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CHAPTER 5 - THE AGE OF THE FEDERALISTS 123 Chapter 5 5.1. The Common Law Mind and the American Revolution In 1766, parliament passed the Declaratory Act, proclaiming that Westminster had full power to make law binding the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” The notion of parliamentary sovereignty which it reflected was one generally accepted by eighteenth century English lawyers. The triumph of parliament in the revolution of 1688 was supposed to have secured liberty from despotism; and the language of English politics was henceforth much less legalistic than it had been in the seventeenth century. The structure of the balanced constitu- tion was widely lauded, receiving Montesquieu’s seal of approval. Anxiety about arbitrary government now centred not on the structure of government, but on its operation. Opposition politicians feared that patronage and elec- toral corruption would increase the influence of the crown and its ministers, and thereby upset the balance. In this context, the rhetoric of civic virtue be- came more prominent, as “country party” ideologists drawing on the works of Machiavelli and James Harrington urged active political participation to pre- vent corruption (see Pocock 2003; Robbins 1959; Dickinson 1979). Politicians who argued that parliament was bound by
Published: Jan 1, 2016
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