The Rights of Englishmen are the inherent rights held by the people themselves, not endowed by any government. The phrase was popular in England and the British Colonies during the time of the Glorious Revolution and the 1689 Boston revolt. While the phrase gained popularity and remained common in the colonies until independence from the crown was declared in 1776, its underlying principles were well understood for generations.
Many of the Founding Fathers spoke of their rights as Englishmen, such as George Mason. Several early laws in the colonies incorporated these ideas, such as the First Charter of Virginia(1606), the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, the Laws of the Province of South-Carolina,[1] and the Declaration of Rights and Grievances