Problems in American Democracy | Page 9

an undemocratic government failed, and
when half a century later a similar attempt was made in Georgia, the
settlers objected so ardently that the founders of the colony were
obliged to grant the privilege of self-government.
A fourth explanation of the rise of democracy in America is that, left to
themselves, the settlers came to feel that self-government was morally
right. Largely removed from the traditions of monarchy, they soon
realized the elemental significance of government. Seeing government
as a device to help people get along together, they concluded that that
government is best which most helps the masses of the people. The

existence of a British monarch was a small factor in the everyday life of
the early settlers, and from this it was a short step to asserting that his
control over them was unjust. Living under primitive economic
conditions, the minds of the people turned naturally to freely formed
agreements as a basis of group action. Under such conditions
democracy appeared to the colonists as moral, just, and natural.
17. APPLYING THE DEMOCRATIC IDEA.--Partly because of the
isolation of early American life, and partly because England was busy
with European politics, the settlers were left relatively free to work out
their ideas of democracy. The Pilgrims had not yet set foot upon the
new land when they drew up the Mayflower Compact, by the terms of
which they agreed to establish a pure democracy in their new 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