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Difficulty: MediumColonial Society, Culture, and Politics

"Government seems to me a part of religion itself, a thing sacred in its institution and end. ... Any government is free to the people under it (whatever be the frame) where the laws rule, and the people are a party to those laws, and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion."
— William Penn, Preface to the Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, 1682

Which of the following developments in the British North American colonies did the ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly support?

  1. A
    The establishment of centralized political structures dominated by a Puritan church elite.
  2. The development of representative assemblies and colonial participation in local lawmaking.Answer
  3. C
    The implementation of mercantilist trade controls by the British Crown to limit colonial self-sufficiency.
  4. D
    The codification of labor laws that transitioned from indentured servitude to hereditary chattel slavery.

Answer

The development of representative assemblies and colonial participation in local lawmaking.
The correct answer is correct because William Penn’s philosophy emphasizes that a free government requires the consent and participation of the governed ('where the laws rule, and the people are a party to those laws'). This directly supported the growth of representative colonial assemblies in the British colonies, which allowed local citizens to participate in drafting laws.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source and author.
Identify William Penn as the founder of Pennsylvania, a Middle Colony, writing in 1682 about governance and laws.
Establishes the geographical and chronological context of the stimulus.
2
Identify Penn's core argument.
Penn asserts that government is free when the laws rule and the people are 'a party to those laws,' indicating a belief in representative self-government.
Clarifies the central theme of political participation and rule of law.
3
Connect Penn's philosophy to broader colonial historical trends.
The idea of the people being a party to the laws they live under is most directly reflected in the growth of representative colonial assemblies, which allowed colonists to participate in local lawmaking.
Matches the historical development in the colonies with the philosophy expressed in the text.

Key Concept

The growth of representative self-government and political participation in the British colonies.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Colonial Society, Culture, and Politics

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