Colonial Government

(Period: The Colonial Period)

Synopsis:

For a brief synopsis of the history of this time and period: Click Here.

Historical synopsis courtesy of A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times by Department of Humanities Computing, University of Groningen, The Netherlands and the former United States Information Agency (1953-1999).

Key Facts:

• The colonies, though extensions of England, had a democratic spirit in that the people living in them were to have a say in their laws.
• England was distracted with their civil war, preventing the crown from involvement in governing the colonies.

Key Events:

• At the end of the 17th century, Harvard and Yale were started in New England.
• The Glorious Revolution - 1688, the overthrow of King James II by Parliamentarians.
• 1683 - the first school in Pennsylvania was begun.
• Zenger, a newspaper editor, won an important case that laid the foundation for freedom of the press in America after he was sent to trial for criticizing the government and won.

Key People:

• Benjamin Franklin - one of the most prominent figures in American history, an inventor and statesman who started the public library system in Philadelphia.
• John Locke - philosopher whose Second Treatise on Government (1690) published ideas that became central to the American government.

Key Places:

• New Jersey and Georgia were exceptions to the self-governing colonies.

Vocabulary:

• Deterring - preventing.
• ye olde deluder Satan Act - 1647 act in Massachusetts Bay Colony requiring towns with more than 50 families to have a grammar school.
• The Great Awakening - a religious movement that was a reaction to all of the new wealth and abundance that sought to restore traditional Christian values.
• Magnum opus - great work.
• Magna Carter - English legal charter proclaiming certain rights to all English.