chapter 2 government. institutions the established laws, customs, and practices of a society. these...

CHAPTER 2

Government

INSTITUTIONS• The established laws, customs, and

practices of a society. • These early English settlers brought

these ideas with them to the colonies. • These institutions helped to influence

the government that would later be established.

3 BASIC CONCEPETS TO EARLY GOVERNMENT IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES

1. Ordered Government—They saw a need for an orderly government that could work with one another.

Local offices they had been exposed to in England emerged. These included: sheriff, coroner, justice of the peace, creation of counties and townships.

2. Limited Government—belief that the government is not all powerful and is limited by the people in what it can and cannot do.

Each individual has certain rights that the government cannot take away. It is a system in which the government’s powers are restricted and an individual’s rights are protected.


3. Representative Government—a system in which policies are made by officials accountable to the people who elected them.

However, don’t forget at this time, they were elected by the property owners.

This is the idea that government should serve the people.


LANDMARK ENGLISH DOCUMENTS

1. Magna Carta (June 15, 1215)—it represents the first attempt to limit the absolute power of the British monarchy.

It was signed by King John on Runnymede Field after he was chased and captured by nobles angry with him for his absolute rule.

The document protected nobles from arbitrary acts by the king (such as taxing without consent), guaranteed rights (such as trial by jury), and forbade the king from taking life, liberty, or property without good reason.

LANDMARD ENGLISH DOCUMENTS

2. Petition of Right—it was written in 1628 and Charles I was forced to sign it. The Petition of Right extended certain rights to commoners who were not part of the nobility.

It addressed a number of what the House of Commons considered as royal abuses of power, such as the quartering of troops in private homes and the forcing of loans to the crown.

Largely framed by Sir Edward Coke, the Petition had four provisions: that parliamentary approval was required for the levying of taxes or the granting of loans, that legal cause was required for the imprisonment of subjects (habeas corpus), that members of the armed forces could not be billeted in private houses without payment, and that martial law could not be declared in peacetime.

LANDMARD ENGLISH DOCUMENTS

3. English Bill of Rights—it was created in 1688. The English Bill of Rights opened the road to constitutional monarchy in England under the joint rule of William III and Mary II (William & Mary of Orange).

It required that Parliamentary elections be free, guaranteed the right to a fair and speedy trial, freedom of excessive bail, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishments.

Of the 17th-century colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America, England founded all

but two.• The first settlement was

established at Jamestown in 1607.

• The second settlement was at Plymouth in 1620; the colony was absorbed by Massachusetts in 1691.

• Virginia (1607)• Massachusetts (1630)• Maryland (1634)• Connecticut (1635)• Rhode Island (1636)• the Carolinas (1663)

• New Hampshire (1679)• Pennsylvania (1682)• New Jersey (1702)• Georgia (1732)• North and South Carolina

became separate colonies in 1730

• New York (1624) was originally settled by the Dutch as New Netherland.

• The Swedes established Delaware as a colony (1638). These areas were eventually taken over by the English in 1664.

Mayflower Compact • A voluntary agreement to govern themselves; it was

America's first written agreement to self-government.• The threat of James I to "harry them out of the land" sent

a little band of religious dissenters from England to Holland in 1608. They were known as Separatists because they wished to cut all ties with the established church. In 1620, some of them, known now as the Pilgrims, joined with a larger group in England to set sail on the Mayflower for the New World.

• A joint stock company financed their venture. In November, they sighted Cape Cod and decided to land an exploring party at Plymouth Harbor.

• A rebellious group picked up at Southampton and London troubled the Pilgrim leaders, however, and to control their actions 41 Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact and signed it before going ashore.

Great Fundamentals• The first basic system of laws in the

English colonies (America) adopted by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

• The first formal constitution in the English colonies (America)

• Laid out a plan for government that gave the people the right to elect the governor, judges, and representatives to make laws.

• It was adopted by Puritans who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony to colonize Connecticut.

Virginia House of Burgesses

• The first legislature in the English colonies (America) established in 1819.

