Week 2, Question 1

6/23/2014

Read Ch 6-8 (49 – 73) and answer the following questions/statements:

Why did American Colonists have the rights of Englishmen? What ideas did colonists in America use when they formed their own governments? How did the British Govt. tighten control over the colonies?

Aiden

6/25/2014 12:03:15 pm

The colonists had the same rights as the English because they were technically English citizens. Some ideas that they used was that not one person was in charge, so the couldn't abuse the power. The British Government made certain acts, like the Tea Act or Stamp Act requiring taxes on whatever they wanted, like tea or paper. #rudetaxes

David link

6/26/2014 01:23:47 am

The American colonists had the rights of Englishmen because they weren't independent yet. As long as the colonists weren't independent, they are subject to the monarch,meaning they are obligated to obey the Rule of Law. The colonists used a few ideas from England in the making of our constitution. The separation of powers was originally from England except that's not what it was called. The nobles divided the land into smaller areas. The rule of law
limits the power of the government,similar to checks and balances in that manner.The government tightened control over the citizens by declaring that laws made by parliament didn't have to be followed, The parliament being composed of many citizens was the reason this was unacceptable and also the cause of many civil wars.

Devyn

6/27/2014 01:07:51 pm

The colonists had the same rights as englishmen because although they weren't living there, they weren't independent yet. They were still subjects to the king and queen. One of the enligh ideas was the separation of power. In Britain, it was called feudalism. It still dvided the power by three groups (and sometimes more). Another idea they used was the concept of a representative government. In Britain, is was Parliament. The British tightened control on the colonies by making them pay taxes.

Devyn

6/27/2014 01:12:53 pm

I agree with Aiden. Even though the colonists lived far away, they were still a part of the British society, and we expected to respect their laws in addition to their own, should they have any. Also, when it comes to putting taxes on random items, it wasn't necessarily so they could pay their debts (this is a rich country we're talking about), but really because it was a message to the colonists saying, we still control you. You're not independent yet.

Devyn

6/27/2014 01:15:19 pm

I respectfully disagree with you, David. I feel Britain tightened control over the colonies by placing taxes on them, rather than stating something about parliament's laws. Taxes would make them weaker, and cause them to come running back to Britain. A law about Parliament, not so much.

Clara

6/29/2014 05:01:49 am

The American colonists had the rights of Englishman, as colonists fell under the rule of England and considered themselves loyal subjects. The…law of England is the … law of the [colonies] …Let an English man go where he will, he carries as much of the law and liberty with him, as the nature of things will bear. (Opinion of the counsel to the Board of Trade in London, 1720). Because the colonists were so far away from England, they had a lot of power to rule themselves, so many of the basic ideas found in the colonial governments were based on English law and rights. These included: natural rights, higher law, separation of powers, checks and balances, and representative government and the right to vote. Natural rights are defined as the rights all people have in their natural state. Higher law is the idea that any colonist participating in government could not make a law that violated the English constitution, as this law was considered the “higher law” and superior to the laws made in the colonies. As in England, to project the people from the abuse of power, the powers of government were separated among the governor, the legislature, and the judges. These separate powers were able to check and balance each other. Finally, representative government started right after the colonies were first formed in Virginia in 1619.

In the mid-1700’s, England had a renewed interest in America. After the French and Indian War, Great Britain needed the wealth and other natural resources from America to pay for soldiers to protect the colonies. In addition, the colonists weren’t following all the laws of Parliament. As a result, England tried to obtain more control over the colonies by passing laws such as the Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Quartering Act of 1765, the Declatory Act of 1766 and the Tea Act of 1773. Naturally, the colonists begin to resist because they feel the laws are unjust.

Lucy

7/4/2014 02:25:35 am

The colonists were subjects of the British monarchy. As subjects of the King and Queen they enjoyed the rights of Englishman. The colonists learned many ideas about government from Great Britain. For example, natural rights, representative government, rule of law, separation of powers, and checks and balances. All of these play key roles in our government.

The colonists thought that the entire purpose of government was to protect our natural rights and to elect representatives for their colonial legislatures. Also they believed in rule of law, or that the laws had to be followed by those who made them and they could not violate the constitution.

They also believed in separation of powers. The colonists had a governor who headed the executive branch, a legislative branch with two houses and the judicial branch which was made up of many judges. And to top it all off, they used a system of checks and balances so that not one branch had too much power.

As colonists started slipping away, Great Britain tried to tighten its control on the colonists by passing laws like the sugar act and stamp act that limited their trading. Also the quartering act which required colonists to house soldiers.

