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Difficulty: HardPhilosophical Foundations of the American Revolution

"I admit for instance that the legislature of Virginia has no right to make laws for the people of England, nor the parliament of England to make laws for the people of Virginia... The colonies are not represented in the British Parliament. If then the colonists are not represented in parliament, they cannot be bound by laws enacted by parliament without their consent. The parliament of Great Britain cannot have any power over them unless by a compact... If they have not submitted, then they are free, and have a right to choose their own government."

— Richard Bland, *An Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies*, 1766

The arguments expressed in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following political philosophies that motivated the American Revolution?

  1. A
    The economic argument that the colonies should be allowed to engage in free enterprise and bypass the mercantilist trade regulations of the Navigation Acts.
  2. The Enlightenment belief in the social contract and natural rights, which holds that political authority is legitimate only when derived from the consent of the governed.Answer
  3. C
    The constitutional theory of federal division of power, which advocates for a strong centralized executive to manage interstate affairs.
  4. D
    A direct political response to the suspension of colonial governments by the Coercive Acts of 1774.

Answer

The Enlightenment belief in the social contract and natural rights, which holds that political authority is legitimate only when derived from the consent of the governed.
The correct answer is correct because the author's focus on representation, consent, and a 'compact' directly aligns with the social contract theory popularized by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke. This theory argued that legitimate political power must be based on a mutual compact and the consent of the governed, which became the cornerstone of colonial resistance to British policy.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source text to identify core arguments and terminology.
The text focuses on representation, consent of the governed ('cannot be bound by laws... without their consent'), and the necessity of a 'compact' for government legitimacy.
This establishes the political and intellectual context of the author's argument.
2
Connect the identified arguments to 18th-century political philosophies.
The concepts of consent, compact, and freedom in the absence of submission trace directly to the social contract theory developed by Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke.
Linking the source to its philosophical roots helps determine the correct answer.
3
Examine and eliminate the distractors based on conceptual and chronological details.
The choices regarding mercantilism, federalism, and the Coercive Acts are rejected due to thematic differences, post-revolutionary context, and chronological mismatch, respectively.
Verifying the invalidity of the other choices ensures a robust and accurate selection.

Key Concept

The influence of Enlightenment political philosophy, particularly the social contract and consent of the governed, in shaping American revolutionary ideology.
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Philosophical Foundations of the American Revolution

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