Salutary Neglect• Refers to the English policy of interfering very little in

colonial affairs from about 1690 to 1760. During these years the colonists were given a good deal of autonomy in local matters, and the English king and parliament rarely legislated constraints of any kind. In turn, the colonists supported England. “Let sleeping dogs lie.”

• During this period of time England fought a series of colonial wars. Most notable was the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) 1754-1763. At the end of this war the British policy toward the colonies changed because they began to look at the colonies as a source of revenue.

George III (1738-1820)• Ruled Great Britain

from 1760-1820, a member of the Hanoverian family, and successor to his grandfather, George II.

• He began to strengthen the reign of the Monarch over the American colonies.

George III (1738-1820).. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from

Discovery Education: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

WAYS GREAT BRITAIN STRENGTHEND ITS REIGN OVER AMERICAN COLONIES

1. Proclamation of 1763—a royal decree that prohibited the American colonists from establishing or maintaining settlements west of an imaginary line running down the crest of the Appalachian Mountains.

Proclamation of 1763


2. Sugar Act (1764) (Revenue Act of 1764)—called for the strict enforcement of tax on sugar into the colonies


3. Stamp Act (1765)—tax on newspapers, legal documents, playing cards, etc…

It required the use of stamped paper for legal documents, diplomas, almanacs, broadsides, newspapers and playing cards. The presence of the stamp on these items was to be proof that the tax had been paid.

Funds accumulated from this tax were to be earmarked solely for the support of British soldiers protecting the American colonies.


4. Townshend Duties (1767)—tax on imports of tea, glass, paper, lead, and paint.

• The Townshend duties were repealed in 1770, except for the tax on tea


5. Intolerable Acts (1774) (Restrictive Acts, Coercive Acts)—Restrictive acts passed by the British Parliament in 1774 in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party.

Four acts closed Boston harbor until restitution had been made for the tea destroyed; revoked the Massachusetts charter and established military government; removed British Colonial officials from the jurisdiction of Colonial courts; and provided for the quartering of British troops in occupied dwellings.

A fifth act, the Quebec Act, which had been under consideration before, placed the territory between the Ohio and the Mississippi under the jurisdiction of the province of Quebec.

New England Confederation(1643-1684)

• Formed as a “league of friendship” for defense against Indians.

• It was formed by the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut settlements.

Albany Plan of Union (1754)• The thought of

Benjamin Franklin where delegates of each of the 13 colonies would meet annually in an assembly or conference.

• They were concerned with trade and defense against the French and Indians.

Engraved Portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Corbis(2006). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Stamp Act Congress(October 7, 1765)

• Meeting of American colonials to formalize protest against the Stamp Act (1765). Representatives from New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina, Maryland, and Connecticut met in New York City and issued the 14 point Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which condemned taxation by the British without Colonial representation in Parliament.

• Parliament refused to acknowledge the grievances but, under pressure from British merchants, repealed the Stamp Act in March of 1766.

Committees of Correspondence

• Committees set up by towns, cities, and legislatures in Colonial America.

• Formed originally to communicate with other American colonies about opposition to British laws (Sugar Act, Stamp Act), they helped promote Colonial unity and organization of the Continental Congress.

• Notable among them were the Boston committee, formed in 1772 by Samuel Adams, and the Virginia committee formed in 1773, on which Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry served. The Boston committee directed the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

First Continental Congress (Sept. 5, 1774-Oct. 26, 1774)

• As a result of the Intolerable Acts (1774) a meeting was called for each colony to send delegates to Philadelphia to discuss the situation.

• 55 total delegates were sent from every colony except Georgia.

• They drafted a document called Declaration of Rights and Grievances which explained the colonial position and protested the British policies.

First Continental Congress(Continued)

• They also imposed an embargo, an agreement prohibiting trade, on Britain, and agreed not to use British goods.

• They agreed to meet again in May of 1775 if their grievances had not been met.

Second Continental Congress (May 10, 1775-March 1, 1781)

• By the time they met in Philadelphia, the British had failed to compromise, and the first shots of the Revolutionary War had been fired at Lexington and Concord.

• Most of the delegates from the First Continental Congress attended. The most notable newcomers were: Benjamin Franklin (PA), John Hancock (MA), and Thomas Jefferson (VA).

