Our Political Beginnings

Basic Concepts of Government  The English Settlers brought with them three ideas of government from England  Ordered Government  Limited Government  Representative Government

Ordered Government  Those first English colonists saw the need for an orderly regulation of their relationships with one another  They created local governments similar to what they had in England  Many of these are still with us today: Offices of sheriff Coroner Justice of the Peace

Limited Government  They also had the idea the government is not all powerful  Government was restricted in what it may do, each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away  This concept is known as limited government

Representative Government  The early English settlers also brought with them the representative government concept  This idea states that government should serve the will of the people

The Magna Carta  In England, when King John took control of the monarchy people were weary of his military campaigns and heavy taxes he forced to sign the Magna Carta  The Magna Carta established the principle that the power of monarchy was not absolute  It included rights such as trial by jury and due process of law for the privileged classes

The Petition of Right  The Magna Carta was respected by monarchs for about 400 years  To limit the kings power even more Charles I was made to sign the Petition of Right  The Petition of Right challenged the idea of the divine right of the king and declared that even a monarch must obey the law of the land

The English Bill of Rights  To prevent abuse of power by William and Mary and all future monarchs, Parliament drew up the English Bill of Rights  The English Bill of Rights prevented the monarch from abusing power by prohibiting a standing army in peacetime, except with the consent of Parliament  Our nation has built on, changed and added to those ideas and institutions that settlers brought here from England

Homework  What were the three ideas of government that the English settlers brought from England?  What was important about the Magna Carta?  What was important about the Petition of Rights?  What was important about the English Bill of Rights?  How does the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the English Bill of Rights contribute to limited government?