Apart from the military control of China by the royal house, the Zhou dynasty controlled different regions of their kingdom by a series of doctrines one of these is called the "Mandate of Heaven", it asserted the Zhou's moral superiority and justified their control over the regions.
The <span>original 13 colonies were governed very "loosely" before they joined together to form one nation--with the Articles of Confederation giving the federal government practically no power over the states. </span>