• John Hancock was chosen President of the Congress.

Second Continental Congress (Continued)

• They organized a “continental army” and placed George Washington as commander-in-chief.

George Washington at the end of his presidency.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Second Continental Congress (Continued)

• The unicameral Congress exercised both executive and legislative powers through committees and the colonies (later states) had one vote.

Common Sense (1776)

• Pamphlet published by Thomas Paine in January of 1776.

• His writing influenced many colonists.

• Paine, who was a one-time British corset-maker argued that monarchy was a corrupt form of government and that George III was an enemy to liberty.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809).. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Common Sense (1776)(Continued)

• Paine made the following points: – Governments, even good ones,

are at best necessary evils; they were less desirable the farther the government was from the governed.

– Ignoring the lingering loyalty many Americans still felt for the king, he argued ardently for independence. Monarchy was branded an absurd form of government and George III a “Royal Brute.”

– It made no sense, in Paine's mind, for a small country like Britain, an island, to rule a continent like America.

– Independence would foster peace and prosperity. An independent America could avoid the senseless progression of European wars and grow rich by trading with all countries, not just the mother country.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809).. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Declaration of Independence

• On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee (VA) proposed a resolution declaring “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

Declaration of Independence. Jupiterimages Corporation(2006). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Richard Henry Lee, head of the Virginia radicals.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


The drafting of the document was entrusted to a committee:

John Adams, Washington's vice president.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from

Discovery Education:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

John Adams (MA) Thomas Jefferson (VA)Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United

States. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Roger Sherman (CT)Connecticut's Roger Sherman (1721-1793).. IRC

(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, fromDiscovery Education:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) .. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Benjamin Franklin (PA)

Robert R. Livingston (NY)

Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813).. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Declaration of Independence(Continued)

• On July 2, 1776, the delegates agreed to Lee’s resolution and on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted.

• It was designed to influence public opinion, both at home and abroad, especially in France, to which the United States looked for military support.

• This was the creation of the United States of America, 13 separate states.

The Declaration is composed of several parts:

1. An introduction that states the reasons for embracing independence. Jefferson drew heavily on the natural rights philosophy of the English political philosopher John Locke. Governments, it was argued, had their origins in a social compact between the people and their rulers. The people were to offer their obedience in return for the governments' pledge to protect the natural rights of life, liberty and property; Jefferson, however, softened Locke's list of rights by referring to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Governments that failed to provide or protect these rights could legitimately be abolished.

2. A series of indictments that justified the decision for independence. The Declaration presents a long list of charges against George III, Parliament and royal officials. Charging the king with offenses was a departure from previous positions that had excoriated the ministers and politicians, but not the monarch. Some of the complaints registered in the document may seem strange or even trivial to today's reader, but it must be remembered that the purpose of the Declaration was the molding of public opinion and not the recording of facts.

3. A conclusion. Based on the long series of infractions detailed in the Declaration, the words of Richard Henry Lee were echoed, "That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved...."

Articles of Confederation• Congress adopted the Articles

of Confederation on November 15, 1777, but it was not ratified by all 13 states, the last being Maryland, until 1781.

• The Articles then took effect on March 1, 1781.

• This was America’s first form of government and it had a unicameral legislature with no executive or judicial branch.

• The Congress only had the powers designated to it by the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation, 1777.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Articles of Confederation(Continued)

make war and peace send and receive

ambassadors enter into treaties set up a monetary

system borrow money fix uniform weights

and measures

regulate Indian affairs establish post offices settle disputes among

the states raise a navy raise an army by

asking the states for troops.

Congress could:

7 WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

1. No power to tax2. No power to regulate commerce (trade)

domestic or foreign3. No power to enforce the laws it made4. No court system5. No executive branch6. 9 of 13 states had to approve laws7. 13 of 13 states had to approve

amendments

3 SUCCESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

1. Led country through the Revolutionary War

2. Land Ordinance of 1785—allowed land sales in Ohio & Mississippi River Valley

3. Northwest Ordinance of 1787—established territory northwest of Ohio River

Mount Vernon (March 1785)• representatives from

Maryland and Virginia met at the home of George Washington to discuss difficulties over trade.

