origins of american government - mr. martin's … · 2015-08-26 · origins of american...

Origins of American Government

Our Political Beginnings

The Coming Independence

Chapter 2

Basic Concepts of Government

• Our first settlers brought with them the customs and laws from England

• The first settlers organized their towns based on those common laws using a sheriff, coroner, justice of the peace, and grand juries.


• Babylonia – Hammurabi’s Code

• Greece – direct democracy

• Rome – 12 Tables which spread throughout their Empire in Europe

• English Law

• Native American Law

Roots of American Government

Ancient Athens introduced the start of democratic government. Its ideas included:

• Natural law

• Direct democracy

• Majority rule

• Citizen participation in public life such as:

- Jury service, voting, running for elected office

Roots of American Gov’t (cont’d)

• Ancient Rome also provided unique democratic values:

- Created republican gov’t (indirect democracy)

- Rule of law was supreme

- Developed a Senate as a lawmaking body

- Established the veto

- Practiced civic virtue

Our Direct Political Heritage

• American government is very strongly tied to our ENGLISH political heritage.

• Our early colonial governments were based on the ideas of limited government and the rights of the individual.


• Land was divided into counties and townships.

• They brought the idea of limited government

• Because they were far from the king, they began a representative government in Jamestown


• The new government was based on English law and tradition from the Magna Carta, Petition of Rights and the English Bill of Rights

• Wealthy men still ruled these local governments

Limited Government

• Absolute monarchies lost some of their power in England beginning in 1215. (Magna Carta)

• The idea of limiting the power of government was brought with the early colonists.

Magna Carta

• In 1215, English nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, making the king share power with them

• It included a trial by jury and due process before taking life, liberty or property.

Rights of Englishmen • Magna Carta (1215)

- First established the idea of limited government; the power of kings is limited.

• No loss of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

• No taxation without the people’s consent (the nobles’ consent that is!)

Rights of Englishmen (cont’d)

• Common law:

- A body of law developed from judicial decisions based on customs and precedent (traditions) and in use for many hundreds of years, but are unwritten and constitute the basis of English law.

• Common law was used similarly in colonial law.


• Petition of Right (1628) - English Parliament (the law

making body) became the prime law maker.

- Kings cannot imprison people without legal cause and a jury trial.

- No troops could be housed in private homes.

- Kings could not collect taxes without consent of Parliament.

Petition of Right

• Almost 400 years later, in 1628, Charles I signed the Petition of Right which gave rights to common people.

• This document further eroded the power of the absolute monarchy

• It challenged the idea of divine right saying the king had to obey the law.

English Petition of Rights

• Early document supporting idea that men have rights and establishing concept of rule of law

• Included basic rights

– Guarantee of trial by jury

– Protection against martial law

– Protection against quartering of troops

– Protection of private property

English Bill of Rights

• After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, William and Mary agreed to the English Bill of Rights

• This required the elected Parliament to share the power of government


• English Bill of Rights (1689)

- King has no divine right to rule.

- King needs Parliament’s permission to suspend laws, raise taxes, or raise an army.

- Citizens have rights of due process when accused of crimes.


• It gave the right to a fair trial, freedom from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment and prohibited a standing army unless authorized by Parliament.

• The absolute monarchy was dead in England


• Limited power of the monarch

–No standing army in peacetime

–Free elections

–Right of petition

–Parliamentary checks on power

The Enlightenment

• A philosophical movement

between 1688-1789 in Europe marked by the questioning of traditional values and political beliefs while emphasizing the idea of human progress.

• Also called the “Age of Reason”

• Marked the time when men attempted to apply scientific knowledge and reason to all aspects of society.

• Helped spark the American and French Revolutions

Enlightenment Political Philosophers - All men have natural

rights of life, liberty, and property that government is bound to protect;

- Government gets its power to rule through the consent of the people;

- People can overthrow an abusive government and establish a new one.

JOHN LOCKE

http://www.malaspina.com/jpg/locke.jpg

Enlightenment Philosophers (cont)

* Montesquieu:

Separation of powers into three branches; each has checks on the others. People are sovereign over govt.

* Rousseau:

A social contract reflects the will of the people; direct democracy is best. No private property should be allowed.

* Voltaire:

Free speech is a natural right even when criticizing government. People are not capable of self-rule, kings are the best rulers.

