Lesson 5
What basic ideas about rights and constitutional government did colonial Americans have?
This lesson describes how basic ideas of constitutional government were developed and used in the American colonies before independence from Britain. It explains how social and economic conditions in America sometimes required old ideas about government to be adapted or discarded. Occasionally the colonists needed to create entirely new institutions.Section 1
Why is understanding the first hundred and fifty years of American history before independence important?- Discussion and research questions
Section 2
What similarities were there in the governments of the different colonies?- Discussion and research questions
Section 3
Did American colonists enjoy a greater range of political rights and freedoms than the average English subject?- Discussion and research questions