Government Chapter Two: English Heritage to Revolution.

Origins of American GovernmentColonial Period

English Political Heritage

Limited government:

1. Magna Charta-1215. Limited the power of King John.

2. Petition of Rights-1625. Gave power to Parliament.

3. English Bill of Rights-1688. This bill combined elements of the Magna Carta and Petition of Rights.

Representative Government:

1. House of Lords/Commons.

New Political Ideas-Enlightenment:

1. Thomas Hobbs.

2. John Locke

3. Voltaire.

4. Rousseau.

5. Montesquieu.

Enlightenment-Social Contract

Hobbs 1. People are only “Free” in

nature.

2. Stronger/Smarter people are free to take advantage of the weaker.

3. A King must protect all his subjects from foreign/domestic threats.

4. Some freedom must be given up to the King.

5. King must be OBYED no matter what.

Locke 1. Agreed with Hobbs,

EXCEPT, people must overthrow a bad King.

2. Locke had to flee England.

Enlightenment Continued

1. Montesquieu: Separation of powers.

2. Voltaire: Free speech.

3. Rousseau: Democracy.

Governments in the Colonies

Shared government practices in all the Colonies:

1. Written constitutions.

2. Elected legislatures.

3. Separation of powers.

Written Constitutions-Colonies

1. Mayflower Compact-1620.

2. Great Fundamentals-1629. System of laws. Puritans Mass. Bay.

3. Fundamentals Orders of Connecticut-1639. Plan for government.

Colonial Legislatures1. Virginia House of Burgesses-1619. First

elected representative body in New World.

2. What other infamous institution was also started in 1619 in Virginia?

3. Slavery.

Uniting for IndependenceBenign/Salutary

Neglect

North America was a place to “dump” unwanted English peoples:

1. Debtors, unemployed, social outcasts, and political malcontents encouraged to move to N.A.

2. England did not collect taxes from colonies.

3. For the most part, England ignored colonies.

Isolation encourages independence

Colonies develop their own independent governments:

1. Elected legislators.

2. Court systems.

3. Financed their own colonial projects.

4. Self protection.

5. Economy.

Neglect Continued

Mercantilism not enforced by England:

1. The colonists developed a world-wide trading system.

2. This trade makes the colonists wealthy.

3. The colonists have become socially, politically, and economically independent of England.

4. Colonists still pay NO taxes.

Britain Tightens ControlFrench-Indian War.

1754-1763 1. F&I War was part of

the Seven Year War.

2. First world-wide conflict.

3. Major powers involved were: England, France, and Spain.

4. Albany Plan of Union. 1763.

5. England sends troops to N.A.

6. England wins war. France kicked out of N.A.

Consequences of F&I War?

1. England in heavy debt.

2. New taxes created and enforced on colonies.

3. Colonies never paid taxes.

4. Proclamation Act of 1763.

5. Colonies outraged!

Acts &Taxes-NO NOTES! 1. Proclamation Act 1763.

2. Sugar Act 1764.

3. Currency Act 1764.

4. Quartering Act 1765.

5. Townsend Act 1767.

6. Tea Act 1773.

7. Boston Tea Party 1773.

8. Intolerable Acts 1774.

Road to Revolt1. Proclamation Act 1763-Colonist felt betrayed.

2. Stamp Act taxed all paper products.

3. Like the Albany Congress the colonist meet about the S.A.

4. Stamp Act Congress:

A. Declared their loyalty to King.

B. Embargoed all British trade.

C. Brits repeal Stamp Act!

Road to Revolt Continued…

1. Parliament places a Monopoly on tea.

2. Puts colonial tea merchants out of business.

3. Boston Tea Party results.

4. Dumped tea is worth millions.

5. Parliament passes the “Intolerable” Acts.

Intolerable Acts

1. Colonist must pay for tea.

2. Boston Harbor closed to commerce.

3. British soldiers housed in private Boston homes.

4. Charter of Mass. Revoked!

First Continental Congress 1774

What did it do?

1. Pledged their loyalty to the King…Again!

2. Stated their grievances.

3. Embargoed all British goods.

4. Same game plan as the Stamp Act Congress.

Lexington and Concord: Shot Heard Around the

World.”While waiting for

the embargo to work…

1. Redcoats sent to Concord to confiscate powder and arms.

2. Colonists open fire at Lexington.

3. Colonists kill about 250 Redcoats.

4. Blood has been spilled.

5. Colonist now in open and violent rebellion.

Second Continental Congress-1775

1. S.C.C. met after the Concord/Lexington Battle.

2. S.C.C. realizes that talks with England is over.

3. S.C.C. quickly becomes the acting rebel government.

4. John Hancock selected president.

5. Thomas Jefferson writes Declaration of Independence.

6. Independence declared July 4th, 1776.

Social Contract-Locke-Jefferson

1. Jefferson paraphrased a lot of Locke’s work for the D.O.I.

2. Most of rebels were students of the Enlightenment.

3. Locke said that people had an obligation to over throw a bad King.

Locke’s Fingerprints:

Declaration of Independence

Three key parts:

1. What is an ideal government?

2. List of grievances.

3. Declared freedom.

D.O.I. is Like a Divorce1. What is an ideal marriage?

