Origins of Government

ANCIENT GREEK’S INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY  Great Council passed laws that were favorable to the wealthy.  Many Greeks wanted to participate in the lawmaking process.  Citizens were permitted to participate in lawmaking  Only men who owned large plots of land were considered citizens

ANCIENT ROME’S INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN GOVERNMENT  Romans established a Republic  More and more people were permitted to vote.  Romans decided that the laws be written down

ENLIGHTENMENT THINKERS INFLUENCING AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 1.Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) 2.John Locke (1632 – 1704) 3.Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) 4.Baron de Montesquieu (1689 – 1755)

THOMAS HOBBES In nature, people were cruel, greedy and selfish. They would fight, rob, and oppress one another. To escape this people would enter into a social contract: they would give up their freedom in return for the safety and order of an organized society. Therefore, Hobbes believed that a powerful government like an absolute monarchy was best for society – it would impose order and compel obedience. It would also be able to suppress rebellion.

Hobbes #2 His most famous work was called Leviathan. Hobbes has been used to justify absolute power in government. His view of human nature was negative, or pessimistic. Life without laws and controls would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

Hobbes #3 - Quotes A man's conscience and his judgment is the same thing; and as the judgment, so also the conscience, may be erroneous. In the state of nature, profit is the measure of right. Leisure is the Mother of Philosophy.

JOHN LOCKE Believed in natural laws and natural rights. At birth, the mind is a tabula rasa, a blank tablet. Everything we know comes from the experience of the senses – empiricism. We are born with rights because they are a part of nature, of our very existence – they come from god. At birth, people have the right to life, liberty, and property.

Locke #2 Most famous works are the Two Treatises on Government. Rulers / governments have an obligation, a responsibility, to protect the natural rights of the people it governs. If a government fails in its obligation to protect natural rights, the people have the right to overthrow that government. The best government is one which is accepted by all of the people and which has limited power (Locke liked the English monarchy where laws limited the power of the king).

Locke #3 Locke’s ideas influenced Thomas Jefferson more than anything else when Jefferson wrote the US Declaration of Independence in Locke justified revolution in the eyes of the Founding Fathers. Locke also influenced later revolutions in France (1789) and in many other places in the world in the 19 th Century.

Locke #4 - Quotes All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions. I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts. The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property.

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU People are basically good but become corrupted by society (like the absolute monarchy in France). For Rousseau, the social contract was the path to freedom: people should do what is best for their community. The general will (of the people) should direct the state toward the common good. Hence, the good of the community is more important than individual interests.

Rousseau #2 His most famous work was The Social Contract. JJR questioned authority - absolute monarchy and religion. JJR was passionate, he hated political and economic oppression. Influenced later revolutionaries, both middle class and socialist.

Rousseau #3 - Quotes Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Force does not constitute right... obedience is due only to legitimate powers. Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost. It is unnatural for a majority to rule, for a majority can seldom be organized and united for specific action, and a minority can.

MONTESQUIEU He strongly criticized absolute monarchy and was a voice for democracy. Separation of Powers - the best way to protect liberty was to divide the powers of government into three branches: legislative; executive; and judicial. Checks and Balances – each branch of government should check (limit) the power of the other two branches. Thus, power would be balanced (even) and no one branch would be too powerful. Montesquieu studied the history of governments and cultures all over the world.

Montesquieu #2 His first book, The Persian Letters, ridiculed the absolute monarchy and social classes in France. He also wrote The Spirit of the Laws. Montesquieu’s ‘separation of powers’ and ‘checks and balances’ greatly influenced James Madison and the other framers of the US Constitution. These ideas are at the core of American government to this day.

Montesquieu #3 – Quotes The spirit of moderation should also be the spirit of the lawgiver. Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions.

Ideas behind the forms of Government The origins of America’s government can be traced back some years. The new colonists in the Americas as they began to settle along the cost and develop colonies, ports, and cities, would take ideas from the Enlightenment Period. In the case of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, some groups were escaping persecution in England. Many of the laws that would come to be created stemmed from the ideas of equal treatment for all men.

Ideas behind the forms of Government, continued The need for an ordered social system, or government. The idea of limited government, that is, that government should not be all- powerful. The concept of representative government—a government that serves the will of the people

Influences on American Government The Magna Carta, The English Bill of Rights, The Mayflower Compact

The Magna Carta English document signed in 1215 Name means “Great Charter” Limited the power of the monarch How did it influence American Government? ◦Gave Americans ideas about:  Property rights  Right to a trial by jury  Legislative taxing power Influences on American Government

English Bill of Rights Established in 1689 when William and Mary took over England after King James II was kicked off of the throne by Parliament. Kept the king from passing laws without Parliament’s consent How did it influence American Government? ◦Gave Americans ideas about:  Legislative power (checks and balances)  Basic rights of citizens

Mayflower Compact Established 1620 by the Pilgrims for the general good of the colony First attempt by colonists to govern themselves How did it influence American government? ◦Gave Americans ideas about:  Self-government through laws made BY THE PEOPLE

How our government formed over Time

Three types of American Colonies The royal colonies were ruled directly by the English monarchy. The King granted land to people in North America, who then formed proprietary colonies. The charter colonies were mostly self- governed, and their charters were granted to the colonists.

British Colonial Practices Until the mid-1700s, the colonies were allowed a great deal of freedom in their governments by the English monarchy. In 1760, King George III imposed new taxes and laws on the colonists. The colonists would eventually: form a confederation, propose an annual congress, and began to rebel for independence.

Earliest forms of government Mayflower Compact ◦Colonists on the Mayflower signed the Compact agreeing to help aid in the common good of all the people. ◦They agreed to create laws and follow the laws. ◦This form of government was basically a classical liberalism. Virginia Colony ◦Known for its rocky start in which the colony experienced times of hardship, but thanks to James Smith, Jamestown developed a “No work, no food” policy and soon prospered.

Origins of Colonial Unity Early Attempts In 1643, several New England settlements formed the New England Confederation. A confederation is a joining of several groups for a common purpose.

Origins of Colonial Unity The Albany Plan In 1754, Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union, in which an annual congress of delegates (representatives) from each of the 13 colonies would be formed. Would inspire some of the basis for the future Articles of Confederation.

The Mid-1700’s in America

Problems with the British During the mid-1700’s, the British would begin to impose unfair laws such as taxes to the American colonists. Most of the taxes would be in an effort to create revenue to fuel the British military campaigns in Canada or abroad. The Intolerable Acts were a set of laws put forth by British colonial rulers that imposed unfair treatment of the American colonies OR imposed heavy taxes upon the colonists, or goods they purchased.

Intolerable Acts Stamp Act of 1765 ◦Required printed documents to be produced on stamped paper and carry a Revenue (tax) stamp. Townshend Acts of 1768 ◦Acts that lead to further Taxation Quartering Act of 1765 ◦An act created by Thomas Gage, commander-in- chief of the British in America. Used the act to allow soldiers to stay in the houses of colonists. Tea Act of 1773 ◦An act to help the struggling British Easy India company survive, as well as to support the Townshend duties. ◦Also attempted to cut down on smuggling tea into the Americas.

Intolerable Acts Continued

“No Taxation without Representation!” A Quote from the 1750’s and 1760’s in which many colonists felt they were not directly represented in the distant British Parliament. Any laws that were passed that were aimed at taxing them were illegal under the English Bill of Rights, This slogan, along with the idea of fair treatment and equal representation would become further basis for laws in the new future government. Intolerable Acts angered many Americans and would be one of the primary factors for Independence.