World History?

Question

What are some ideas about government that the English settlers brought with them to the Americas?

How did these ideas contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolution?

Answer 1

British government at the time was proto-capitalist, and put huge emphasis on protecting property. This notion of property was continued, and very often applied to slaves in the New World. Slave owners created a huge backlash about emancipation, thinking themselves robbed.

Answer 2

The English settlers had expectations about what it meant to be a British citizen and what rights they should have. One of these ideas was representation in government. One of the points of protest was "taxation without representation".

They resented the control King George III tried to exercise over the American colonies without allowing them a say in the government they thought was their right by virtue of being English citizens.

Answer 3

The brought with them the 2 house system with them from england. I dont really know how this could contribute to the american revolution.

Answer 4

The ideas were set forth by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self evident:

1) That all men are created equal
2) That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights
3) That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
4) That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.

In the rest of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson sets forth case after case of how "the present King of Great Britain" has oppressed the colonists physically, economically, militarily, politically.