Problems in American Democracy | Page 9

home. In 1639 the inhabitants of three Connecticut towns came together in a mass meeting, and drew up the Connecticut Fundamental Orders, which many authorities regard as the first written constitution in this country. Aside from the fact that the Orders created a small republic in the heart of the wilderness, they are of importance because they issued directly from the people, without suggestion from, or direction by, any outside agency. Elsewhere in New England, too, local self- government was a spontaneous growth. Usually the settlers grouped themselves in small, compact communities known as towns, the freemen coming together in the town meeting for the purpose of passing laws and electing officials. The town meeting constituted a pure democracy, in which the freemen governed themselves consciously and directly.
18. SPREAD OF THE REPRESENTATIVE IDEA.--The principle of representative government appeared very early in English history, expressing itself most clearly in the houses of Parliament. The principle was early transplanted to America, for in 1619 we find the London Company establishing in Virginia a House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in the New World. The representative democracy spread rapidly through the colonies, in many cases replacing the pure democracy as a form of local government. In Massachusetts Bay, for example, the population of the colony became so dispersed, and the complexity of its government so great, that it was necessary for most freemen to remain at home, and to content themselves with choosing a small number of individuals to represent their interests. These representatives gathered in the General Court and transacted the business of the colony.
19. THE SEPARATION OF POWERS.--As government develops in scope and complexity, there is a tendency for the agents of government to specialize in various types of work. A more or less recognizable separation of the governmental machinery into legislative, executive, and judicial branches had long been a feature of English government. Early in the seventeenth century this principle was transferred to the government of the English colonies in America. There was established in each colony a legislative branch for the enactment of laws, an executive branch to see that the laws were enforced, and a judicial branch for the interpretation of the laws. This separation of functions was more definite in America than in England because the jealousy existing between colonial legislature and colonial executive tended sharply to separate their powers. In America, too, the judiciary was more clearly an independent branch of government than in England.
20. THE COLONIES AS SELF-GOVERNING STATES.--It has often been said that for a considerable period prior to the American Revolution, the thirteen colonies were in reality self-governing states. For most practical purposes they were independent, indeed, some American patriots insisted that they were only nominally subject to England. In each colony there was an assembly chosen by a restricted number of voters. This popular assembly championed the cause of the colonists against the governor, who in most of the colonies was primarily an agent of the Crown. After the middle of the eighteenth century, the struggles between assembly and governor increased in number and in intensity, and victory rested more and more often with the assembly. [Footnote: For the similarities existing among the various colonial governments see
Chapter XXXIX
.]
21. EFFECT OF THE REVOLUTION UPON AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS.--The Revolution did not greatly affect the character of American governments. Democracy, at first weak and ill diffused, had been spreading steadily during the preceding century, and when at last the break with England came, it found the states trained in self- government and able to conduct their own affairs. In many cases the Revolution simply erased the name of the king from documents and institutions already American in spirit and character. The states either retained their old charters as constitutions, as in the case of Connecticut and Rhode Island, or framed new constitutions based upon the experience of colonial government. The popular legislative assembly was everywhere retained. The common law of England continued in force, and the system of courts was retained in practically its pre-Revolution form. The basis of state government had been laid long before the Revolution, the new states simply accepting the basic political principles with which they, as colonies, had long been familiar. The defeat of English claims was only an incident in the irresistible progress of American democracy.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What is one of the chief objects of government?
2. What is the essential feature of the absolute monarchy?
3. Give an example of a country once ruled by a "divine right" monarch.
4. Explain the difference between an absolute and a limited monarchy.
5. What is the distinction between a monarchy and a republic?
6. Name some modern republics and explain their origin.
7. Explain clearly the nature of political democracy, and show its relation to the monarchy and to the republic.
8. What are the