Lucy Continued

7/4/2014 02:28:03 am

I thought we had to answer each separate part of the question seperatly and each have its own little paragraph.

Lucy

7/4/2014 02:30:47 am

I agree with Aiden that the colonists were still part of Brittan and received those rights because of that.

Lucy

7/4/2014 02:33:32 am

I agree with Devyn that the separation of powers started with feudalism and was made into the three branches we know today.

Sarah

7/7/2014 10:18:36 am

'[The American Colonists had the rights of Englishmen, because the Colonists were originally Englishmen. They also were still subjects to the Monarch, therefore they were still considered dependent of Britain and were given the rights of Englishmen. The colonists used some similar ideas to the rights of Englishmen, but they added more of a representative government than a monarch. The Colonists also created a way so that their natural rights were protected and not one part of the government has too much power. Britain started to tighten control over the American Colonists ever since Britain fought France in the French and Indian War. With control tightened over the Colonists, money can be made to help get Britain out of debt.

Sarah

7/7/2014 10:36:57 am

I agree with Aiden because the Colonists were still considered English citizens, because that is why they have rights of Englishmen

Claire

7/8/2014 02:03:33 am

American colonists had the rights of Englishmen before the American colonies became independent. The rights of Englishmen were basic rights that all citizens of England had. Before America became an independent country, we were still English citizens, just living in America. Therefore we had the rights of Englishmen because we were Englishmen. England's government greatly affected the Founders when they were making our government. It was the only government we knew and it gave us ideas about limited government. When creating our government, the Founders had two main things they were trying to do. One was protecting us from abuse of power from colonial governments. The other was protecting us from abuse of power from British governments. One way the British tightened control over the Colonies was creating more laws and making them pay more taxes.

Claire

7/8/2014 02:07:25 am

I respectfully disagree with David. The British government tightened control over the citizens by making new laws that they had to obey, not saying they didn't have to obey some laws anymore. That would give the citizens more power not less power. They passed new laws that made American colonists pay more taxes and other things.

Claire

7/8/2014 02:12:31 am

I agree with Devyn. Even though the colonists lived in America they were still ruled by Britain. That made them English citizens. I also agree that the British tightened control over the colonies by making them pay more taxes and passing new laws.

Clara

7/8/2014 10:51:39 pm

I agree with Sarah that the colonists were still considered subjects under the monarchy and that Britain tightened control after the French and Indian War.

Clara

7/8/2014 11:07:18 pm

Britain tightened control, then the colonists started slipping away. The Quartering Act was rude because it invaded personal space of the colonists, and it's financially taxing, having to pay for lodging and food for the soldiers. Anyone would resent this law.

Isabelle

7/13/2014 11:42:10 am

The rights of Englishmen were rights of all subjects of the English monarchy. Though the American colonists formed their own governments, they were subjects of the English monarchy, and so the rights of Englishmen applied to them. The charter for the colonies did not say what type of government the colonies should have, and so they formed their own governments. They did however, still have to obey higher law and not violate the British constitution.

Each colony formed its own government based on certain concepts. The colonists thought that the purpose of government was to protect their natural rights. They elected representatives. They created laws and recognized the rule of law, which states that the laws must be followed by the people who made and enforced them as well. They used the concept of separation of powers to place limits on their government's power. Each colony's government was separated into three branches that each had specific abilities: judicial, legislative, and executive. They also used checks and balances so that no one branch could have all the power.

After a war with France drained England of money, they saw the colonies as a source of it and thought that they should help pay for the cost of the war. Parliament then began passing laws that violated the rights of the colonists. One example is the quartering act, which forced innkeepers and public officials in the colonies to feed and house soldiers from England. This allowed England to save on the cost of quartering soldiers. Another example was the declaratory act, which gave Parliament the right to pass laws for the colonies in "all cases whatsoever". With the stamp act, the colonies were also taxed on all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and decks of cards that went into the colonies.

Gabriella

7/18/2014 06:21:21 am

The colonists had the rights of Englishman because, in the eyes of the monarchy and parliament, they were Englishman. However distant and somewhat independent they seemed, they were colonies of Britain, and therefore received most of the benefits they would have had they lived in Britain. When the colonists were forced to form their own sort of government, they took two main ideas from the British Magna Carta. One that government must be based on a contract between the ruler and the people. If one side broke the contract, the contract can no longer be used and another one must be forged. Another idea the colonists used was that everyone must follow the laws, including those who are in charge. This is called the rule of law.

