Foundations of American Government

Unit 1: Foundations of American Government

By: Tessa Hoffmann, Rachel Navarro & Emma Hadley

The Government as a whole

Types of Government:

• Monarchy-ruled by a king or queen

• Dictatorship- ruled by one with military force

• Theocracy-ruled by religious leaders

• Oligarchy-ruled by few

• Democracy-ruled by citizens

The Government as a whole (cont.)2 types of Democracy-Direct-all citizens have a chance to vote for any law/actionRepresentative-citizens elect officials to make decisions on their behalfBranches of Government-• Legislative branch-makes laws

• Executive branch-enforces laws

• Judicial branch-interprets laws

English Political Traditions• England has historically been a monarchy

• King John 1 signed the Magna Carta which established these current rights:

• Accused are guaranteed a trial by jury• Accused are innocent until proven guilty• All citizens are guaranteed justice• All citizens have to follow the same laws and will be

punished the same for breaking those laws

English political Traditions (cont.)

Parliament-• Originally the kings advisors• The first time Parliament had more power

than the king was during the Glorious Revolution

• Used common laws (based on customs and precedents) to make decisions

The Enlightenment Period• This was a time when Europeans began to

question traditional ideas about many areas, especially government and how it should be run.

Here are some enlightenment philosophers…

John Locke

Helped pave the way to the American Revolution. He believed…

• The purpose of government is to protect natural rights (life,liberty,property…)

• In a social contract where citizens agree to give up some freedoms for protection from the government

Other philosophers

Baron de Montesquieu- he believed government power should be split into three branches

Jean-Jacques Rousseau-he believed all men are created equal

Voltaire-he believed in separation of church and state

The Road to American IndependenceEarly government in the Colonies-• Mayflower Compact: established self-government

by written law in Plymouth Colony

• House of Burgesses: first form of representative set up in VA colony

Mercantilism

The king only allowed the colonies to trade with England which made England richer and more powerful. This is called Mercantilism.

The French and Indian War• Late 1750’s to early 1760’s• England and the colonies fought France for a part

of American land• This war caused heavy debt so the colonist were

taxed by the British crown

Proclamation of 1763• Said colonists couldn’t settle west of the

Appalachian mountains• Colonists didn’t like this law

The Stamp Act (1765)• All printed documents now had to have a stamp• The colonists rebelled and the act was repealed• Lead to the Boston Massacre where 5 colonists

were killed

Boston Tea Party (1773)• England passed the Tea Act which taxed tea• Sons of Liberty lead a revolt and dumped all to

the tea from British tea ships into the Boston Harbor

Intolerable Acts (1774)• Was a form of punishment for the Boston Tea Party• Formally called the Townsend Acts• Said there would be no trial by jury in the colonies• The Quartering Act forced colonists to house and

feed British soldiers• Set a up a blockade on Boston Harbor which put

hardships on Boston residents

First Continental Congress (1774)• Held in Pennsylvania• All colonies were represented except Georgia• Sent King George III the Declaration of Rights and

Grievances asking him to repeal the acts, marking the first time the colonies acted together against the crown

• King George III responded with the battles of Lexington and Concord, defeating the colonists both times

Second Continental Congress (1776)• Held in Massachusetts• All colonies were represented• Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense calling for

independence from England• After lots of debate, delegates decided to send a

Declaration to the King

Declaration of Independence (1776)• Thomas Jefferson was the main writer, basing his

ideas off of those of the enlightenment philosophers

• It listed 27 complaints against England• Led to the American Revolutionary War

The Constitutional Convention

Problems facing the United States-• Heavy debt• Federal government had no power to tax so states

placed heavy taxes on citizens causing many businesses to fail

Articles of Confederation• First form of American government• Had a unicameral congress with each state

getting one vote• Had no executive or judicial branch

Problems with the Articles of Confederation• Each state had only one vote • Had no power to tax• Couldn’t regulate foreign or interstate trade• No executive branch • No judicial branch• Unanimous vote needed to amend the AC’s• 9 out of 13 states was required to pass laws

Shay’s Rebellion• An army was created to prevent farmers from

losing their land• Government had a hard time stopping it• Led the US to realize that they needed a stronger

central government

Constitutional Convention (1787)• Delegates had to choose to amend the AC’s or

scrap them and start over• Had to choose to have one large state or set up a

federal system where power was divided between a central government and states

The 2 plans for government

Virginia Plan-• Proposed by James Madison• Supported by states with large populations• Called for representation based on population

The 2 Plans for government (cont.)New Jersey Plan-• Proposed by William Patterson• Supported by states with small population• Called for equal representation

The Great Compromise• Set up a bicameral legislature• Senate would have equal representation• House of Representation would have

representation based on population• The most important compromise at the

Convention

Three-Fifths Compromise• Slave states wanted to count slaves as a part of

the population• Decided that they could count 3 out of every 5

slaves as a part of the population

Ratification of the Constitution• Anti-federalists didn’t support ratification because

they feared the central government would be too strong

• Federalists supported ratification; wrote the Federalist Papers supporting stronger central government; promised to add a Bill of Rights if the Anti-federalists ratified the Constitution

Ratification of the Constitution(cont.)• 9 out of 13 states had to ratify the Constitution

before it went into effect• Went into effect on June 21, 1788• The Constitution could only be amended by a vote

of the states