Colonial Development

Influences from England’s Early Government

Limited and Representative Government England was ruled by a monarch with influence of noble families Land was given to nobles in exchange for Loyalty Taxes Military support 1215 Nobles rebelled and forced the king to sign the Magna Carta

Magna Carta Protected nobles’ rights and gave certain rights to all landholders Rights included Equal treatment under the law Trial by one’s peers Guaranteed that no one would be above the law…not even the king

Birth of the legislature Henry III followed King John and had a group of nobles who advised him Group increased in size and included representatives of the common people By 1300s this became a legislature, known as Parliament

Glorious Revolution 1688 Parliament removed King James II from throne Placed his daughter Mary and her husband William on the throne Peaceful change in power and led to the English Bill of Rights

English Bill of Rights After the Glorious Revolution Parliament was stronger than the monarch 1689 Parliament creates the English Bill of Rights Monarch could not place taxes or create an army without the consent of Parliament Members of Parliament would be elected Citizens gained the right to a fair trial by a jury Outlawed cruel and unusual punishment

Common Law English had no written laws Laws were based on the decisions of the courts and precedent set by court decisions The system of law became known as common law and based on court decisions Would be foundation of laws in the US

Bringing the English heritage to America

Colonial America 1600s and 1700s, England was setting up colonies in America Early colonists in America were loyal to England The first permanent settlement in North America was Jamestown Jamestown was settled with a charter from the Virginia Company

Jamestown Governed by a governor and a council appointed by the Virginia Company 1619 colonists chose two representatives from each community to meet with the governor and the council (called burgesses) Made up House of Burgesses (lawmaking body) Start of self government in American colonies

Plymouth 1620 Pilgrims settled Plymouth in what is now Massachusetts Arrived in America on the Mayflower On the way decided a written plan of government was needed and signed the Mayflower Compact

Mayflower Compact Stated that the government would set up just laws for the good of the colony The people who signed promised to obey these laws Set up a direct democracy and allowed all men to vote Called for majority rule

Early Colonial Governments Each colony set up its own government Each had a governor The governor was either elected by the colonists or appointed by the English monarch. Each had a legislature Free adult males elected the members of the legislature Most were modeled after the English Parliament

Great Britain The English monarch and Parliament were paying attention to other matters England became known as Great Britain in 1707, when the country united with Scotland The colonists soon became used to taking care of themselves and making their own decisions. This would cause problems when Great Britain began to interfere.

The Birth of Democratic Nation

Increased Gov’t Control Mid 1700s Great Britain becomes more involved in the colonies GB operates on the principle of mercantilism A country should sell more goods to other countries than it buys Expectation that the colonies would provide raw materials AND purchase goods from GB (at an increased price)

1763 GB won the French and Indian War Gained French territory in the colonies War was very costly American colonies were taxed and resented it Ex. Stamp Act (1765) tax on newspapers and legal documents Colonists resent not having representation in British gov’t Protest (No taxation w/o representation)

Protests worked But temporary Stamp Act repealed but other taxes put in place Townshend Acts (1767) Taxes on things the colonists imported such as tea, paper, lead 1773 Tea Act- more taxes

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) Limited the rights of colonists Limited the right of trial by jury Allowed British troops to search and move into colonists homes

Means of Colonial Protest Propaganda pamphlets (in their writings) Literal protesting- in the streets (mild) Boycott (influenced repeal of some taxes) Harass the tax collectors Raids on products (Ex. Boston Tea Party More aggressive

Movement Toward Independence

September 1774 12 colonies send delegates to Philadelphia PURPOSE- to discuss concerns First Continental Congress Send documents to King George III to demand the restoration of their individual rights Colonists also decide to continue boycott and to meet again if GB does not meet demands

King’s Response Military action (April 1775) British and Colonists fight two battles in Massachusetts Lexington and Concord First battles of the Revolutionary War

May 1775 Second Continental Congress Some favor independence Some fear there is no way the colonists could defeat Britain Some are still loyal to GB As they debate independence becomes a dominant goal

Common Sense January 1776 Published by Thomas Paine Called for complete independence from Britain More than half of the delegates at the Second Continental Congress agree with Paine- independence will be declared.

Declaration of Independence Second Continental Congress acts as the government of the colonies Committee is established to create a document declaring America’s independence Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration Explained why the colonies wanted independence Included colonists’ beliefs about individual rights Government is based on the consent of the people If government ignores the rights of the people the people have the right to overthrow the government Influenced by the ideas of John Locke (an English philosopher)

July 4, 1776 The Second Continental Congress approved The Declaration Freedom for the colonies would come after the end of the Revolutionary War and Great Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation

The nation’s first governments State Constitutions Articles of Confederation Constitution

Early State Constitutions Colonies began to replace colonial charters with new constitutions Constitution A written plan for government Sets up the powers and limitations of government

Early Constitutions Each state government included a legislature Most were bicameral (2 houses) Each had a state governor whose job was to carry out laws Each had judges and courts to interpret the law Many included a bill of rights that guaranteed citizens certain basic freedoms

Massachusetts Last to draw up a constitution and it was a little different Power was divided among the legislature, governor, and courts Governor and courts were given the power to check the legislature The constitution was created through a special convention of delegates instead of by the legislature State citizens then approved the constitution The Massachusetts constitution would later become the model for the US Constitution

The Articles of Confederation