[ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals USC-Origins of American... · [ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals Key Terms • limited government ... • The First and Second

[ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals


Key Terms

• limited government

• representative government

• due process

• bicameral

• unicameral


Origins of American Constitutional Government

The English settlers brought ideas about government with them to North America. Analyze Charts How is representative government practiced in the United States today?


Influential Documents and Ideas

• Magna Carta,1215 - Nobles forced King John to recognize basic legal protections, limited royal power

• Petition of Right,1628 - Parliament forces King Charles I to agree to further limit royal power and submit to the law of the land

• English Bill of Rights,1688 - Further enumerated individual rights for English citizens.


Three Types of Colonies

• Britain’s 13 colonies were established and developed over 125 years

• Virginia was the first established in 1607

• Georgia was the last established in 1733

• Each colony was created by a charter or written grant of authority by the King



• Royal Colonies - Directly controlled by the Crown, examples - NH, MA, NY, NJ, VA, NC, SC, GA

• Proprietary Colonies - Land granted to a group or one person, examples - PA, DE, MD

• Charter Colonies - Grants given directly to colonists, examples - CT, RI


Despite the varying government systems of the colonies, they were all influenced by their English roots. Analyze Maps How were the legislatures of the proprietary colonies structured?

[ 2.2 ] Independence


Key Terms

• Confederation

• Albany Plan of Union

• delegates

• duties

• popular sovereignty


• Parliament left control of the colonies to the Crown

• For the first 100 years colonial legislatures were given the ability to govern with consent of the Crown

• Colonist believed they were loyal British subjects but not represented by Parliament.

British Colonial Policy


• Parliament levied a series of taxes on the colonies in an attempt to recoup costs from the French & Indian War.

• Without considering to consult the colonial legislatures first, King George III and Parliament enact these taxes

• Colonist violently protest these taxes and ultimately force Britain to back down





Growing Colonial Unity

• The 13 colonies begin to coalesce because of these protests

• Albany Plan of Union - Ben Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union is considered the first official step towards uniting the 13 colonies by having an annual meeting of delegates to address future issues with Britain

• The Stamp Act Congress - Led the boycott of British goods during the Stamp Act.


The First Continental Congress

• In the spring of 1774, Parliament passed yet another set of laws, this time to punish the colonists for the troubles in Boston and elsewhere.

• These new laws, denounced in America as the Intolerable Acts, prompted widespread calls for a meeting of the colonies.

• Members of the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and debated for almost two months before finalizing a Declaration of Rights, which was sent on to King George III.


The Second Continental Congress

• The British government continued to refuse to consider compromising on its colonial policies.

• King George III reacted to the Declaration of Rights as he had to other expressions of colonial discontent—with even stricter and more repressive measures.

• The Second Continental Congress met just weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord.

• One of their first tasks was to appoint George Washington as commander in chief of the new army.


The Second Continental Congress


The Declaration of Independence

• Slightly more than a year after the Revolution began, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Congress that the thirteen colonies should declare their independence from Britain

• Congressional delegates thought the move for independence should be unanimous, so they delayed the final vote until 12 colonial delegations favored it. New York abstained.


The First State Constitutions

[ 2.3 ] First Steps

[ 2.3 ] First Steps

Key Terms

• Articles of Confederation

• ratification

• full faith and credit

• Shays' Rebellion

[ 2.3 ] First Steps

The Articles of Confederation

• The First and Second Continental Congresses rested on no legal base. They were called in haste to meet an emergency, and they were intended to be temporary.

• The new independent states knew they needed a governing structure that was more regular and permanent.

[ 2.3 ] First Steps


• The Articles of Confederation would be America’s first form of government

• Approved on Nov. 15, 1777

• Ratified on March 1, 1781

• All 13 states had to ratify the Articles in order for them to take effect

[ 2.3 ] First Steps


• Provided a weak national government

• No Executive or Judicial Branch

• All powers given to Congress

• Make war and peace, borrow money, establish a money system, post offices, a military, settle disputes between states

[ 2.3 ] First Steps


• Congress was funded by the States

• State had to agree to honor the Articles

• States retained the main responsibility of defending the rights established in the Declaration of Independence

[ 2.3 ] First Steps

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• No power to tax

• Could not regulate inter-state trade

• 9 out of 13 States had to agree to pass legislation

• All states had to agree to amend the Articles

A Time of Troubles, the 1780s

• Post Revolutionary War America was disorganized and prone to inter-state arguments

• During the 1780’s states printed their own money, blocked trade with other states, and refused to fund Congress

• Shay’s Rebellion highlighted the volatility of situation

[ 2.3 ] First Steps

A Demand for Stronger Government

[ 2.3 ] First Steps

• Ignoring Congress Virginia & Maryland held their own meetings to settle trade disputes at the invitation of George Washington

• Annapolis 1786 - Virginia calls for a meeting of all states to discuss a stronger national government... few attend but the meeting does set the foundation for a future meeting in Philadelphia in 1787

[ 2.4 ] Creating and Ratifying the Constitution


Key Terms

• Framers

• quorum

• Virginia Plan

• veto

• New Jersey Plan

• Connecticut Compromise

• Three-Fifths Compromise

• Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

• Federalists

• Anti-Federalists


The Framers Meet

• The Constitutional Convention began on Friday, May 25, 1787

• 12 of 13 States sent delegates to Philadelphia

• 55 delegates attended the Convention (74 had been selected but 19 could not make it)


The Framers Meet

• 39 had been members of the Continental Congress

• 8 Signed the Declaration of Independence

• 31 had gone to college

• The average age was 42 / almost half were in their 30s

• Notable Non Participants - John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine

The Leaders


The Delegates Adopt Rules of Procedure

• George Washington was elected President of the Convention

• Simple majority was used to adopt the rules

• It was agreed that their work would be done in secret

• Five days into the convention the Framers made the decision to scrap the Articles of Confederation in favor of creating a new government


Two Plans of Government

Once the Framers resolved to replace the Articles of Confederation, two major plans were offered for the new government, the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.


The Virginia Plan • Three Branches of Govt

• Bicameral Legislature (both based on population, one elected by the people, one elected by the states)

• The legislature could regulate interstate trade, strike down laws deemed unconstitutional and use armed forces to enforce laws.

The New Jersey Plan • Three Branches of Govt

• Unicameral Legislature (every state gets the same number of representatives)

• The national government could levy taxes and import duties, regulate trade, and state laws would be subordinate to laws passed by the national legislature.

Debates and Compromises

• The Connecticut Compromise - Compromise between large & small states that created a bicameral legislature. One house based on population (The House of Representatives) and one based on state equality (The Senate)

• In addition the National Government would be the superior law of the land.




• The Three-Fifths Compromise - Compromise between northern & southern states that counted slaves and other non free persons as only 3/5 of a person for census information

• The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise - In order for the Constitution to include the power to regulate commerce, southern state demanded that slavery be protected for at least 20 years


During the Constitutional Convention, the southern States had larger populations of enslaved people than the northern States. Analyze Maps To which compromises did this contribute and why?


The Fight for Ratification

The Constitution of the United States was widely criticized when it was first introduced, and in every State there were many who opposed its adoption. The battle over the ratification of the document was not easily decided.


• Federalists - Supporters of the New Constitution

• Leaders included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton

• Anti Federalists - Opponents of the New Constitution

• Leaders included Patrick Henry, John Hancock, and Sam Adams



