1. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
The Rights of Englishmen
- English colonists expected certain rights that came from living under an English government called the “rights of Englishmen”
- most of these rights were established under the Magna Carta in A.D (noblemen could not have their properties seized by kings & they had a right to trial by jury)
- the Magna Carta limited the powers of the king and over time all English people were granted these rights

2. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
Parliament & Colonial Government
- Parliament, England’s chief lawmaking body, was the colonists’ model for representative government
- most colonists wanted a say in the laws governing them, so they formed their own elected assemblies that imposed taxes and managed the colonies
- the king of England appointed royal governors to rule some of the colonies on his behalf, but the colonists greatly disliked the laws they passed

3. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
A Royal Governor’s Rule
- because King James II wanted to rule England and its colonies with total authority, the colonists were no longer allowed to practice self-government
- many colonists had rebelled against the British, especially after the Navigation Acts were implemented, and felt the king had no right to impose laws on them
- King James II sent the royal governor, Edmund Andros, to the New England colonies to end their representative assemblies

4. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
- with their assemblies outlawed, some colonists refused to pay taxes (they felt being taxed without having a voice in government violated their rights)
- fortunately, a revolution in England swept King James II & Governor Andros from power starting “England’s Glorious Revolution”
Edmund Andros

5. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
England’s Glorious Revolution
- in A.D. 1688, the English Parliament overthrew King James for not respecting their Protestant rights, since he was a Catholic
- King James’ Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William were offered the crown after King James II fled
- this change in leadership was called England’s Glorious Revolution
- William & Mary agreed to uphold the English Bill of Rights, which was an agreement to respect the rights of English citizens

6. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
- the king or queen could not cancel laws or impose taxes unless Parliament agreed, which further strengthened the rights of the people
- the American colonists quickly claimed these rights, placed Edmund Andros in jail, and asked Parliament to restore their old government

7. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
Shared Power in the Colonies
- colonists regained self- government, but still had to answer to a royal governor
- from 1689 – 1753, England interfered very little in colonial affairs, which was a policy called salutary neglect
- the colonists got used to acting on their own with very little English interference

8. Ch.5, Sec.2 – Roots of Representative Government
The Zenger Trial
- colonists moved toward gaining a new right, freedom of the press, in A.D. 1735
- John Peter Zenger, editor of the New York Weekly Journal, stood trial for printing criticism of New York’s governor
- Zenger won his trial from his attorney claiming people had the right to speak the truth!