturalize alien residents. This resulted in conflicting naturalization laws being issued by both colonial legislative bodies and Parliament, influencing early immigration patterns to the colonies.
Before 1740, aliens in the colonies had to undergo a private naturalization process, travelling to London and appealing for subjectship on a costly, individual basis. This changed with the enactment of the Plantation Act in 1740, which allowed aliens to apply for naturalization locally within the colonies. The Act required applicants to have resided in the colonies for at least seven years, take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, and profess their Protestant belief. While the Act favoured Protestant applicants, it also included exemptions for Quakers, Jews, and later, Moravians, allowing certain non-Protestants to become naturalized subjects.
Colonial assemblies actively promoted immigration throughout the colonial period, and Parliament responded with more liberal policies, easing the path to naturalization for aliens in the American colonies. This aligned with the interests of various parties, including the Crown, proprietors, colonial governments, landowners, and agents, who saw immigration as a profitable enterprise that would promote settlement and increase the value of land holdings.
Following the American Revolution, each colony could independently pass its own naturalization laws under the Articles of Confederation. While the procedures and requirements varied, a common assumption was the affirmation of allegiance to an authority and a mandatory period of physical residence before obtaining citizenship rights.
It is worth noting that colonial naturalization laws differed in the political rights they bestowed upon alien residents. However, they generally conferred the right to obtain land, which provided men with the power to obtain voting qualifications for themselves or their heirs born in the colonies. The concept of allegiance and a growing belief in the equality of rights, regardless of origin, influenced the debates around property and political rights leading up to the break from Britain.
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The role of colonial charters
The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America were established in the 17th and 18th centuries, modelled on the British constitution. The British monarch issued colonial charters that established either royal colonies, proprietary colonies, or corporate colonies.
Colonial charters were approved when the king granted exclusive powers for the governance of land to proprietors or a settlement company. The charters defined the relationship of the colony to the mother country, free from Crown involvement. Charters vested the powers of government in the company in England, and officers would determine the administration, laws, and ordinances for the colony, conforming to English law. Charters also granted governing authority to proprietors, who determined the form of government, chose officers, and made laws subject to the advice and consent of freemen.
The concept of charters changed as a result of political upheavals, especially after the English Civil Wars in the 1640s and the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688. Charters were rooted in a medieval legal tradition that included canon law commentaries and papal bulls that sought to regulate expansion. Charters also regulated overseas relations among European nations to reduce international conflict by recognizing similar claims to lands by other developing empires.
The strongest legal bonds between Great Britain and the American colonies lay in the colonial charters, which professed that alien residents in the colonies would become "Our Loving subjects and live under Our Allegiance". However, ambiguity in the colonial charters caused uncertainty regarding the authority to naturalize alien residents, leading to conflicting legislation from both colonial and parliamentary bodies. This influenced early patterns of non-English immigration to the American colonies.
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The legislative branch
The colonial legislatures sent representatives to Philadelphia, where the First Continental Congress convened in September 1774 to discuss a collective response to British actions. The British Parliament passed a series of laws regulating trade and taxes between 1763 and 1775, causing tensions between colonists and imperial officials. These laws, referred to as the Intolerable Acts, placed Massachusetts under direct British control and appointed General Thomas Gage as military governor.
The Stamp Act of 1765, which required colonists to purchase a government-issued stamp for legal documents and other paper goods, was one of the most controversial laws passed by Parliament. It led to violent protests and boycotts that damaged British trade and was eventually repealed. However, the same day it was repealed, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its right to legislate for the colonies in all cases.
The colonial legislative bodies also issued naturalization laws, which differed in the political rights they bestowed on alien residents. These laws generally conferred the right to obtain land, which gave men the power to obtain voting qualifications. After 1700, Parliament started to restrict local powers over the naturalization of aliens, and in 1773, colonial powers to draft local laws for immigrant naturalization were completely proscribed. Following the American Revolution, each colony could independently pass its own naturalization laws under the Articles of Confederation.
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The executive branch
The delegates who wrote the Articles of Confederation in 1777, one year after America declared independence from Great Britain, were determined to create a government that could not dominate them. They did not want their state governments to be replaced with a powerful central government, so they did not create a separate executive branch or give executive power to one person, such as a monarch.
However, the framers of the Constitution had a different vision. They wanted a weak presidency and a strong legislature, with the Senate handling important issues and the executive attending to matters of lesser consequence. The delegates at the Federal Convention of 1787 were tasked with creating an executive department that was not too weak to discharge its responsibilities. They wanted to avoid both executive power and executive weakness, regarding the former as the seed of tyranny and the latter as the wellspring of anarchy.
As a result, the executive branch was given more power during the deliberations, including the authority to conduct foreign relations. The president acquired the power to veto legislation created by Congress, and to nominate heads of federal agencies and high court appointees, although Congress must confirm or reject these nominees. The executive branch also includes executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees.
The first state constitutions often provided for relatively weak executives, who lacked veto power and were relegated to short terms. For example, Pennsylvania's constitution did not provide for a chief executive officer, instead giving executive power to a council of twelve elected officials. In contrast, the governor of New York, who served on a council that could veto laws passed by the legislature, had powers that most resembled those of the eventual US presidency.
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Frequently asked questions
The British monarch issued colonial charters that established either royal colonies, proprietary colonies, or corporate colonies. The precise relationship between the Crown and a colony depended on its classification. In royal colonies, the British government appointed the governor and the council. In proprietary colonies, the proprietors appointed the governor and his council. In corporate colonies, voters elected these officials. The British government also exercised veto power over colonial legislation.
The colonies were largely self-governing on many domestic issues. Each colony had a legislative assembly, which was an elected law-making body that voted on the colony's laws and taxes.
The colonies adopted language from the Magna Carta to guarantee basic individual liberties. For example, the Body of Liberties, the basis of Massachusetts law, contained a synopsis of the Magna Carta’s guarantees of freedom from unlawful imprisonment or execution, unlawful seizure of property, right to a trial by jury, and guarantee of due process of law. The colonies also passed their own naturalization laws, which differed in the political rights each bestowed on alien residents.
A series of laws passed by the British Parliament between 1763 and 1775 regulating trade and taxes caused tensions between colonists and imperial officials. These laws included the Currency Act, which forbade the colonies from issuing paper currency, and the Stamp Act, which required colonists to purchase a government-issued stamp for legal documents and other paper goods. The Stamp Act was one of the most controversial laws ever passed by Parliament and led to violent protests in America. The passage of these laws contributed to the American Revolution.
