1. Origins of the Constitution Chapter 1

2. Contact with the British Jamestown, Virginia Early 1600s First permanent English settlement (1607) Harsh winters John Rolfe – tobacco Need more land for tobacco Increased conflicts with Native Americans Rolfe married Pocahontas – short period of peace

3. MAP A: Mercator, Gerhard. Virginia and Maryland,1636.

4. MAP B: Williams, Edward. A map of Virginia, 1651.

5. … contact with the British Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620) Native Americans helped the English survive a harsh winter First Thanksgiving Church observance rather than a feast Squanto taught the pilgrims to grow corn

6. …. contact with the British Pennsylvania Established by William Penn Quaker colony Set a policy of living peacefully with the Delaware Indians Many Native Americans died due to disease and advanced weaponry of the Europeans

7. French and Indian War Between 1763 and 1765 Great Britain and France fought for control of North America Alliances with Native American groups British – Iroquois French - Hurons British victory – gained control over much of North America

8. Immigrants Majority come from British Isles Escape religious persecution Religious freedom Start over Indentured servants Adventure opportunity Non-British immigrants came chiefly from France, Germany, Holland, Sweden Difficulties Separation from family City dwellers have to learn to farm Diseases Attacks from Native Americans Dependence on supplies from England

9. Colonial Experience Charters and Self-Government House of Burgess 1619: America’s first representative assembly for making laws Jamestown, VA Mayflower Compact 1620: laws of town would be subject to the colonists consent Town meetings to discuss problems and vote directly on laws Plymouth, Mass

10. Salutary Neglect Colonists governed themselves Did not enforce laws, just trade Did not collect taxes Allowed the establishment of popular assemblies Did not allow colonists to elect Representatives to Parliament

11. American Revolution!!! Causes French and Indian War  Britain is in debt Taxes Permanent Military Boston Massacre, 1770 British troops fired on crowd Proclamation of 1763 Expensive to maintain control and protection of area

12. Taxes, cont… Done without assemblies consent Stamp Tax Newspapers Legal documents Import Tax Tea Glass Boycott Boston Tea Party Punishment: Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts (1774) Closed Boston Harbor to shipping Quartering of British soldiers More appointments by King Dissolving of colonial assemblies

13. Lexington and Concord April 19, 1775 British troops marched into Lexington, Mass and fired upon armed Americans Farmers fired back from behind trees and stone walls, driving the British back as they moved to Concord

14. Revolutionary Ideologies Most Americans only wanted to defend their rights, not gain independence Common Sense, Thomas Paine Made no sense for a small island kingdom to rule over the vastly larger American lands Especially from a far distance

15. Continental Congress Delegates meet in Philadelphia to plan a defense of their rights Governing body for the American revolutionaries First Continental Congress asked Britain to repeal taxes – failed Second Continental Congress Declared their Independence

16. Declaration of Independence, July 4 1776 Written by Thomas Jefferson Ideas from Locke and Rousseau Government must be: Representative of the people Limited in power by a recognition of basic human rights Government violates people’s natural rights, they have the right to alter or abolish that government

17. War for Independence Early Defeats Troops were disorganized & untrained British troops easily occupied NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia Turning Points Trenton Christmas Night, 1776 Saratoga October, 1777 Convinced French to give American military and navy support

18. Victory at Yorktown Washington defeats Lord Cornwallis, 1781 Sign a peace treaty two years later in Paris Britain recognized the US as an independent nation Western border defined by Mississippi River

19. Early U.S. Government State Constitutional Governments During the Revolutionary War, all 13 colonies declared themselves states and wrote constitutions New York State: bicameral legislation; executive branch; judicial branch; and a Bill of Rights Abolition of slavery in the North – completed by 1810

20. Articles of Confederation Approved 1781 Powers Declare war Make Peace Conduct Foreign Affairs Organization Continental Congress make laws No executive branch No national court system Each state got one vote

21. Articles of Confederation Achievements Brought the war to an end Northwest Ordinance, 1787 prohibited slavery in land between App. Mountains and Mississippi River

22. Articles of Confederation Weaknesses Congress could not impose taxes Money had to be donated from the states Laws had to be approved by a 2/3 majority Congress could not regulate commerce between states Paper money coined was worthless Unanimous agreement needed to change the Articles was nearly impossible Shay’s Rebellion (1786) Exposed weakness of central government

23. Where do we go from here???? What kind of government do we want? What kind of leader/leaders? States rights vs. national rights