What characteristic of colonial rule led the colonists to distrust a strong central government? 1-the excessive abuses of power by the British king
2-the respected position of British soldiers
3-the excessive ownership of the land by the Royal Legislatures
4-the powerful influence of the Protestant Church

Correct answer is 1. the excessive abuses of power by the British king .

Explanation:

First option is the correct answer because king of Britain, together with government imposed many taxes, thus showing disrespect towards the colonies. That is why many grievances that were expressed in the Declaration of Independence were stressed toward British king.

Other options are not correct, especially the last one.

The position of soldiers wasn't the factor that could affect the distrust towards the government.

women should have the same rights as men

social contract theory basically says that all individuals are born equal, and provided a god given right to consent to be governed. american government is based of this

thomas hobbes and john locke said that we are selfish, individualistic, and constantly at war with each other, therefore we need to be controlled. 

government is defined as the legitimate use of force to control human behavior within territorial boundaries, here comes in hobbes and locke.

hobbes takes the part about controlling human behavior. while locke takes the part of legitimate use of force, since force is not legitimate unless there is consent of the people. 

there are basically 3 goals of the government: 1) maintain order by protecting life and property. 2) providing public goods, those which are typically not provided by the public sector, such as roads and education. 3) promote equality be it political, opportunist or outcome equality.