Our English Heritage and the Birth of a Democratic Nation

Influences from England’s Early Government The English brought with them a history of limited and representative government. England was ruled by a monarch-a king or queen, but nobles held much power.

Influences from England’s Early Government The nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. This document upheld rights of landowners including equal treatment under the law and trial by one’s peers. It limited the power of the king or queen.

Influences from England’s Early Government Nobles and church officials who advised Henry III developed into a legislature-a lawmaking body-known as Parliament. In a power struggle, Parliament removed King James II from the throne. King Edward I presiding over a Parliamentary session, c.1278. Below the dais, the justices and law officers sit in the center on woolsacks. Two clerks note the proceedings. The lords are mostly on the kng's left, and the bishops and abbots are on his right. (No commons are present on this occasion.)

Influences from England’s Early Government This peaceful transfer of power was the Glorious Revolution. From then on, no ruler would have more power than the legislature. William III Mary II

Influences from England’s Early Government Parliament drew up the English Bill of Rights. It required the monarch to get Parliament's consent to impose taxes, raise an army, or create special courts. It guaranteed free elections, free speech, a fair jury, and no cruel and unusual punishment.

Influences from England’s Early Government In its early days, England had no written laws. People developed rules to live by which came to have the force of law. Judges made rulings consistent with precedents, or rulings in earlier cases that were similar. The system of law based on precedent and custom is known as common law. Our laws are based on English common law.

Bringing the English Heritage to America A colony is a group of people in one place who are ruled by a parent country elsewhere. English colonists in America remained loyal subjects of England. They accepted common law and expected the same rights they enjoyed in England.

Bringing the English Heritage to America A charter is a written document granting land and the authority to set up colonial governments. The Virginia Company’s charter promised the colonists of Jamestown the same liberties as in England.

Bringing the English Heritage to America The colonists chose representatives called burgesses to meet with the governor. These representatives formed the House of Burgesses, the first legislature in the colonies. It marked the beginning of self-government in the colonies.

Bringing the English Heritage to America Before arriving in Plymouth, the Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact, a written plan that set up a direct democracy in the colony. A compact is an agreement, or contract, among a group of people. All men would vote. The majority would rule.

Early Colonial Governments Later English colonies along the east coast followed the examples of the Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses. Each colony had a governor and elected legislature, often modeled after Parliament. The colonial governments took on more power over time, as the king and Parliament were preoccupied at home. The colonists grew used to making their own decisions.

Colonial Resistance and Rebellion The British government began to tighten its grip on the American colonies. George III adopted a policy of mercantilism, the theory that a country should sell more goods to other countries than it buys. Britain wanted to buy American raw materials at low prices and sell colonists British products at high prices.

Colonial Resistance and Rebellion Britain won land in North America from France in the French and Indian War. To pay off war debts and cover the costs of ruling the new lands, Britain taxed the colonists.

Colonial Resistance and Rebellion Colonists resented the taxes. They had no representatives in Parliament- “No taxation without representation.” In protest, many colonists decided to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods. As a result, Parliament agreed to repeal, or cancel, the Stamp Tax and other taxes.

Colonial Resistance and Rebellion However, Parliament soon replaced them with new taxes. Parliament’s Declaratory Act stated that it had the right to tax and make decision s for the colonies. The Townshend Acts taxed needed goods imported to the colonies. The colonists again boycotted. The Tea Act allowed the British East India Company to bypass colonial merchants and sell tea directly to shopkeepers at low prices.

Colonial Resistance and Rebellion In response, colonists blocked all the company’s ships from colonial ports, except Boston. There colonists dressed as Native Americans dumped the British tea into Boston Harbor-the Boston Tea Party. Parliament responded with the Coercive Acts, which restricted colonists’ rights.