2. List of complaints against spouse.

3. Marriage is over.

Articles of Confederation1. Fighting a

war is a lot easier than running a government.

2. Those who created the A.O.C. designed it to be weaker that the states. Why?

What did the A.O.C. Look Like?

1. No executive branch.

2. No national court system.

3. No power to tax.

4. Could not regulate trade.

5. No one had to obey its laws.

6. Unicameral House.

Achievements of A.O.C.Land Ordinance Act-

1787

1. Provided free western land to help finance the public school system.

Northwest Ordinance Act-1787

2. Created a pathway to equal statehood for all territories.

Reasons the A.O.C. FailedEconomic Turmoil

1. America suffered a severe depression after the war.

2. Many Americans lost their farms and businesses.

3. The A.O.C. had no power to help.

Shay’s Rebellion

1. A.O.C. became very unpopular.

2. Capt. Daniel Shay organized farmers to resist foreclosure with arms.

3. A.O.C. had no power to stop the armed farmers.

Shay Almost Topples Government!

1. Mass. had to call in local militia to put down rebellion.

2. National leaders had to cross their fingers and hope for the best.

3. Why is this bad?

4. Everyone realizes now that the A.O.C. is a failure.

Constitutional Convention Begins-1787

1. All states, except R.I., sent reps to Philadelphia to fix the A.O.C.

2. The reps soon realized that the A.O.C. was fatally flawed.

3. In SECRET the reps decided to create a totally new government.

Key Agreements From the Start

1. Limited Government.

2. Representative Government.

3. Three branches of government or checks & balances.

4. Stronger national government.

5. Popular Sovereignty.

Decisions and Compromise

1. The three most important developments of the convention?

2. Compromise, compromise, and more compromise.

Virginia Plan

1. Virginia showed up with a plan.

2. The three principles were:

National legislature-Bicameral.

Strong president-Chosen by legislature.

National judiciary-Chosen by the legislature.

Virginia PlanWhich branch of government

would have the most power?

New Jersey Plan1. Unicameral Legislature.

2. One vote per state.

3. Congress would have power to tax and regulate trade.

4. Weak executive branch with more than one president.

5. Limited national judiciary.

Connecticut Compromise

1. Bi cameral House.

2. House of Reps based on population.

3. Senate has two reps, regardless of population.

How does this solve the big state v small state conflict?

Three-Fifth Compromise

1. Southern states wanted to count their slaves for representation in the House of Reps.

2. North Carolina had a bigger slave population than free.

3. Why did the North oppose this idea?

Commerce Compromise

1. The South wanted no tax on exported goods.

2. Why was this so important to the South?

Compromise on Slave Trade

1. South wanted a ban on any discussion of the slave trade until 1808.

2. Congress gained the power to regulate interstate and all foreign trade.

Slavery Issue

The question of slavery was left out of the constitution EXCEPT for a clause that stated runaway slaves had to be returned by Northern States.

“Fire bell in the night.” Thomas Jefferson.

Other Compromises1. Electoral College.

2. Four year term for the President.

Ratification Difficulties 1. It took nine of the thirteen states to ratify the

new Constitution.

2. Rejection by any of the four biggest states would doom ratification process. Mass., New York, Pennsylvania, or Virginia.

3. Anti Federalists were afraid of a strong central government and suspicious of the Federalists.

Federalist v. Anti-Federalists

Federalists-Hamilton

1. They wanted a strong. Central government.

2. They wanted the Federal government to be stronger than the states.

3. Federal laws to be supreme.

Anti Federalists-Jefferson

1. They felt that this new Federal government was too strong.

2. Suspicious of the “secret” convention.

3. Jefferson called the convention “extralegal.”

Federalist Papers1. Essays published to explain the

Constitution and answer criticisms by Anti-Federalists.

2. It promoted the idea that a stronger government was a must.

3. They also promised that it would not trample on civil liberties.

The Last BIG Compromise!1. Anti-Federalists wanted a list of iron

clad guarantees to protect civil rights.

2. Federalists felt it was unnecessary, BUT agreed.

3. What is the list called today?

4. Who was right about the need for a B.O.R?