The American Founding

Overview:

Prior to the Revolutionary War, the tradition of self-government in America was nurtured by the English common law tradition and the original charters of the American colonies. Colonial debates regarding representation and taxation grew out of the larger practical and theoretical debates in England on the nature of sovereignty, the power and authority of the monarch over Parliament, and the rights of Englishmen in the wake of social and political changes brought about by the Glorious Revolution.

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Recommended Readings

• James Otis, "Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved"
• Thomas Jefferson, "A Summary View of the Rights of British America"
• Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms
• The Declaration of Independence
• Selected excerpts on the American Founding