Conflict
The perennial struggles between governors and the Assemblies are sometimes taken as symptoms of a rising democratic spirit. However, these assemblies represented only the privileged classes, and were protecting the colony against executive encroachments. Legally, a governor's authority was unassailable. In resisting that authority, assemblies resorted to justification by arguments from natural rights and general welfare, giving life to the notion that governments derived, or ought to derive, their authority from the consent of the governed.
Read more about this topic: Colonial Government In The Thirteen Colonies
Famous quotes containing the word conflict:
“We are not naïve enough to ask for pure men; we ask merely for men whose impurity does not conflict with the obligations of their job.”
—Jean Rostand (1894–1977)
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
“Often, when there is a conflict between parent and child, at its very hub is an expectation that the child should be acting differently. Sometimes these expectations run counter what is known about children’s growth. They stem from remembering oneself, but usually at a slightly older age.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)