1. [ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals

2. [ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals
Learning Objectives
Explain how constitutional government in the United States has been influenced by centuries of political ideas and traditions from England and elsewhere.
Analyze the significance of three landmark historical documents to the American system of government.
Describe the three types of colonies that the English established in North America and explain why they are important to the study of American government.

3. [ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals
Key Terms
limited government
Jamestown
representative government
King John
Magna Carta
due process
Charles I
Petition of Right
William and Mary of Orange
Glorious Revolution
English Bill of Rights
King George II
charter
bicameral
proprietary
George Calvert, Lord Baltimore
William Penn
unicameral

4. Origins of American Constitutional Government
The American system of government did not suddenly spring into being with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Nor was it created by the Framers of the Constitution in Instead, the beginnings of what was to become the United States can be found in the mid-sixteenth century, when explorers, traders, and settlers first made their way to North America.

5. Origins of American Constitutional Government
Ships such as the Mayflower brought English colonists to North America, where they established governments based on political traditions and ideas from Europe and elsewhere.

6. Origins of American Constitutional Government
Ordered Government
Limited Government
Representative Government

7. Origins of American Constitutional Government
The English settlers brought ideas about government with them to North America. Analyze Charts How is representative government practiced in the United States today?

8. Influential Documents and Ideas
These basic notions of ordered, limited, and representative government can be traced to ideas that began to emerge hundreds of years before the English reached North America, as well as to several landmark documents in English history.

9. Influential Documents and Ideas
The Magna Carta
The Petition of Right
The English Bill of Rights

10. Influential Documents and Ideas
King John reluctantly signed the Magna Carta, thereby limiting his own power. Centuries later, many ideas from the Magna Carta influenced America’s founding documents.

11. Three Types of Colonies
England’s colonies in North America have been described as “schools of government,” because they were the settings in which Americans first began to learn the difficult art of government. Later, the lessons learned by the colonists would help inform the development of the government of the new United States.

12. Three Types of Colonies
Royal Colonies
The Proprietary Colonies
The Charter Colonies

14. Three Types of Colonies
Despite the varying government systems of the colonies, they were all influenced by their English roots. Analyze Maps How were the legislatures of the proprietary colonies structured?

15. Three Types of Colonies
In 1619, Virginia’s colonial legislature became the first representative body to meet in the North American English colonies. Its lower house was called the House of Burgesses.

16. Quiz: Origins of American Constitutional Government
The English colonists brought with them knowledge of political systems that influenced constitutional government in North America. Which one of these basic notions held that the people should have a voice in determining what their government can and cannot do?
A. colonial government
B. limited government
C. ordered government
D. representative government

17. Quiz: Influential Documents and Ideas
Which event from English history between 1628 and 1690 most directly influenced later American political ideas and traditions?
A. Parliament acted to limit the power of the monarch and guarantee certain rights to the people.
B. King John waged many wars and imposed heavy taxes on the English people.
C. Charles I called Parliament into session to request more money in taxes.
D. Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary of Orange after searching for a suitable ruler.

18. Quiz: Three Types of Colonies
Which of the following correctly describes the differences between royal and proprietary colonies?
A. royal: governor and his council named by the king; proprietary: governor appointed by the proprietor
B. royal: governor’s council subject to direct control of the crown; proprietary: governor subject to direct control of the crown
C. royal: governor elected by the king’s council; proprietary: governor selected the proprietor
D. royal: governor named by the king; proprietary colonies: governors elected by male property owners