How prevalent were written laws and the government in many Western towns? A. Very strict on crime, emphasis on keeping towns clean
B. Lenient to businesses, tough on individuals
C. Practically nonexistent
D. Reliant on federal government for protection

C. Practically nonexistent

Explanation:

“Back in the days when the cowman with his herds made a new frontier, there was no law on the range. ... Though the cowman might break every law of the territory, state and federal government, he took pride in upholding his own unwritten code.

1. international: struggle for hegemony and empire outstrips the fiscal resources of the state

2. political conflict: conflict between the monarchy and the nobility over the “reform” of the tax system led to paralysis and bankruptcy.

3. the enlightenment: impulse for reform intensifies political conflicts; reinforces traditional aristocratic constitutionalism, one variant of which was laid out in montequieu’s spirit of the laws; introduces new notions of good government, the most radical being popular sovereignty, as in rousseau’s social contract [1762]; the attack on the regime and privileged class by the literary underground of “grub street; ” the broadening influence of public opinion.

4. social antagonisms between two rising groups: the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie

5. ineffective ruler: louis xvi

6. economic hardship, especially the agrarian crisis of 1788-89 generates popular discontent and disorders caused by food shortages.

c

explanation: