The System of Colonial Government

Virginia led the way in the establishment of a governance system that eventually applied to all the North American colonies. Charles I formally granted the Virginia colony the right to have an assembly in 1639, though one had been functioning off and on since 1619. The court system developed more slowly, and it was not really until the U.S. Supreme Court was created by the Constitution that the governmental triad (executive, legislature, courts) moved toward the co-equal circumstances which we now take for granted. All the colonies eventually developed the political apparatus Shown below:

Governor

• Governors were appointed by King, but were dependent upon the goodwill of colonists for pay, support, friendship, etc.
• Most were sensitive to the needs of the colonists—they had great power, but were in the middle and their authority tended to be undermined from both sides: responsibility to the king could clash with loyalty to the colonists.
• Power over various judicial officers, sheriffs, etc., all royal agents who tended to support the crown.
• Although some governed well, in all the colonial governors were not an impressive lot. They were subject to the will of the Crown, but had few resources with which to enforce the mandates they received.

Colonial Legislatures

• Colonial assemblies could pass laws, which had to be signed by the governor and sent to the King for approval. It could be a time-consuming process, and colonists learned how to take advantage of loopholes in the system.
• As a result, the colonists got in the habit of doing things their own way—often as a result of royal neglect; many members served for a long time, and the process of selecting assemblymen men was not always very democratic.
• The monarchs overturned about 5% of colonial legislation—not much, but it was a constant irritant. Often vetoed laws would be immediately re-passed in slightly different form, and the whole process would begin again.
• Theoretically the legislatures did not have much power, but they dominated nearly every colony. The were not "local parliaments," but the colonists began to see them as such. As we get closer to the revolution, tension between the colonies and Parliament will grow.