The American Colonies and Their Government Chapter 2

Ancient Democracies  In the 400s BC, the Greek city- states of Athens created the world’s first democracy  All free men over 18 were considered citizens  The system in which people govern themselves, is called direct democracy  It was possible in Athens because the city-state was small  The Origin of Democracy The Origin of Democracy

Ancient Democracies  In places with large populations, direct democracy is not practical  In such places, people choose leaders to govern for them  This form of democracy is called representative democracy  A government based on representative democracy is called a republic  The US is a republic

Ancient Democracies  As the ancient Greeks were creating democracy, the ancient Romans were creating the world’s first republic  In 509 BC the Romans overthrew their king  Government was put in the hands of a senate  Members of this body were chosen from among Rome’s wealthy upper class, called patricians  The senators elected two members, called consuls, to lead the government  Both consuls had to agree

Ancient Democracies  Rome’s common citizens, called plebeians, soon tired of the rule of the patricians  A long struggle followed  The plebeians finally gained political equality in 287 BC  Rome continued as a republic until General Julius Caesar took control around 50 BC.  After his death, monarchs called emperors ruled Rome and its empire for more than 500 years

Early English Influences  The Roman Empire collapsed around AD 476  For the next 700 years, kings and lords ruled most of Europe  England rose up against King John in 1215  They forced him to sign a document called the Magna Carta  The Magna Carta limited the king’s power Magna Carta

Early English Influences  The Magna Carta established the principle of limited government.  The idea that a ruler or government is not all powerful  At first, many of the rights protected by the Magna Carta applied only to nobles.  Over time, however, those rights came to apply to all English people.  Kings who came after John were advised by nobles and church officials.  This group grew to include representatives of the common people, as well.  By the late 1300s the advisers had become a legislature, or lawmaking body.  It was called Parliament

The English Bill of Rights  England does not have a written constitution like we have in the United States.  Instead, their constitution is made up of common law, case law, historical documents, and acts of Parliament.  The Magna Carta is among the oldest and most important of these laws which, combined, outline British rights.

Enlightenment Thinkers  An early Enlightenment thinker, Thomas Hobbes, experienced the English Civil War firsthand.  Hobbes believed that an agreement, called a social contract, existed between government and the people.  In this contract, the people agreed to give up some freedom and be ruled by government  In return, government had to protect the people’s rights

Enlightenment Thinkers  Another English thinker, John Locke, was influenced by the events of the Glorious Revolution.  In 1690 he published Two Treatises of Government  Locke wrote that all people were born equal with certain God-given rights, called natural rights  These included the rights to life, to freedom, and to own property  The Philosophy of Liberty The Philosophy of Liberty

Enlightenment Thinkers  At about this time, another French writer named Baron de Montesquieu developed the idea that the power of government should be divided into branches  Then Montesquieu believed, no one branch would become too strong and threaten people’s rights  Montesquieu called this idea the separation of powers

First Colonial Governments  England founded colonies in America throughout the 1600s  A colony is an area of settlement in one place that is controlled by a country in another place  The early colonists were loyal to England  They brought to America the traditions, beliefs, and changes that had shaped England’s government  These included a strong belief in their rights and representative government

The Mayflower Compact  In 1620 Pilgrims set sail for Virginia, seeking religious freedom  They knew that to survive they needed to form their own government  So they drew up a compact, or written agreement  All the Pilgrim men aboard the ship signed

Economic Opportunity  People came to America for several reasons.  Those too poor to pay for their trip to America came as indentured servants.  These servants worked for 4- 7 years, until their debt was paid

Religious Freedom  Other people wanted religious freedom.  Some groups were persecuted, or treated harshly, because of their religious beliefs.  The Puritans founded Massachusetts for this reason.

New England Colonies  Located farthest north  They were Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island  The cold climate and rocky soil made large-scale farming difficult  A number of New Englanders worked as shopkeepers or in other small businesses  Others were employed in ship building and fishing  The region’s forests provided wood for boats

The Middle Colonies  New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware were English colonies located south of New England  These colonies were known as the Middle Colonies  The climate and soil in this region were better for agriculture  Farmers raised wheat and other cash crops

The Southern Colonies  The English colonies farthest south along the Atlantic Coast were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.  A warm climate, a long growing season, and rich soil made large- scale agriculture successful in the Southern Colonies.  Large farms called plantations developed on the coastal plains.  Over time, however, plantation owners came to depend on the labor of enslaved Africans.

Colonial Government  England was far away  Messages took weeks to arrive  Over the years, the colonists began to depend on their own government– and their elected legislatures– for leadership  They began to see themselves as Americans rather than English subjects

A Time of Change  By the mid 1700s, the colonies had become used to governing themselves through their elected legislatures  Colonists knew of writings of John Locke  They began to resent the fact that they had fewer rights than people living in Great Britain

The French and Indian War  As the colonies grew, they expanded westward  By the 1750s, British colonists were moving into areas also claimed by France  In 1754, French forces joined with some Native American groups  Together they drove British colonists from land west of the Appalachian Mountains  The conflict was called the French and Indian War  It led to war between Great Britain and France in Europe

The French and Indian War  Britain sent troops to the colonies  Finally, the British army won the war in 1763  Britain took control of French lands all the way to the Mississippi River

New Laws and Taxes  The French and Indian War had been long and costly.  The colonists had caused the war by moving west.  Therefore, King George decided they should pay for it.  So he issued a proclamation, or an official statement, which forbade the colonists from settling in the lands won from France.  The king’s actions enraged the colonists.

New Laws and Taxes  In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act.  The colonies protested this tax.  Colonial leaders called on the colonists to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods  In 1766 Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act.  The same day, however, it passed the Declaratory Act.  This law stated that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies and made decisions for them “in all cases whatsoever.”

Colonial Dissatisfaction Grows  A year after repealing the Stamp Act, Parliament levied a new set of taxes.  The Townshend Acts placed duties on a wide range of goods that the colonies imported from overseas.  In 1770, Parliament repealed all the duties except for a tax on tea.

Colonial Dissatisfaction Grows  One of the Townshend Acts allowed general search warrants.  They made it lawful for officers to enter any business or home to look for goods on which the import duty had not been paid.  In 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act.  This made the British company’s tea cheaper than other tea sold in the colonies

Colonial Dissatisfaction Grows  In December 1773, some angry colonists boarded several ships in Boston Harbor.  These ships carried the British company’s tea waiting to be unloaded.  Urged on by the large crowd onshore, the protesters dumped 342 chests of the company’s tea into the water  This protest became known as the Boston Tea Party

The First Continental Congress  In September 1774, delegates, or representatives, from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to plan a united response to the Coercive Acts

The Second Continental Congress  In April 1775, British troops and colonial militiamen had fought at Lexington and Concord, in Massachusetts  Meanwhile, support for independence grew in the colonies  In January 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet titled Common Sense  He used the ideas of John Locke to make the case for independence

The Declaration of Independence  The Congress chose a committee to draft a document to explain to the world why the colonies should be free  The committee consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman  The committee chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence  Jefferson put together a long list of ways in which King George had abused his power  The Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4,  Too Late to Apologize - Declaration of Independence Too Late to Apologize - Declaration of Independence

The End