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'YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEtus deletUS While lawyers were prominent throughout the [[Thirteen Colonies]], merchants were important in the northern colonies and planters were more involved in the southern provinces. These were the groups from which the appointed councilors and elected delegates were chosen. ==The Assembly== The assemblies had a variety of names, such as: House of Delegates, [[House of Burgesses]], or Assembly of Freemen. They had several features in common. Members were elected annually, by the propertied citizens of the towns or counties. Usually they met for a single, short session; but the council or governor could call a special session.<ref name="Cooke" /> [[Suffrage]] was allotted only to free white men and, in the early days at least, limited to landowners. Land ownership was widespread, however, which meant that most white men were able to cast a vote. Tax issues and budget decisions originated in the assembly. Part of the budget went toward the cost of raising and equipping the colonial [[Militia (United States)|militia]]. As the [[American Revolution]] drew near, this subject was a point of contention and conflict between the provincial assemblies and their respective governors.<ref name="Cooke" /> ==Conflict (problems)== The perennial struggles between the colonial governors and the assemblies are sometimes viewed, in retrospect, as signs of a rising democratic spirit. However, those assemblies generally represented the privileged [[Social class|classes]], and they were protecting the colony against unreasonable executive encroachments. Legally, the crown governor's authority was unassailable. In resisting that authority, assemblies resorted to arguments based upon [[natural right]]s and the common welfare, giving life to the notion that governments derived, or ought to derive, their authority from the [[consent of the governed]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Fletcher Melvin Green|title=Constitutional Development in the South Atlantic States, 1776-1860: A Study in the Evolution of Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5c0LKovqJUC&pg=PA21|year=1930|publisher=U. of North Carolina press|pages=21–22|isbn=9781584779285}}</ref> ==See also== * [[American Revolution]] * [[Colonial history of the United States]] * [[Executive Council of New Hampshire]] * [[House of Burgesses]] * [[Massachusetts Governor's Council]] * [[Proprietary colony]] * [[Proprietary governor]] * [[Proprietary House]] ==Further reading== * Andrews, Charles M. ''Colonial Self-Government, 1652-1689'' (1904) [https://archive.org/stream/colonialselfgov00andrgoog/colonialselfgov00andrgoog_djvu.txt full text online] * Andrews, Charles M. ''The Colonial Period of American History'' (4 vol. 1934-38), the standard overview to 1700 * Bailyn, Bernard. ''The Origins of American Politics'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1968): an influential book arguing that the roots of the American Revolution lie in the colonial legislatures' struggles with the governors. *Cooke, Jacob Ernest, ed. ''Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies'' (3 vol 1993), compares British, French, Spanish and Dutch colonies * Dinkin, Robert J. ''Voting in Provincial America: A Study of Elections in the Thirteen Colonies, 1689-1776'' (1977) * {{cite book|author=Green, Fletcher Melvin|title=Constitutional Development in the South Atlantic States, 1776-1860: A Study in the Evolution of Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5c0LKovqJUC&pg=PA21|year=1930|publisher=U. of North Carolina press|isbn=9781584779285}} * Greene, Jack P. ''Negotiated Authorities: Essays in Colonial Political and Constitutional History'' (1994) *Hawke, David F.; ''The Colonial Experience''; 1966, {{ISBN|0-02-351830-8}}. textbook * Nagl, Dominik. ''No Part of the Mother Country, but Distinct Dominions - Law, State Formation and Governance in England, Massachusetts und South Carolina, 1630-1769'' (2013).[http://de.scribd.com/doc/204061491/Dominik-Nagl-No-Part-of-the-Mother-Country-but-Distinct-Dominions-Rechtstransfer-Staatsbildung-und-Governance-in-England-Massachusetts-und-South-C] * Middleton, Richard, and Anne Lombard. ''Colonial America: A History to 1763'' (4th ed. 2011) [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1405190043/ excerpt and text search] * Osgood, Herbert L. ''The American colonies in the seventeenth century,'' (3 vol 1904-07)' [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.49015000055823 vol. 1 online]; [https://books.google.com/books?id=QqlDAQAAMAAJ vol 2 online]; [https://books.google.com/books?id=agcOAAAAIAAJ vol 3 online] * Osgood, Herbert L. ''The American colonies in the eighteenth century'' (4 vol, 1924–25) ==References and notes== {{Reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Colonial Government In The Thirteen Colonies}} [[Category:Colonial government in America| ]] [[Category:Governance of the British Empire]] [[Category:Thirteen Colonies]]'