Representative Government

• Colonists also brought with them the idea of electing representatives to serve for them in government.

American Colonial Rule

• Types of colonies:

(1) Those owned by a person who had total control over the land given to him by the king:

PROPRIETARY (2) Those which were authorized

to self-govern:

CHARTER

(3) Those which had a king- appointed governor who exercised strict power:

ROYAL

American Colonies

• Royal –VA, NC, SC, NJ, NY, GA, MA, AND NH

• Proprietary – DE, MD, AND PA

• Charter – RI & CT

Jamestown

• The first permanent English colony was started as a joint-stock company, the Virginia Company.

• The first inhabitants were employees

Jamestown

• Far from the King (3 months by ship), local decisions were made by management leading to self-rule.

Massachusetts

• The Pilgrims settled in New England to escape religious persecution

• The Puritans believed all other faiths were damned to hell.

Georgia

• To relieve overcrowding in debtors prisons, Britain sent victims of the Poor Laws to Georgia

• It was set up as a military colony to buffer Spanish Florida from the Carolinas

Royal Colonies

• Of the 13 colonies, 8 were under direct control of the Crown – NH, MA, NY, NJ, VA, NC, SC, GA

• The king named a governor but the lower house was elected by the people

Proprietary Colonies

• Three were proprietary colonies: PA, MD, DE

• Lord Baltimore – Delaware

• William Penn – PA and MD

• Major decisions were made by the king while day to day business was controlled by elected representatives

Charter Colonies

• Connecticut and Rhode Island were charter colonies and largely self-governing

• They had a bi-cameral, two houses, legislature

American Colonial Rule

• From its earliest beginnings, American colonial rule developed mostly as self-government.

• Colonists created their own colonial legislatures. Their laws were subject to veto by the king and Parliament should they go too far.

• Their laws were based on English common law and those things necessary to make the colony run.

Colonial Rule (cont’d)

• Colonial legislatures can date themselves back to the time of the Jamestown colony in 1619.

• Major practices among all American colonies:

- creation of Bills of Rights for colonists

- legislatures composed of elected representatives

- used the idea of separation of powers in the government

Non-Interference Policy

• For 150 years, the colonies governed themselves pretty much on their own.

• The Crown saw the colonies as an economic interest only. As long as Britain benefited economically they let the colonies self-govern.

• Both sides became comfortable with this policy we now call:

Colonial Government Development

• 1619- First representative legislature in America: Virginia House of Burgesses • 1620- First agreement in the colonies for self-government: Mayflower Compact • 1639- First written constitution in America: Fundamental Orders of Connecticut • 1775- Government of the colonies during the Revolution Second Continental Congress • 1776- Strongly influenced the ideas in the Decl. of Independence Virginia Declaration of Rights • 1776- Colonies establish themselves as one sovereign nation of

independent states Declaration of Independence • 1781-87- First government of the United States: Articles of Confederation

The Coming of Independence

Chapter 2 Section 2

Britain’s Policies

• The 13 colonies were separately controlled through the king, by means of the Privy Council or Board of Trade

• Except for trade, the colonies were left to govern themselves under the watchful eye of the Crown


• The Crown hired royal governors to oversee policy, but colonial taxes paid his salary.

• Usually the governor went with the wishes of the town


• The Crown provided for a national currency and made foreign policy for the colonies.

• Parliament made few regulations regarding trade and taxes were low

Colonial Unity

• For the first years, there was no unity among the colonies.

• Trade, transportation, communication, etc. all went between Britain.

• The first attempts at unity, the New England Confederation and one devised by William Penn, were unsuccessful.

Albany Plan of Union

• Ben Franklin wanted each colony to send delegates to an annual meeting

• They would have the power to raise a military, regulate inter-colonial trade, and dealings with the Indians

• It was rejected

Albany Plan of Union

Stamp Act 1765

• Parliament passed a new tax law for the colonists

• It required that a tax be paid on almost all paper goods; newspapers, legal documents, etc…

• A stamp proved the tax was paid

Stamp Act 1765

• The colonists petitioned the king, boycotted British goods and hung effigies of tax collectors

• Parliament repealed the tax.

More Taxes, More Protests

• Colonial boycotts continued when Britain imposed other taxes

• Their claim, “No taxation without representation.”

