Examples Of Democracy In Colonial America

For some British thinkers, the word “Democracy” was directly used for referring to the “House of Commons” unlike in the early American Revolution where the word “Democracy” was referred to as the greater equality inspired by the struggle for independence. Democracy did not exist in the colonies before the Revolution because political status was directly related to wealth. Special qualifications were supposed to be met in order to be eligible to vote or to be sitting in an assembly.

     Building on English foundations of political liberty, the colonists extended the concepts of liberty and self-government far beyond those envisioned in the mother country. While Englishmen had some representation in their parliament, Americans took the system further. All colonies had some form of a two-house parliament system. Some, like New York, had governors appointed by the crown. Others, like Rhode Island, elected their own. Local government also varied between the colonies. The southern states had a strong County government, while the New England colonies relied on town-meeting government. In either case, voting was reserved to land-owning white men.

Congress enlisted a small committee to write the Declaration of Independence. The language within the declaration “…was well suited to unite large numbers of colonists, and persuade even those who had grievances against one another to turn against England” (p. 251 para. 1). Many people were left out of the declaration because the main people targeted were white males. The small number of people actually included meant that few people could participate in government, which was nothing close to an actual democracy.

A1: Though the three English colonial regions—the Chesapeake area, New England, and Pennsylvania—were all relatively close to each other, there were stark differences between them. To begin with, they all had very different government structures. In the Chesapeake area, the government closely resembled that of England where power resided in one individual. In England there was a king while in Maryland, there was a royal governor. In both cases, the ruling individual had control over all branches of the government; however, the successor of the first governor in Maryland soon realized that colonists would not enjoy fewer liberties in the colonies than at home. Hence, Cecilius Calvert gave up their rights to initiate all colonial laws and shifted power to the people by governing by their advice and with consent. On the other hand, in New England, government was theocratic in nature where church and state were synonymous and where power resided in the leaders of the church. In addition, the Pennsylvanians had a much more democratic government structure where there was a proprietor and a legislative assembly that gave the people the right to appoint government officials—one of many rights that

In colonial America, democracy was a work in progress with both undemocratic and democratic features, for democracy was just beginning to form in this early country. Our past government was based on democracy,but colonist were only just starting to understand the concept of this, resulting in plenty democratic and undemocratic features.

Lastly, another influencial example of the democratic activities of English colonists is the Virginia House of Burgesses (Document 6). The House of Burgesses was the very first legislature and would play a key role in the development of legislatures in other colonies. Furthermore, the representatives were chosen by eligible voters, giving the people their own voice in government, comparably to the present-day United States elections. The House of Burgesses, though it only had 22 representatives, would act as a “rough draft” for modern

Citizen participation is a democratic feature. In Document 6, Engraving of Virginia’s House of Burgesses, it states that every colony in America would have a legislature to vote for and with them. Not everyone would vote and the legislature could vote the opposite of what the state actually wanted. Many men couldn't vote because they they didn’t meet the guidelines. Everyone could vote. As long as they were of

All the colonies faced this problem. They knew about English law and understood about governors, legislators, and judges. The new "twist" in 1776 was the practice of placing the power of government in the people rather than in a monarch. The questions of how this popular sovereignty would be expressed through elections, and how often, and who would be eligible to vote, would become areas of considerable debate.

America was not always a democracy for all. We excluded everyone who was not a white male. Women and African Americans have been excluded the most. They were not allowed a lot of basic rights given to American citizens, because of their gender and race. African Americans were granted the right to vote in the late 1800’s; while woman were granted the right to vote in the early 1920’s. Even though they were granted the right to vote they didn’t always get to. There were many people who still considered them second class citizens and used intimidation to deter them from voting. After years of protest

In the early 1800s, it was generally known that in order to vote, a person was required to have a “stake” in society, they either had to pay taxes or own so many acres of land. Voting rights varied throughout the colonies, for example, some colonies added restrictions due to the religious beliefs of the voters. Furthermore, under the United States Constitution the presidential electors were chosen by the state legislatures not by the people, as well, eligibility to vote for members of the House of Representatives was left to the states. Women, Indians and blacks (slave or free) were restricted from voting almost in all regions. In our era, democracy is known as a government “for the people, by the people”, and is

In a democracy, individuals have both political and social equality. They all have the equivalent say in all matters that concerns them. At the point when the fourteenth amendment was passed and gave U.S born and slaves citizenship, it nearly felt like democracy was at last growing in the U.S. Be that as it may what the fourteenth amendment neglected to do was the give the African Americans the privilege to vote. It wasn't until the 1870 that the African American were given the privilege to vote, yet on the other hand it just gave the men the privilege to vote.

Changes that occurred within the colonies led to a more “American” society, as the population increased of diverse new settlers. Through key events in American history, the colonies slowly evolved into a more liberal country. Progressively the country was shaped to become a democratic government. It was clear that there was a different spirit in the colonies than in England. The colonists had come for many reasons, most known as a way to escape English rule. Whether their goal was religious freedom or economic opportunity, it was a goal that required independence from the King. The never expected the King’s actions in meddling in everyday affairs due to their willingness to owe allegiance to the King and pay taxes. There had not been a spirit of Democracy in England, neither in the colonies, however they were on their way. During the eighteenth century, the colonial society became more democratic due the Great Awakening, immigration, and the Zenger Case, as they helped bring toleration between different religions, speaking

Considering the Constitution excludes the four groups which make-up a majority of America during the time; women, slaves, indentured servants, Native Americans and men who have no land, how can one regard the constitution as a democratic

The thirteen colonies began to develop democratic features. Democracy in colonial America was a work in progress, and had both democratic and undemocratic features. The way people were living, there were many aspects of undemocratic features. These laws were made to help create a peaceful country.

Before the American Revolution, democracy had no meaning to the Americans. Decisions were made by the British authorities in England by the crown. In other words, there were no representatives of the people and this led to increased tension between the British crown and the colonists. One of the major causes of American Revolution that also demonstrates how the British authorities disregarded the wish of the people was the enactment of the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Tariffs of 1767 (Boucher 34).