Chapter 2 Historical Roots of American Government Word.

Leading Up to the Declaration ► The Magna Carta (1215)  First document to ever limit the power of a king  Guaranteed some rights of citizens – king could not punish someone without jury trial

Leading Up to the Declaration ► John Locke’s 2 nd Treatise on Government  Natural Rights – men had rights given to them by God before governments were ever created. Mack Daddy John Locke

Leading Up to the Declaration ► Man’s natural rights are:  LIFE  LIBERTY  PROPERTY  Government’s purpose is to protect these, not take them away! Mack Daddy John Locke

Britain Messes with the Colonies ► The Stamp Act 1765  Required every published piece of paper to receive a British stamp of approval, and pay a tax with it  True intention was likely to stop colonists from publishing essays and newspapers critical of Britain’s government

Colonial Unity ► Stamp Act Congress (1765)  9 colonies joined together to protest England’s Stamp Act, and England repealed it

Colonial Unity ► First Continental Congress (1774)  Trying to repair relationship with Britain  Sent a “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” to the king, boycotted trade with England

Colonial Unity ► Second Continental Congress (1775)  Trying to defeat Britain  Convened in the middle of the Revolutionary War

Colonial Unity ► Second Continental Congress (1775)  Elected George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the Army

The Declaration of Independence July 4 th, 1776

Fundamentals of the Declaration ► Men have inalienable natural rights ► Governments exist by the consent of the governed ► Abusive governments can be replaced

Our First Government ► The Articles of Confederation  A huge mistake, but a good learning experience

The Articles of Confederation ► Was not a strong national government ► Rather, it was a “firm league of friendship” between 13 independent states

Problems with the Articles ► National Government could not:  Collect Taxes  Regulate Trade Between States  Create a Court System  Use Troops Without Permission from the States

Problems with the Articles ► As a result:  States never sent the government any money  States boycotted each other’s goods and currency  States made trade agreements with foreign countries

Features of the Articles Government ► Legislative Branch (Congress)  Unicameral (One House)  States could send as many or as few Reps. as they wanted  Each state gets 1 vote regardless of number of Reps.  Any change to the Articles required approval of all 13 states

Features of the Articles Government ► Executive Branch  No national executive branch  All executive and judicial powers were given to the states

The Constitutional Convention May 25 th to September 17 th, 1787

The Constitutional Convention ► Original purpose was to slightly edit the Articles of Confederation ► What ended up happening was a secret meeting where the Founding Fathers created a brand new government

The Framers ► Who were the Framers (Writers)?  A gathering of 55 of the most brilliant minds in history?  Most were in their 30’s and 40’s  All upper class, well educated, white males ► Middle and lower classes, women and racial minorities were not given the opportunity to participate  Most famous names : George Washington, James Madison, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton

The Framers: Demi-Gods? ► The Framers are really just men – or “politicians,” even ► They are fighting with one another on every issue, and forming compromises to resolve the fights

The Framers ► James Madison becomes known as the “Father of the Constitution,” as he became the leader of the convention, and did much of the writing Mack Daddy James Madison

Two Competing Ideas ► The Virginia Plan  The “Big State Plan”  3 Branches – Legislative, Executive, Judicial, each with checks and balances against the others  Bicameral legislature with representation based on population alone

Two Competing Ideas ► The New Jersey Plan  The “Small State Plan”  Unicameral legislature with all states represented equally  Executive would be three presidents, who chose the Judicial branch

Compromises ► The Connecticut Compromise  “The Great Compromise”  Bicameral legislature, one house based on population, one on equality Roger Sherman, author of the Great Compromise

How the Great Compromise Works StatePopulation # in House # in Senate California 35 million 532 Arizona 5 million 82 Wyoming 0.5 million 12

Compromises ► The 3/5ths Compromise  Southern states wanted to count slaves as part of their populations to get more votes in Congress  Compromise allowed them to count slaves as 3/5 ths of a person in the census  *Note* - slaves did NOT get 3/5 ths of a vote!

Compromises ► The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise  Southern states feared that slavery would be banned by more heavily populated Northern states in Congress  Compromise prevented Congress from acting on the matter of slave trade for at least 20 years

Sources of the Constitution ► Framers pulled from a number of places to get the final product:  Ancient Greece’s Democracy and Rome’s Republic  John Locke’s 2 nd Treatise on Government  Charles de Montesquieu’s ideas about separating the powers of government  Great Britain’s government

British Government Bicameral Legislature (House of Lords and Commons) Strong Executive (King) Royal Court System Federal Relationship w/ Colonies Articles of Confederation Unicameral Legislature No Executive No Court System Confederation of States New Constitution Bicameral Legislature (House and Senate) Strong Executive (President) Supreme Court System Federal Government

Ratifying the Constitution ► Ratify – vote on and pass ► Constitution required that 9 of the 13 states needed to approve it to take effect Did someone say “Rat”ify?

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists ► Federalists – favored ratification of the Constitution and a new federal government ► Anti-Federalists - opposed the new Constitution on almost all grounds  Especially wanted to add a bill of rights

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists ► Famous Federalists: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, George Washington  Madison, Hamilton, and Jay write The Federalist Papers – persuasive essays to explain why the new Constitution can be effective and preserve personal liberty

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists ► Famous Anti- Federalists: Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams, John Hancock