Chapter 2 Notes

Chapter 2 NotesOrigins of American Government

Big Idea• What is our political heritage, and how did that effect the

founding of our new nation, in both the successes and failures?

THE COLONIAL PERIODSection 1

The Question• What led the American colonists to believe that they would

have a representative government?

Part 1: An English Political Heritage• The English Colonists brought with them a heritage of freedom

and principles of government that helped shape the development of the United States

• The concept of limited government, dating from the Magna Carta in 1215, was an accepted part of the English system.

• The Petition of Right in 1628 severely limited the power of the English monarch.

Part 1 Continued• The colonists believed in the limits on the ruler’s power and

the freedoms protected in the English Bill of Rights, passed by Parliament in 1688

• The colonists firmly believed in representative government, following the model of Parliament

• The ideas of philosopher John Locke deeply influenced the colonists.

Yay a map!

• Some examples of this are:• The Mayflower Compact (1620)-

established rules for the new Plymouth colony

• The Virginia House of Burgesses (1619)- the first established legislature in America (Old Rich White Guys)

• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)- America’s first formal constitution

• Declaration of Independence/ Constitution- Two documents of little importance that we will never discuss again.

Pt. 2- Government in the Colonies• The present system of American government evolved largely

from colonial governments and their practices.• Written plans of government were a key feature of the

colonial period• Representative assemblies elected by the people helped

establish the tradition of representative gov’t in America• The division of government powers among the governor, the

colonial legislatures, and colonial courts helped establish the principle of the separation of powers.

UNITING FOR INDEPENDENCESection 2

The Question

• What changed in the governance of the colonies that made the colonists choose independence over coexisting with Britain.

The Colonies on their Own• Although Britain regarded the American colonies largely as a

source of economic benefits, it allowed them limited self government.

• The British government tightened it’s control over the colonies after the French and Indian wars.

• King George III and his ministers made the colonies help pay for the war by levying new taxes on the colonists.

• These taxes included the Stamp Act of 1765, which required them to pay taxes on all paper products, like newspapers and playing cards

The Colonies on their Own• This made the colonists angry. Very, very angry.• They protested, and the British repealed the Stamp Act.

However, they replaced it with other taxes, like one on tea.• So instead of turning green like the Hulk, the Sons of Liberty

dressed up like Mohawk Indians, got on a boat, and had threw a lot of tea into Boston Harbor. (Boston Tea Party)

• In response to this, the British passed the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts:• Quartering Act• Boston Port Act• Massachusetts Government Act

Colonial Unity• The colonies were united by these policies, and decided to

take action.• To protest British policies, the colonists sent petitions to the

king and also organized committees of correspondence.• These were groups of colonists who wanted to keep in touch with

each other as things happened. • The First Continental Congress held in Philadelphia in 1774

debated what the colonies should do about their relationship with Britain.

• They placed an embargo on British goods and the British didn’t like this.

Colonial Unity• The British eventually clashed with the colonists at Lexington

and Concord on April 19th, 1775 in the first battle of the American Revolution.

• In response to this, the Second Continental Congress was called.

• It became a central government for the country, organized an army and navy, and issued money.

• Also named John Hancock as president of the Congress, and George Washington as commander of the Continental Army.

Declaration of Independence

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATIONSection 3

The Question• What was wrong with the Articles?

• Put today’s date and answer this question.• Do you think that states should have the power to decide on

issues like trade? What about social issues? We will discuss your answers in class.

Government Under the Articles• The Articles of Confederation were established by the Second

Continental Congress. • The plan was simple. The government had a single chamber

Congress, with each state getting one vote.• The government had no executive branch or court system.

Powers of the Articles• Congress withheld certain powers, but everything else was left

to the state.• Make war and peace• Send and receive ambassadors• Enter into treaties• Raise and equip a navy• Maintain an army by requesting troops from states• Appoint senior military officers• Fix standards of weights and measures• Regulate Indian affairs• Establish post offices• Decide certain disputes among the states.

Weaknesses of the Articles• Congress did not have the power to:• Levy taxes• Regulate trade among states and with other countries• Force states to obey any laws

• Laws needed approval of 9 of the 13 states, and being that only 9 or 10 delegates were there at any given time, this was hard to do.

Powers of Sovereign States

Weaknesses of the Articles• The central government had no president or executive branch

and carried out much of its work through congressional committees.

• Finally, there was no national court. State courts enforced and interpreted laws. This made it difficult for the government to settle disputes.

Achievements• The Confederation established a fair policy for developing the

western land• Northwest Ordinance- land ordinance that allowed territories,

such as Ohio, to be developed• Treaty of Paris- the government had been able to negotiate a

treaty with Great Britain, acquiring a lot of land.• The Departments of War, Foreign Affairs, Marine, and the

Treasury were all formed, and these stuck around in some way under the Constitution.

• “Full faith and credit” clause- states must honor the laws and decisions of others

Need for Stronger Government• Many disputes ended up breaking out among the states over

boundary lines and tariffs.• New Jersey farmers had to pay fees to sell to New York

• Some states even began to directly deal with other countries.• By 1787, the government owed $40 million to other countries,

and American soldiers were still unpaid.

Shay’s Rebellion• 7 facts from the video

Annapolis Convention• Many state leaders converged upon Annapolis, Maryland to

discuss commerce, and forming a stronger national government.

• Though they weren’t able to accomplish anything, they were able to agree that they needed to come together in Philadelphia the next year to possibly make the national government more effective.

• The Confederation Congress gave consent for a convention “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.”