• When they adjourned they called for another meeting that would involve all of the 13 states to discuss “a federal plan to regulating commerce.”

Mount Vernon: Home of George Washington (?)

Retrieved May 28, 2009 from:

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/images/mt_vernon2-s.jpg

Annapolis (September 11, 1786)

• All 13 states were invited but only 5 of 13 states attended (NY, NJ, PA, DE, & VA).

• 4 states (NH, MA, RI, & NC) appointed delegates but they did not attend.

• They called for another meeting to take place in May of 1787 in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.

Annapolis State House.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Shays’ Rebellion(August 1786—February 1787)

• An armed outbreak by debtor farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-87 who were upset over monetary policy.

• It was led by Daniel Shays, who was a former Captain in the Revolutionary War.

• It spurred the drive for a stronger national government.

End of Shays's Rebellion, Springfield, MA.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Daniel Shays' Rebellion 1786-87: Massachusetts Farmers Rebel Against State Government Taxes. Aims Multimedia(2000). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Shays’ Rebellion(August 1786—February 1787)

Constitutional Convention(May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787)

• All of the states except Rhode Island sent delegates to Philadelphia.

• 70 delegates were chosen by the various states legislatures to attend, but for various reasons 55 delegates attended the Convention.

• The average age of the delegates was 41, with the oldest being Benjamin Franklin (PA) at 81.

• George Washington (VA) was elected unanimously to preside over the meetings.

• The convention was supposed to revise the Articles of Confederation, but they agreed to create a new government.

Constitutional Convention(Continued)

7 had served as governors of their states

39 had served in Continental Congress or Congress of the Confederation

8 had signed Declaration of Independence

6 had signed Articles of Confederation

2 would eventually become President

The State House in Philadelphia, 1778.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


The Constitutional Convention. United Learning(1999). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Delegates at Constitutional ConventionConnecticut William Samuel Johnson Roger Sherman Oliver Ellsworth (Elsworth)*Delaware George Read Gunning Bedford, Jr. John Dickinson Richard Bassett Jacob BroomGeorgia William Few Abraham Baldwin William Houstoun* William L. Pierce*Maryland James McHenry Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Daniel Carroll Luther Martin* John F. Mercer*

Massachusetts Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King Elbridge Gerry* Caleb Strong*New Hampshire John Langdon Nicholas GilmanNew Jersey William Livingston David Brearly

(Brearley) William Paterson

(Patterson) Jonathan Dayton William C. Houston*New York Alexander Hamilton John Lansing, Jr.* Robert Yates*

North CarolinaWilliam BlountRichard Dobbs SpaightHugh WilliamsonWilliam R. Davie* Alexander Martin*PennsylvaniaBenjamin FranklinThomas MifflinRobert MorrisGeorge ClymerThomas FitzsimonsJared IngersollJames WilsonGouverneur Morris

* Did not sign U.S. Constitution

Delegates at Constitutional Convention(Continued)

South Carolina John Rutledge Charles Cotesworth

Pinckney Charles Pinckney Pierce Butler

Rhode Island Rhode Island did not

send delegates to theConstitutional Convention.

VirginiaJohn BlairJames Madison Jr.George WashingtonGeorge Mason*James McClurg*Edmund J. Randolph*George Wythe*

* Did not sign U.S. Constitution

The Constitutional Convention. United Learning(1999). Retrieved May 28, 2009, from


Virginia Plan (May 29, 1787)

• Proposed by Edmund Randolph (VA). • It would create 3 branches of government (executive,

legislative, judicial). • The legislative branch would be made up of 2 houses. • The lower house would be elected by popular vote, and the

lower house would appoint the upper house (Senate). • The number of representatives in each house would be

based on population or the amount of money each state gave to the central government.

• The executive and the judicial branches would be appointed by the legislative branch.

• This was rejected by the smaller states (for example: DE, MD, NJ).

New Jersey Plan (June 15, 1787)

• Proposed by William Patterson (NJ) and would be based on the major features of the Articles of Confederation.

• It called for a unicameral legislature that would represent each state equally (one state, one vote)

• Congress would be able to regulate trade and impose taxes

• All acts of Congress would be the supreme law of the land

• Several people would be elected by Congress to form an executive office, and the executive office would appoint a Supreme Court.