The colonies worked fine under their own rule for a while. However, when Britain won a long, hard war with France, they were greatly in debt. The rulers saw the colonies as a ready-made money source. They began to place taxes on many everyday things such as cloth, sugar, coffee, and wine. They also banned settlement in most western lands, this eased tensions with the Native Americans, and allowed British troops to withdraw to the cities, thus saving money. When the army came into the cities, the Quartering Act came into effect, this forced innkeepers and public officials to take in and feed the soldiers.
The Stamp Act also came into effect the same year as the Quartering Act, it put a tax on every legal document, pamphlet, newspaper, and even deck of cards that came into the colonies. All of this made the colonists feel oppressed and unrepresented.

Luke Menser

7/20/2014 09:38:03 am

Most of the American colonist were brought over from England, witch wince they haven't formed theire country yet they where still under the English Empire and subjects Loyal to the King.

Luke Menser

7/20/2014 09:40:42 am

I agree with Sarah, the American colonist were from England witch would make them English men and loyal subjects...

Luke Menser

7/20/2014 09:42:49 am

I agree with Aiden, the American Colonist had no yet wrote theire constitution or declared theire self as their own country.

Jordan

7/20/2014 09:48:51 am

The American Colonists had the rights of Englishmen because they were still Englishmen.They were still Englishmen because they hadnt become independant yet. They were still citizens of England, even though they lived in America. Because of the fact that they were still citizens of England, they were still treated the same way as the citizens in England. Because they were not independant from Englaand, the American Colonists had the same right of everyother Englishman.

Before the Colonists formed their own governments, they had a few ideas.The first idea was that a goverenment was to protect everones natural rights. The government is to protect their natural rights of life, liberty, and property.Another idea was a system of checks and balances.Asystem of checks and balances is so that when you split up the government, each branch of government has the same amount of power. No one branch has so much power that it can rule over the other branches.

The British tightened control over the colonists by doing a few things. One of them was the Declaratory Act,1766. The law was that Parliament had the right to pass laws for the colonies in all cases whatsoever.Another one was the Quartering Act,1765. This law was where any colonists who were inkeepers or public officials were to house and feed british soldiers.

Jordan

7/20/2014 10:10:44 am

I respectfully disagree with David. They didn't take away laws, they added more laws. The laws gave the Americans less power while they had to pay more taxes.

Jordan

7/20/2014 10:12:39 am

I agree with Devyn. Even though the Americans weren't living in England, they were still citizens and subjects of the king and queen.

Makayla

7/23/2014 12:41:53 pm

The American Colonist had the rights of Englishmen. The colonists were still subjects of the British monarchy, because of this, they were given the same basic rights. The colonists adapted many ideas from the British when they formed their government. For example, separation of powers, checks and balances, and natural rights. The British government tightened control by making the colonists pay taxes. They also tightened control on the colonies by passing unjust laws.

Mica

8/1/2014 03:44:04 am

The American colonists had the same rights as the Englishmen because the colonists were subjects of the British monarchy. As the subjects of the king or queen, the colonists enjoyed the rights of Englishmen.

Mica

8/1/2014 04:04:12 am

The colonists created a system that split the power amongst groups as part of their new government. The British tightened their control on the colonist by making them pay taxes.

Mica

8/1/2014 04:10:17 am

I agree with Devyn, the English put taxes on them to tighten the control and split the power amongst the three groups, which belong in the feudalism category

I also agree with Aiden, the taxes for the tea were #rudetaxes. I don't think placing taxes on the colonists tightened the government. I think it loosened it.

Justin

8/2/2014 01:55:19 am

The American Colonists were still English and had the rights of Englishmen because the colonists were still subjects to the British.
The Colonists use many ideas of the British government for their own. The British tighten control by giving out taxes.

Elijah S.

8/2/2014 11:30:31 am

The reason the American colonists had the same rights as the Englishmen was because the Americans were not technically independent and because they were not independent they were ruled by the British monarchy.

Elijah S.

8/2/2014 11:32:15 am

I agree with Aiden. The reason the Americans had the same rights as the Englishmen was because the Americans were not independent and America was officially owned by the British, so technically the colonists were British citizens.

Elijah S.

8/2/2014 11:34:40 am

I agree with you Lucy. Although the colonists learned many things from the laws of the British monarchy, once the colonists started to slip from the British control, the British had to tighten the grasp on the colonists, therefore, the gave us taxes.

