By Birth or Consent: Children, Law, and the Anglo-American Revolution in Authority (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia)

In mid-sixteenth-century England, people were born into authority and responsibility based on their social status. Thus elite children could designate property or serve in Parliament, while children of the poorer sort might be forced to sign labor contracts or be hanged for arson or picking pockets. By the late eighteenth century, however, English and American law began to emphasize contractual relations based on informed consent rather than on birth status. In By Birth or Consent , Holly Brewer explores how the changing legal status of children illuminates the struggle over consent and status in England and America. As it emerged through religious, political, and legal debates, the concept of meaningful consent challenged the older order of birthright and became central to the development of democratic political theory. The struggle over meaningful consent had tremendous political and social consequences, affecting the whole order of society. It granted new powers to fathers and guardians at the same time that it challenged those of masters and kings. Brewer's analysis reshapes the debate about the origins of modern political ideology and makes connections between Reformation religious debates, Enlightenment philosophy, and democratic political theory. In By Birth Or Consent, Holly Brewer Explores How The Changing Legal Status Of Children Illuminates The Struggle Over Consent And Status In England And America. The Concept Of Meaningful Consent, As It Emerged Through Religious, Political, And Legal Debates, Challenged The Older Order Of Birthright And Became Central To The Development Of Democratic Political Theory. As Brewer Demonstrates, The Legal Status Of Children Serves As A Clear Measure Of The Changing Foundations Of Political And Legal Authority From The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries. Age Was Central To This Shift To A Consent-based Ideology, Which Specifically Excluded Children From The Practice Of Consent. Brewer's Analysis Reshapes The Debate About The Origins Of Modern Political Ideology And Makes Connections Between Reformation Religious Debates, Enlightenment Philosophy, And Democratic Political Theory.--jacket. Introduction : Limiting And Developing Individual Consent : Children And Anglo-american Revolutionary Ideology -- Ch. 1. Children, Inherited Power, And Patriarchal Ideology -- Ch. 2. Borne That Princes Subjects? Or Christianity Is No Man's Birth Right? : The Religious Debate Over Inherited Right And Consent To Membership -- Ch. 3. The Dilemmas Of Government By Consent And The Problem Of Children : Force, Influence, Implied Consent, And Inherited Obligation -- Ch. 4. Subjects Of Citizens? : Inherited Right Versus Reason, Merit, And Virtue -- Ch. 5. To Stop The Mouths Of Children : Reason And The Common Law -- Ch. 6. Understanding Intent : Children And The Reform Of Guilt And Punishment -- Ch. 7. The Emergence Of Parental Custody : Children And Consent To Contracts For Land, Goods, And Labor -- Ch. 8. Partly By Persuasions And Partly By Threats : Parents, Children, And Consent To Marriage -- The Empire Of The Fathers : From Birth To Consent Of Whom? Holly Brewer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents 14 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Limiting and Developing Individual Consent: Children and Anglo-American Revolutionary Ideology 18 1: Children, Inherited Power, and Patriarchal Ideology 34 2: ‘‘Borne That Princes Subjects’’? or ‘‘Christianity Is No Man’s Birth Right’’?: The Religious Debate over Inherited Right and Consent to Membership 62 3: The Dilemmas of Government by Consent and the Problem of Children: Force, Influence, Implied Consent, and Inherited Obligation 104 4: Subjects or Citizens? Inherited Right versus Reason, Merit, and Virtue 146 5: ‘‘To Stop the Mouths’’ of Children: Reason and the Common Law 167 6: Understanding Intent: Children and the Reform of Guilt and Punishment 198 7: The Emergence of Parental Custody: Children and Consent to Contracts for Land, Goods, and Labor 247 8: ‘‘Partly by Persuasions and Partly by Threats’’: Parents, Children, and Consent to Marriage 305 The Empire of the Fathers: From Birth to the Consent of Whom? 355 Appendix: Legal Treatises Used by Americans before the Nineteenth Century 386 Index 394 A 394 B 395 C 395 D 397 E 398 F 398 G 398 H 399 I 400 J 400 K 400 L 400 M 402 N 402 O 403 P 403 Q 404 R 404 S 405 T 405 U 406 V 406 W 406 Y 407 Z 407 ILLUSTRATIONS 366 Plate 1. Henry VI 366 Plate 2. Henry Darnall III 367 In mid-17-century England, people were born into authority based on their social status. By the late 18th century, however, English and American law began to emphasize contractual relations based on informed consent. This work explores how the changing legal status of children illuminates the debates over consent and status in England and America. After his election to the House of Burgesses for Elizabeth City, Virginia, "Mr." Willis Wilson, eighteen years old, traveled to Jamestown to attend the session of April 1692.