"That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;" This quote from the English Bill of Rights would have influenced the American colonists to think that they could make requests of the king without fear of getting into trouble for it may meet with the monarch only when accused of a crime and found guilty had no right to question the monarch's actions, laws, or punishments should be happy with their current situation under the British monarch