Curated OER
The Founding Fathers
Students discuss the basic ideas about the government of the English colonists. They identify three kinds of colonial government developed in the thirteen colonies.
Curated OER
No Taxation Without Representation
Learners identify the three functions of government and describe their importance in the success of government. They describe the necessity of representation in the political process. Students simulate the characteristics of British rule...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: British Reluctantly Yield
Discusses development of representative government especially in the New England colonies.
Yale University
Yale University: Avalon Project: Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents
Click on Connecticut for a list of and links to the colony's earliest government documents establishing its laws, religious toleration, and means of taxation.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Foreign Rule Breaks Down
Find out about the development of self-government in the English colonies and the responsibilities of the colonial legislatures.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Emergence of Colonial Government
Detailed essay which shows how colonial self-government developed prior to the Revolutionary War.
City University of New York
Revolutionary Generation: Political Traditions and Structures
This site has information pertaining to Britain's colonial policy. The policy of salutary neglect is covered. Links to sites for more information.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Colonial North America
Scroll through this site from the Modern History Sourcebook of Fordham University to New England and click on the primary source documents concerning Edmund Andros. This site contains dozens of links related to colonial America. Sections...
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute: Courts in Colonial Virginia
Overview of the early court system in Colonial Virginia and the challenges colonists faced interpreting British law for local purposes.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Duties of the Local Courts
Outlines the duties of the the local or Husting court in Colonial Virginia.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Local Court Procedure and Personell
A descritpion of court personell and each of their roles in Colonial court proceedings.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute: Colonial Punishment
Article on crime and types of punishment used in Colonial Virginia. Gives students an idea of what it was like to live in the English colonies.
Other
Bruce Dorsey Syllabus: A Letter From a Gentleman of the City of New York (1689)
A primary source document in the form of a letter that describes Leisler's Rebellion. "Leisler's Rebellion sparked a division among New Yorkers that largely followed ethnic and class lines."
Quia
Quia: American Colonial Government and Policies
Review your knowledge of the early American government with these interactive games. Play concentration, matching, flashcards, or click on "list of terms" to see the vocabulary used in each activity.
Other
Colonial America: Life in Colonial America
Here's a site with lots of information written by middle school students. Click on English Colonial Life, then Development of Self-Government for more information on government of the colonies.
Other
Fales Library and Special Collections: Jacob Leisler Papers Project
Resource chronicles the life and times of Jacob Leisler, "a political figure [who] played a major role in the North American world of European settlements in the seventeenth century," and leader of the Leisler's Rebellion.