Chapters 4-7 CREATING A LASTING GOVERNMENT

Ch. 4 AMERICA’S POLITICAL HERITAGE

K *W* L Chart (Graphic Organizer) KNOW (What do you already know about early American gov't?) WANT (What do you want to/need to learn about US gov’t?) LEARN (What we learn today about American gov’t)

K *W* L CHART KNOW (What do you already know about early American gov't?) WANT (What do you want to/need to learn about US gov’t? Questions?) LEARN (What we learn today about American gov’t) How did American law & gov’t develop? 2. Why did early colonists look to Greece & Rome for gov’t models? 3. How did English gov’t influence American gov’t?

Key Terms CharterTyrannyDirect Democracy RepublicNatural Rights Compact Separation of PowersRatification Main Objectives  Learn how colonists gained a voice in government  Know roots of individual freedom in America  How did English government influence American government? THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

 Colonial period= birth of many American traditions  Heritage traced to England  Colonists= still citizens of England  Self-Govt in colonies  WHY???  Legislature: group of people chosen to make laws VOICE IN GOVERNMENT

 Colonies= set up through charter  Gives permission to create gov't  Colonists disobey king  lose charter  king’s chosen governor intervenes  Governor = appointed, not elected ROYAL AUTHORITY

BRAIN BREAK!  Read “Citizenship in the Colonies” on pg in textbook  Discuss with your group members:  Identify who could vote  The rights/responsibilities of citizens in colonies  T-chart format for rights of Colonial citizens vs. Modern Day American citizens

 English Govt + Church of England  No freedom (religious)  Mayflower 1620  No freedom of press  John Peter Zenger  Exposed govt corruption in newspaper  Not Guilty  Freedom of press= basic human right!  Colonists work for rights ROOTS OF FREEDOM

 Mid-1700s: England tightened control of colonies & colonists claimed it was tyranny  Tyranny: abuse of power  Royal governors abused power,  colonists feared more and more rights would be stripped from them  still had to pay taxes to England SIGNS OF DISCONTENT

Rights of Self-Government

 Why did American colonists have an unusual degree of self- government at first?  What did it mean to be a citizen in the early American colonies? (Rights?)  Why were freedoms of the press & religion so important to the colonists?  Why do you think England tightened its control over the colonies?  Main Idea:??? SUM IT UP

Chapter 4 Roots of American Government

Looking to Ancient Greece & Rome  Colonists had the benefit of other people’s experiences to form our government  “Let us study the law of nature; search into the spirit of the British constitution;…think about the great examples of Greece & Rome; set before us the conduct of our own British ancestors.” --John Adams  What do you think this quote means?  Take 2-3 minutes to form an idea, write idea on notepad paper  After 2-3 minutes, share with shoulder partner (A  B) then share with face partner (A  A)

Ancient Greece & Rome  Greece= world’s first direct democracy  Direct Democracy: a form of government in which laws are made directly by the citizens  self-government!  Rome: =republic (509 B.C.)  Republic: a government in which representatives are elected  US Congress= republic  People in English colonies also realized that Greek & Roman empires & gov’t collapsed

English Traditions  Magna Carta: (1200s)  King John forced to sign  Listed rights king couldn’t take away  Limited power of king  Led to representative gov’t (Parliament)  English Bill of Rights (1689)  Listed rights of ALL citizens  Everyone must obey laws  Helped make Parliament more powerful than king

Relying on Reason  1600s European philosophers taught:  Natural rights- born with that no gov’t could give or take away  John Locke & Montesquieu  Rights to life, liberty, & property (John Locke)  Separation of Powers: dividing gov’t power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches (Montesquieu)  Balance of power= no tyranny

1. Identify the symbol(s) What do you think they represent? *Find & Study the labels/captions 2. What does the caption mean? 3. What is the point of view expressed in cartoon? 4. How did Benjamin Franklin feel about the political issue of independence from Great Britain? JOIN OR DIE!

 Why did colonists look to Greek & Roman models for government?  How did English traditions in government influence American government?  Main Idea?  American colonists began to think about what they wanted from the government. They looked to models from Ancient Greece, Rome, English history, and European philosophers. SUMMARY

Chapter 4 MOVING TOWARD NATIONHOOD

 Why were the colonists dissatisfied with English rule? Didn’t they inherit the representative government? Why was there tension that resulted in war?  Colonists could not vote for members of Parliament & Parliament didn’t understand colonists’ needs  Colonists could only trade with England (buying AND selling of goods) CLASH OF VIEWS

 Parliament in debt  squeeze money out of colonists w/ taxes  Colonists protested they should not be taxed w/o representation in Parliament  Colonists informed each other throughout all American colonies & called for a meeting w/ reps from all colonies  First Continental Congress, Philadelphia, 1774  Vowed to cut off trade w/ England until requests met  Met again in 1775 (2 nd Continental Congress)  Fighting had begun in Massachusetts  Common Sense, Thomas Paine pamphlet about independence NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

 Second Continental Congress called for independence & for a few members to write a declaration of it  Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…”  Unalienable: no gov’t can take away  People given power in government [What is the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?]  To encourage popular support within the colonies to justify to other nations the colonies’ need to break from England. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

 Colonies= “free & independent”  needs to organize its gov’t  Mayflower Compact= first written agreement to make & obey laws for the good of the group  Each state created a constitution to limit governor powers  13 individual governments  Articles of Confederation  Called for unified national government in colonies  ALL colonies/states need to ratify (approve)  1781 ORGANIZING A NEW GOVERNMENT

 Debt & Trade  War debt from Revolutionary War (Borrowed from other countries)  Value of American money dropped  New gov’t =no power to trade & lost trade rights w/ England  Shays’ Rebellion  High tax on farm land= farmers in debt  Hundreds of farmers led by Daniel Shays storm courthouse, Mass. militia responded  Articles of Confederation= too weak to support national gov’t STRUGGLING GOVERNMENT

What Happened? Who was there? When did it happen? Why did it happen? Where did it happen? 5 W’s of Early American Government

Weakness of Articles of Confederation Use Ch. 4 pages

  om_4.html# om_4.html#  Colonists dissatisfied w/ English rule  Declare themselves independent  Fight & win American Revolution  Begin to establish state & national governments (Articles of Confederation) SUMMARY

 Imagine you were a reporter assigned to cover the events of 1) The American Revolution 2) The drafting/signing of the Declaration of Independence 3) Colonists building tensions over dissatisfaction w/ England Describe what you saw & heard, pretend you are a reporter in the field when all of this is happening. What’s going on around you? Students will group together & record a video after. Reporters, Interviews, Eyewitness accounts, etc… QUIZ GRADE!!! CLASSWORK-HOMEWORK