2.1- OUR ENGLISH HERITAGE. What Influenced Colonial Government? Enlightenment= cultural movement that spread the idea that reason and science could improve.

2.1- OUR ENGLISH HERITAGE

What Influenced Colonial Government?

• Enlightenment= cultural movement that spread the idea that reason and science could improve society

• The English brought with them a history of limited and representative government and new ideas about law, society, and rights people possessed

The Magna Carta (1215)

• In 1215, English nobles rebelled against King John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta

• It protected nobles’ privileges and also granted rights that eventually applied to all English, including equal treatment under the law and a trial by jury

The Magna Carta (1215)

• The Magna Carta limited the power of the monarch by guaranteeing no one was above the law, not even the King or Queen

King John

Parliament• Legislature= a lawmaking body, in Great Britain it is

known as Parliament

Parliament• In 1688 Parliament removed King James II from the

throne, this was known as the Glorious Revolution, from now on, no ruler would have more power then Parliament

English Bill of Rights (1689)• The document further restricted the monarch’s power, it guaranteed free elections to Parliament, the right to a fair trial, and the elimination of cruel and unusual punishment

Common Law• In it’s earliest days, England had no written laws, people developed rules, and they began to have the force of law

• A court system developed and when judges decided cases they would look for a precedent or a ruling in an earlier case that was similar, to be consistent

Common Law• This system of law is known as common law, it rests on court decisions rather than regulations written by lawmakers

• Our laws about property, contracts, and personal injury are based on English common law

Philosophical Influences

• John Locke was an English writer who argued people were born free, equal, and independent

Philosophical Influences• He believed they possessed rights, called natural rights,

to life, liberty, and property that no government could take away

Philosophical Influences• He also believed in the social contract where people in a society agree to give up part of their freedom to a government in exchange for protection of natural rights; people agree to obey the government as long as it protects their rights

Philosophical Influences• Baron de Montesquieu developed the idea about dividing the branches of government into different parts to balance each other so that one part cannot become too strong or threaten individual rights

Representative Government• The 1st permanent English settlement in North America was Jamestown in Virginia, it was founded in 1607 by the Virginia Company

Representative Government• It was organized as a joint-stock company which provided

investors partial ownership and a share in future profits

Representative Government

• The merchants received a charter, from King James I which was a written document granting land and the authority to set up colonial governments

Representative Government• In 1619, the colonists formed the House of Burgesses, the

first legislature in the English colonies, it marked the beginning of self government

The Mayflower Compact (1620)• In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in America and built a

settlement called Plymouth in Massachusetts• On board their ship, the Mayflower, they drew up a written

plan for government known as the Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact (1620)• Compact= an agreement, or contract among a group of people

Town Meetings

• The Mayflower Compact established a tradition of direct democracy citizens held town meetings to address local problems and issues

• Everyone in town could attend and express their opinions but voting was limited to men who owned property

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)• Some Pilgrims were being persecuted for their religious

beliefs, they left Massachusetts and colonized the area that is now Connecticut

• There they developed America’s first written constitution, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Early Legislatures• By 1733, thirteen English colonies stretched from Massachusetts in the north to Georgia in the south

• Each colony had a governor elected by the colonists or appointed by the king; they each had a legislature with representatives elected by free adult males

Salutary Neglect• As the years passed colonial governments took on more

responsibility while the King and Parliament dealt with matters in Great Britain; colonists became used to making their own decisions; this policy was known as Salutary Neglect