The selected character of the colonists is a second reason for the rise of democracy in America. Restless spirits who had chafed under the restraints of monarchy in Europe, thronged to the new land. Once here they often found the older American communities intolerant, and so struck out into the wilderness to found new and, to them, more democratic colonies. The founding of Rhode Island by Roger Williams, and the settlement of the Connecticut valley by Thomas Hooker, illustrate this tendency.

It should be remembered, thirdly, that the English colonists brought with them very definite ideas as to the rights of man. The concessions granted by the Magna Charta were made an essential part of their political philosophy. The belief that all men were born free and equal, and that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed, became prominent in early American politics. Where the democratic tendencies of the settlers were reinforced by such traditions, an oppressive government could not last. In Carolina in 1670, for example, an attempt to set up 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 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?