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3 Am. Pol. Thought 1 (2014)

handle is hein.journals/ampolth3 and id is 1 raw text is: Political Theory in Institutional Context: The Case of Patriot Royalism JOHN W. COMPTON and KAREN ORREN ABSTRACT In the aftermath of the Stamp Act, prominent American thinkers of otherwise unques- tioned Whiggish affiliation adopted an expansive view of the king's prerogative powers while simultaneously denying Parliament's authority to interfere in the internal gover- nance of the colonies. Scholars have generally attributed this stance, known as patriot royalism, to political necessity: with no other means of disputing Parliament's op- pressive actions, desperate pamphleteers sought to revive the discredited constitutional ideas of the Stuarts. In contrast, we argue that this position was deeply rooted in the institutional context of colonial governance. More specifically, we show that revolu- tionary Americans directly experienced lawmaking by Privy Council and the Board of Trade over which, as a practical matter, there was no higher authority. This conciliar form of governance, which survived the break with England, exerted a significant in- fluence on the constitutional framers and their handiwork. Americans are accustomed to reading words of the United States Constitu- tion in light of their precise historical setting. Indeed, it would be considered the height of foolishness to attempt to discern the meaning of, say, equal protection without reference to the social and institutional context in which the phrase is used. If anything, the British constitution, lacking a single or express text, requires even greater caution. No phrases have figured more importantly in English (or American) political history than lex terram and per judicium parium suorum in Magna Carta. But no one would dream of John W. Compton is assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, Chapman University (compton@chapman.edu). Karen Orren is professor in the Department of Political Science, UCLA (orren@ucla.edu). The authors would like to thank Joyce Appleby, Eric Nelson, Peter Onuf, Stephen Skowronek, and the anonymous reviewers and editor of American Political Thought for their helpful comments and criticisms. American Political Thought: A Journal of Ideas, Institutions, and Culture, vol. 3 (Spring 2014). 2161-1580/2014/0301-0004$10.00. © 2014 by The Jack Miller Center. All rights reserved.

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