Origins of American Government

Early Settlers America was settled in the mid 16th century by Europeans England sent the most settlers & controlled the 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast

English Ideas of Government The English brought their knowledge and ideas about government: Ordered Government- local governments with offices we still have: sheriff, coroner, assessor, justice of the peace, grand jury, counties, townships, etc. Limited government Representative government

Landmark Documents Magna Carta- document that the barons forced King John to sign in 1215Intended originally for only the privileged class to protect them from arbitrary acts of the king Eventually expanded to all Englishmen Included rights such as: trial by jury, due process of law-arbitrary taking of property or life First time a monarch was denied absolute power in Europe Ignored by many monarchs for the next 400 years

Landmark Documents Petition of Rights-document that Parliament forced King Charles I to sign in 1628 Parliament controlled the money and refused to release the funds to the king until he signed Stated that the king could not imprison or punish anyone without a trial Could not impose martial law in peacetime Could not require homeowner’s to shelter (quarter) the king’s troops without consent Challenged Divine Right rule-the idea the king was above the law

Landmark Documents English Bill of Rights-document Parliament forced William and Mary to sign before they accepted the crown after the English Civil War in 1689 Required that all parliamentary elections be free No suspension of laws without consent of Parliament Taxes and spending of money must be approved by Parliament Subjects can petition the king without punishments Right to a fair trial, freedom from excessive bail, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment

Schools of Government The colonies were known as the “schools of government” for the future Americans Each colony was established for different reasons and had different beginnings They had slight differences in their governments, but all had English law and government as their basis The colonial governments served as places for the Americans to learn how to govern The royal governors ruled with a stern hand-it was their actions which would eventually lead to a revolution

Schools of Government Each colony had a legislature; VA had a bi-cameral legislature: -The upper house was made up of the council selected by the King -The lower house (House of Burgesses) were representatives elected by property owners who were qualified to vote A royal governor was appointed by the king

Colonial Self-Rule The colonies were ruled by the king from 2,000 miles and a two-month sea journey away Parliament paid little attention to the colonies; left them to the King Colonies had a large amount of self-rule until King George England provided them military defense, common currency and trade, and controlled foreign affairs; with very little taxation

“Taxation without representation” England spent much money on the defense of the colonies during the French and Indian War. The king instituted new trade regulations and taxes in order to have the colonists help pay for the cost of the war They maintained large troop levels in the colonies after the war The colonists objected to the troops, taxes, and restrictions; especially since they had no vote in Parliament The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the trade regulations and new taxes

Early forms of colonial unity Albany Plan-(1754) plan by Ben Franklin that called for a meeting once a year of delegates from each colony with the power to raise a military, regulate trade with the Native American tribes, raise taxes The crown rejected the Albany Plan Stamp Act Congress- (1765) 9 colonies sent delegates to New York to raise opposition to the Stamp Act Boston Massacre-1770- British troops fire on a crowd of colonists Boston Tea Party- 1773

1st Continental Congress 1st Continental Congress-1774- Sam and John Adams, John Dickinson, John Jay, George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Rutledge They sent a Declaration of Rights and urged to king to repeal the new taxes They asked all colonies to boycott British goods until they repealed the Intolerable Acts

2nd Continental Congress 2nd Continental Congress-1775-England had rejected the Declaration of Rights-The battles of Lexington and Concord had been fought Ben Franklin and John Hancock joined the members of the 1st Congress Immediately they placed George Washington in charge of a Continental Army Thomas Jefferson took his place in the delegation Britain condemned the congress as traitors It became our first national government for five years

The Declaration of Independence In June 1776 congress named 5 men-Franklin, Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Jefferson to write a Declaration of Independence The document is almost entirely of Jefferson’s creation, based on Locke’s ideas of government Congress adopted it on July 4, 1776 Page 40 of your text

Articles of Confederation Ratified March 1781 Established a “firm league of friendship” Each state kept its sovereignty and every power The states were to come together for their mutual defense and mutual and general welfare The articles had one government branch-a legislature with one vote for each colony Congress had no authority to enforce the Articles and could not regulate trade between the states

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation One vote for each state, regardless of size Congress powerless to lay and collect taxes or duties Congress powerless to regulate foreign and interstate commerce No executive to enforce acts of Congress No national court system Amendment only with consent of all 13 states A 9/13 majority required to pass laws

Writing the Constitution Delegates met in Philadelphia to recommend changes but instead resolved to create a new government Elected Washington as the president of the Constitutional Convention James Madison quickly became the leader and is known as the “Father of the Constitution” Virginia led the way in calling for a new constitution

Virginia Plan Called for three branches of government; Executive, Legislative, Judicial Legislative branch was to be bi-cameral Representation was to be based on population or the amount of $ given to the central government Lower House- House of Representatives- elected representatives Upper House-Senate- chosen by the House from a list provided by the State legislatures

Virginia Plan Congress would select a “National Executive”, and a “National Judiciary” who could veto acts of Congress; but their veto could be overridden Congress could legislate cases involving different States Congress could veto any state law, use force if necessary to compel the states to follow any law It created a very strong central government led by the legislature PA and MA favored the plan Smaller states opposed it

New Jersey Plan Unicameral House with all states represented equally Gave the legislature the power to tax and regulate trade Federal executive of more than one person chosen by Congress The major disagreement between the larger and smaller states was the issue of representation

Connecticut Compromise Bi-Cameral Legislature House of Representatives based on population Senate- equal representation Next big argument was how should they count slaves? South wanted to count every slave North opposed this idea 3/5 Compromise- Free people counted as one; “All others(slaves) would be counted as 3/5 of a person The 3/5 compromise dissappeared from the Constitution with the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in 1865

Sources for the Constitution Greek and Roman governments Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws- separation of powers Rousseau and Locke Framers drew on their own governing experience Continental Congress Articles of Confederation State Governments

Ratifying the Constitution There was much disagreement and debate about the Constitution Federalists- favored ratification; Washington, Adams, Madison and Alexander Hamilton Anti-Federalists- opposed ratification; Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson(originally-eventually favored it) Anti-Federalists did not like how much power it gave to federal government and that it did not have a Bill of Rights Got the necessary 9 to ratify but without VA or NY did not matter

Ratification The Federalist- political essays published in favor of ratification written by Madison, Hamilton, and John Jay VA and NY finally approved the Constitution Ratified in 1788 Washington sworn in as first president in New York City