American Government WHAT SHAPED THE U.S. GOVERNMENT?

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES THAT SHAPED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT Magna Carta Petition of Rights English Bill of Rights Leviathan Second Treatise on Government The Spirit of the Laws

MAGNA CARTA Latin for ‘Great Charter’ It was signed feudal barons and King John at Runnymede near Windsor Castle. The document was a series of written promises between the king and his subjects that he, the king, would govern England and deal with its people according to the customs of feudal law. Magna Carta was an attempt by the barons to stop King John from abusing his power causing the people of England to suffer.

IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE MAGNA CARTA Limited the power of the King Protected the right to a trial by jury and due process of law

PETITION OF RIGHT Parliament had refused to finance King Charles I’s unpopular foreign policy which led to: – The king forcing people to loan him money and – The quartering of troops in subjects’ houses as an economic measure. Arbitrary arrest and imprisonment for opposing these policies made Parliament violently hostile toward King Charles I This led Sir Edward Coke, a member of Parliament, to initiate the Petition of Right in 1628

IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE PETITION OF RIGHT (1) No taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament, (2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas corpus), (3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and (4) Martial law may not be used in time of peace.

ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS The provisions of this important English Bill incorporated the Declaration of Rights and consisted of: – A list of the misdeeds of King James II – Thirteen Articles confirming the rights of Parliament and the people and defining the limitations of the Crown – Confirmation of the accession of William and Mary to the throne of England

IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS The most important Articles of the 1689 English Bill of Rights are as follows: – A frequently summoned Parliament and free elections – Members should have freedom of speech in Parliament – No armies should be raised in peacetime – No taxes could be levied, without the authority of parliament – Laws should not be dispensed with, or suspended, without the consent of parliament – No excessive fines should imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted

LEVIATHAN This is a book written by Thomas Hobbs in 1651 Important aspects of the book: – argues for a social contract (representative democracy) – and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could only be avoided by strong undivided government.

SECOND TREATISE ON GOVERNMENT Written by John Locke in 1689 Outlines Locke’s theory of civil society – argues that all men are created equal in the state of nature by God – the only legitimate governments are those that have the consent of the people. any government that rules without the consent of the people can, in theory, be overthrown. – "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that... no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions" (2nd Tr., §6).

THE SPIRIT OF THE LAWS Written by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu in 1748 In this political treatise Montesquieu pleaded: – in favor of a constitutional system of the separation of powers, the ending of slavery, the preservation of civil liberties and the law, the idea that political institutions ought to reflect the social and geographical aspects of each community