Constitutional government is centered on the belief in the rule of law. The Colonists believed that the British government violated the principle of a higher law and therefore constitutional government when it imposed policies such as the Stamp Act. The Colonists had governed themselves with little British interference for over 150 years before the Revolution. During this time they had structured their government on principles described by John Locke 's social contract theory. They held the fact to be true that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Among the rights that the Americans held in high regard was the right to property, agreeing with John Locke 's claim that “The supreme power cannot take from any man part of his property without his own consent.” They saw the British policies, particularly the Quartering Act of 1765, as invasions of the right to property they considered to be guaranteed in a constitutional
Constitutional government is centered on the belief in the rule of law. The Colonists believed that the British government violated the principle of a higher law and therefore constitutional government when it imposed policies such as the Stamp Act. The Colonists had governed themselves with little British interference for over 150 years before the Revolution. During this time they had structured their government on principles described by John Locke 's social contract theory. They held the fact to be true that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Among the rights that the Americans held in high regard was the right to property, agreeing with John Locke 's claim that “The supreme power cannot take from any man part of his property without his own consent.” They saw the British policies, particularly the Quartering Act of 1765, as invasions of the right to property they considered to be guaranteed in a constitutional