Sophia

8/3/2014 07:23:39 am

The colonists had the rights of Englishmen because they were still citizens of Great Britain. This is why the king felt it was fair that the colonists had to pay taxes for Britain. The ideas that the colonists used to form their own governments were representative government, rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances and natural rights. The natural rights were the rights that the people, white males, had that could not be taken away from them. These rights were life, liberty, and property. Separation of powers and checks and balances work hand in hand to ensure that one part of the government doesn't have the power to control the others. Rule of law and representative government keeps the government from getting too much power over the people.

The British government tightened control over the colonies by taxing them on imported goods from Britain and restricting them from buying goods from the colonies. One example of this was the Tea Act of 1773. The colonists had to buy tea from The East India Tea Company, a British owned company, and could not buy tea from the colonies. Another act the British government imposed upon the colonist was the Quartering Act of 1765. This act forced innkeepers to take in and provide for the British soldiers for free.

Noah

8/3/2014 07:31:08 am

The American colonists had the rights of the Englishmen because the American colonies were still dependent on England.

The American colonists created the government on the ideas of 1) government is suppose to protect the people's natural rights, 2) the people will elect representatives, 3) that the government made laws that the colonists have to obey, however, they could not make laws that violated the British constitution, 4) the power had to be separated by 3 branches, and 5) also that there had to be checks and balances so one branch could not be stronger than the other.

The British Government used many ways to tighten control such as 1) the British Navy could search colonial ships, 2) they taxed legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and decks of cards, 3) they made the colonies feed British soldiers for free, 4) they would be able to make laws for the colonies, 5) they made it where only East India Co could sell the colonies tea.

Ali

8/3/2014 10:23:40 am

The American Colonists were not independent at first. The Colonists were subjects underneath the King or Queen. Since there were subjects underneath the British monarchy they had all the rights of an Englishmen.

When the Colonists were creating their government for America they based it off of several ideas. The colonists first thought was to protect the peoples natural rights (life, liberty, and property).They also used the idea of a representative democracy. It was also established that there should be laws in place. They recognized that everyone, even people in a place of power, would have to follow the laws. Separation of powers and checks in balances were added to avoid abuse of power within any one part of the government.

Britain soon started to rise to power around the world. This lead to a lack of attention focusing on the colonies. The colonies were also a ways away from Britain. The colonist need a way to have control amongst themselves while the British were busy with other things. The colonies became more independent. They lead to ruling themselves and ignoring the British laws. Around the mid-1700's the British turned their attention back to the colonies. Britain was in financial trouble and needed money to pay for a recent war. By new laws and acts that the British made they could tighten their reign over the colonies and gain money to pay back their debts.

Chelsea Roberts

8/3/2014 10:55:56 am

The colonists had the same rights as the Englishmen because they were technically English citizens. At first they weren't independent. They were subjects under the monarch, along with the British, they had the same rights as the British.

The colonists formed their own government, they took several idea's from different places. They used John Locke's idea of natural rights, life, liberty and property. The colonists used and liked the idea of a representative democracy. They wanted to have laws set for the colonists to obey. They didn't want one person to be able to have too much power, there for they created the 3 branches of government.

The British government tightened control in several ways. The British navy could search the ships. There was a tax put on legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and decks of cards. They were now aloud to make laws for the colonies. They made it to where you had to feed and house the British soldiers. They needed money to keep their control over the colonies when some colonists decided they needed to fight back.

Kevoni

8/4/2014 07:21:33 am

The colonist had the rights of Englishmen because they were still under the British monarchy. The colonist used the ideas of freedom, limited control of government, and the lack of a feudal system to form their government. The most well known way the British government tightened hold on the colonies was by raising taxes for war, sending British troops, and replacing governors them with men more loyal to the king.

Sophia

8/7/2014 12:51:05 pm

The colonists had the rights of Englishmen because they were still citizens of Great Britain. This is why the king felt it was fair that the colonists had to pay taxes for Britain. The ideas that the colonists used to form their own governments were representative government, rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances and natural rights. The natural rights were the rights that the people, white males, had that could not be taken away from them. These rights were life, liberty, and property. Separation of powers and checks and balances work hand in hand to ensure that one part of the government doesn't have the power to control the others. Rule of law and representative government keeps the government from getting too much power over the people.
The British government tightened control over the colonies by taxing them on imported goods from Britain and restricting them from buying goods from the colonies. One example of this was the Tea Act of 1773. The colonists had to buy tea from The East India Tea Company, a British owned company, and could not buy tea from the colonies. Another act the British government imposed upon the colonist was the Quartering Act of 1765. This act forced innkeepers to take in and provide for the British soldiers without pay.

Week 2, Question 1

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