Connecticut Compromise(July 16, 1787)

• This was a combination of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans that was introduced by Roger Sherman (CT) and the Connecticut delegation.

• It stated that there should be a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

• In the Senate the states would be represented equally, and in the House representation would be based on a state’s current population

• Money bills must originate in the House and could not be amended in the Senate.

• It was passed on a 5-4-1 vote by the delegates.

Roger Sherman and Connecticut Compromise

OTHER COMPROMISES

1. 3/5 Compromise—each state would count each of its slaves as 3/5 of a person for determining representation and taxation.

For purposes of determining the number of representatives in the House, every five slaves would be counted as three. (This did not confer the vote on slaves; it was simply a formula for determining representation in the House of Representatives.) Final wording in the Constitution referred to “all other persons” and the words slave and slavery do not appear; this same population computation would also be used for determining taxation.

OTHER COMPROMISES(Continued)

2. Slave Trade Compromise—slave trade would stay intact for 20 years (until 1808)

3. Commerce Compromise—gave Congress the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, and also forbid Congress from taxing the exports from a state.

OTHER COMPROMISES(Continued)

4. Electoral Compromise—established the Electoral College where each state selects electors to choose the President, and establishing a four-year term for the President.

After months of work the Constitution was finished on September 17, 1787, and thus went to the states for ratification.

39 of 55 delegates signed the document.

The signing of the U.S. Constitution.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 29, 2009, from


United States Constitution. Jupiterimages Corporation(2006). Retrieved May 29, 2009, from


Ratification• It would take 9 of 13 states to

approve the new Constitution.

• 2 groups developed as a result of the ratification process.

Federalist Anti-Federalist

Federalist• People who supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

They were led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay (Remember Federalist Papers)

• The Federalists were originally those forces in favor of the ratification of the Constitution and were typified by:– A desire to establish a strong central government (unlike that which

existed under the Articles of Confederation) – A corresponding desire for weaker state governments – The support of many large landowners, judges, lawyers, leading

clergymen and merchants– The support of creditor elements who felt that a strong central

government would give protection to public and private credit. • The term "Federalist" was later applied to the emerging

political faction headed by Alexander Hamilton in George Washington's administration.

Anti-Federalist• People who opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

They were led by Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Richard Henry Lee.

• The Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution and were typified by:– A desire to establish a weak central government (as had been

created by the Articles of Confederation) – A corresponding desire for strong state governments – The support of many small farmers and small landowners– The support of debtor elements who felt that strong state legislatures

were more sympathetic to them than a strong central government.• The term Anti-Federalist was later applied to the emerging

political faction headed by Thomas Jefferson during the administration of George Washington. This faction would become the Democratic-Republican Party and later the Democratic Party.

ARGUMENTS OF ANTI-FEDERALIST

1. Gave too much power to the central government

2. Had no bill of rights

3. Denial of states to print money

• The first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution was Delaware (Dec. 7, 1787), the 9th state to ratify was New Hampshire (June 21, 1788), the last to ratify was Rhode Island (May 29, 1790) by a vote of 34-32 in its state legislature.

• The new government convened in New York on March 4, 1789. Congress met for the first time in Federal Hall with 59 members in the House and 22 members of the Senate.

• George Washington was a unanimous choice for President of the United States (April 6, 1789) with John Adams being the Vice President.

• April 30, 1789—George Washington (VA) takes office as President of the United States in New York.

The inauguration of George Washington.. IRC

(2005). Retrieved May 29, 2009, from

Discovery Education: http://streaming.discoveryedu

cation.com/

CAPITOLS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

1. New York (1789-1790)

2. Philadelphia (1790-1800)

3. Washington, D.C. (1800-Present)

Congress Hall in Philadelphia.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 29, 2009, from


The inauguration of George Washington.. IRC(2005). Retrieved May 29, 2009, from


chapter 2 government. institutions the established laws, customs, and practices of a society. these...

Documents

early government

orderly government

guaranteed rights

early english settlers

individuals rights

basic concepets

king john

absolute power