• Yeah…totally

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONSection 4

The Question• What do the compromises of the Constitutional Convention

mean for us today?

It Begins• The delegates arrived in Philly in May 1787. • Of 74 appointed delegates, 55 attended, and 39 signed. • The delegates were all very experienced, many were veterans

of the Confederation Congress, and there were some signers of the Declaration.

• The meetings were secret, each state had one vote, all decisions were majority, and seven states had to be there for the meetings to happen.

Key Agreements• The Articles were thrown out• All delegates favored the idea of limited and representative

government.• They decided to make a new government based on these

ideas. • They had a hard time agreeing on anything else.

Virginia Plan• The delegates from Virginia were the first to present any type

of idea. It was presented by Edmund Randolph and drafted by James Madison.

• Became known as the Virginia plan, for obvious reasons.

Virginia Plan• This plan called for a strong national government.

1. Strong national legislature with two chambers, the lower one chosen by the people, and the upper chamber chosen by the lower. Representatives per state are based on population.

2. A strong national executive chosen by the legislature.3. A judiciary appointed by the legislature.

• Very important: set the direction and agenda for the entire Convention

• Basis for the Constitution.

New Jersey Plan• The smaller states didn’t like some of the plan, as it

disadvantaged them. • The delegates from New Jersey presented a counterproposal,

in which there was a unicameral house, with one representative for each state.• There would also be a weak executive, elected by Congress• A national court would be appointed by the executive

• This was basically a continuation of the Articles, except under this plan the Congress had more power.

• They really couldn’t agree.

The Connecticut Compromise• A committee was created to come up with a compromise. • Some key members, including Roger Sherman, were from

Connecticut. • The compromise suggested that the branch be divided into

two parts. • A House of Representatives, which was based on population. All

revenue laws would begin here. • A Senate, in which each state is given two legislatures.

The Three-Fifths Compromise• The next problem arose when the Convention discussed how

many reps each state would get.• 1/3 of the populations of Southern states were slaves, they

wanted more reps, so they wanted these to count for the House.

• They didn’t want them to count for taxes• The Northern states didn’t want slaves counted for

population, but they wanted them for taxes.• The compromise was that three-fifths of slaves would be

counted for population.

Commerce and Slave Trade• Dealt with commerce and the slave trade. • Northern states wanted the government to have complete

control over trade, while Southern states didn’t. • Southern stated depended heavily on agricultural exports, and

were worried that the North would make agreements that would hurt them.

• They also were worried that the North might try to ban the slave trade.

• The delegates compromised again, saying that the Congress would not touch the slave trade until at least 1808, while letting Congress regulate interstate commerce and foreign commerce.

• Congress also couldn’t tax exports.

Commerce and Slave Trade• The delegates compromised again, saying that the Congress

would not touch the slave trade until at least 1808, while letting Congress regulate interstate commerce and foreign commerce.

• Congress also couldn’t tax exports.

The Slavery Question• Many delegates, including Thomas Jefferson and George

Washington, greatly opposed slavery. • However, they knew that when the time would come for the

states to ratify the new Constitution, that Southern states would never be on board with a slavery ban.

• Ultimately, the Constitution only mentions slavery in one article, about returning slaves to slave owners.

Other Compromises• Electoral College- chosen in the debate over how to elect the

President. • President’s term length-defined at four years

Ratifying the Constitution• There was much debate over whether the Constitution should

be ratified. • Many didn’t like the strong national government, or wanted a

bill of rights. • The Anti-Federalists, led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, didn’t

want a strong national government. • They also claimed that the Constitution was not legal, since

the Convention was only supposed to edit the Articles• Most importantly though, they wanted a Bill of Rights, which

they said would protect their human rights that the Revolution had won.

• “The necessity of a Bill of Rights appears to me to be greater in this government than ever it was in any government before…All rights not expressly and unequivocally reserved to the people are impliedly and incidentally relinquished to rulers…If you intend to reserve your unalienable rights, you must have the most express stipulation; for…if the people do not think it necessary to reserve them, they will supposed to be given up.” Patrick Henry, 1788

• What is Henry addressing in this quote?

Ratifying the Constitution• The Federalists- Believed that without a strong central

government, there would be Anarchy• They also wanted a strong government for protection from

other countries and to solve internal issues. • They didn’t want a Bill of Rights, because they believed that

states already reserved these rights, and 8 states had a Bill in their Constitutions.

• They bent on this issue, giving the Anti-Federalists a Bill of Rights in an effort to get the Constitution ratified.

Ratification• Many small states quickly ratified it because they were happy

about their representation.• The Constitution went into effect on June 21, 1788, when New

Hampshire ratified it. • However, Virginia and New York were having a hard time

ratifying it. • It took persuasion from Washington, Madison, and Edmund

Randolph to win Virginia.

Ratification• New York was difficult as well• It took Alexander Hamilton several weeks of arguing to sway

the voters, along with the writing of the Federalist Papers with Madison and John Jay• These were essays that the three wrote and were published

throughout NY. They helped broadcast Federalist opinions and helped sway the public.

The Last Slide• Rhode Island was the last state to ratify, doing so on May 29th,

1790. • In 1789, with the Constitution ratified, the first vote took

place• George Washington was elected president, and John Adams

was his vice-president. • In the first meeting of Congress in 1789, Madison proposed a

Bill of Rights, as promised.

Test Review• 30 Multiple Choice• 5 True False• 1 Essay Question• 3 paragraphs• Question: What is our political heritage, and how did that effect

the founding of our new nation, both in our successes and failures.