Tar and feathering


• On Dec. 16, 1773, patriots threw chests of tea into Boston Harbor

• King George III imposed the Intolerable Acts

• It was time for the colonies to join forces.

First Continental Congress

• Delegates from 12 colonies, (not GA) met in Philadelphia

• They discussed the worsening situation with Britain and looked for a way to solve the conflict.

• They planned to meet the following summer.


• In April 1775, British soldiers headed for a colonial munitions stockpile west of Boston

• The “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired and the American Revolution had begun

Second Continental Congress

• By the meeting of this Congress, we were at war with Britain.

• All 13 colonies sent delegates, which devised America’s first government.

Second Continental Congress

• John Hancock was its president

• George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief

• They raised an army, borrowed funds, dealt with foreign nations, and created a money system

Declaration of Independence

• A committee of 5 was charged with writing a document explaining our grievances against King George III

• Thomas Jefferson wrote the document which was approved on July 4, 1776

Coming of Independence

• Declaration of Independence – broke our ties with England

– Written by Thomas Jefferson

Parts of the Declaration

• Three key parts:

– What is an ideal government?

– List of grievances of colonists

– Declaration of freedom from England


• The Declaration of Independence lists the numerous acts that King George III did to America without any representative from the colonies in Parliament.


• Another way of looking at it

• Declaration of Independence was like a divorce:

– What an ideal marriage should be

– List of complaints about your spouse

– The marriage is over, FREEDOM!

United States of America

• After 5 years of fighting, America was independent

• States began writing their own state constitutions, each featuring popular sovereignty, something the patriots had fought for.


• The state constitutions had many similarities

–Governors had little power

–Most authority was given to the legislature

– Elected offices had short terms

– Landed men had the right to vote


• It was easy to see that America would not easily forget the reasons they fought for their freedom.

Origins of Our American Government

The Critical Period

Chapter 2

Section 3

Vocabulary

• Articles of Confederation – first plan for America’s government following the Revolutionary War

• Ratification – approval

• Presiding officer – person leading a meeting

Articles of Confederation

• The first state and federal governments of America were reminders of what colonists had lived through under King George II

• They based these documents more on what they did not want


• The Articles of Confederation is a government which gave states exactly what they wanted

– Strong state’s rights

–Weak central government

–Unanimous decisions to change the Articles


• The Articles of Confederation was ratified by all 13 states by 1781

• The presiding officer had no decision making power

• Congress could declare war but not raise troops

• Congress could spend money but not raise revenue


• The states promised to send money and troops to the federal government when it was needed

• Nothing could force them to do it when the time came, however

• The gov’t had ‘power’ but no ‘authority’


• Congress borrowed heavily to pay for the war and those debts had not been repaid

• Not a single state came close to repaying their share of the debt and Congress could not mandate it


• Because 9 of the 13 states had to ratify any amendments, it was impossible to get them to agree so no amendments were done

• States bickered among themselves and many acted like an independent country when dealing with foreign countries

Critical Period, 1780’s

• “We are one nation today and 13 tomorrow, Who will treat us on such terms?” G. Washington

• States taxed one another’s goods and banned trade.

• Debts went unpaid

• Violence broke out

Shays Rebellion

• Daniel Shays led farmers in western Massachusetts in violent protests against losing their farms

• There was no army to stop them

Shay’s Rebellion

• The farmers rampaged through Massachusetts but no one was able to stop them without an army or trained military.

Shay’s Rebellion

• American’s realized that they needed a stronger federal government

• States agreed to meet to discuss a plan to settle the problems

Delegates’ Concerns

• Most agreed that a stronger national

government was needed, but they:

1. Feared that a central government

would become corrupt.

2. Were concerned that extremism could

impact liberties.

3. Believed that government powers had

to be “separated” or tempt tyranny.

Constitutional Convention

• Delegates met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.

• 55 who became known as the Framers

Constitutional Convention

Creating the Constitution

• The Framers met in Philadelphia at Independence Hall in May of 1787

• George Washington was elected president of the Convention

• James Madison was given the title of “Father of the Constitution”

• Delegates met in secrecy, original purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation

origins of american government - mr. martin's … · 2015-08-26 · origins of american...

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