The document discusses the development of self-government in the 13 American colonies. It describes how King John's abuse of power in England led to the Magna Carta, which limited royal authority and protected individual rights. This served as a foundation for future protections of rights. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 further expanded these protections. English colonists expected to maintain their rights in America and established self-governing colonial assemblies like the Virginia House of Burgesses and agreements like the Mayflower Compact. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written colonial constitution and also protected colonists' rights. This emergence of self-government in the colonies would later lead them to rebel when Britain threatened it.