1. Ch. 2 Origins of American Government

2. Our Political Beginnings Most settlers coming to America brought with them 3 concepts of govt which they wanted in this new land: – Ordered government – Local govts organized like those in England. Ex - – Limited government – Govt is restricted. Ex - – Representative government – Govt serves the will of the people. Ex -

3. Plymouth Rock Jamestown Colony

4. Landmark English Documents On paper, English citizens had rights, but they were often ignored by the King. Magna Carta (1215) – King must follow laws; trial by jury; Due process of law. Petition of Right (1628) – No prison w/out trial; no martial law in peacetime; no quartering; no taxes w/out Parliament’s consent. English Bill of Rights (1688) – Free elections; King can’t suspend laws; Parliament controls money; fair trial; no cruel & unusual punishments.

5. Magna Carta Petition of Right English Bill of Rights

6. 13 Colonies – 3 Types of Govt Royal Colonies (8) – Directly controlled by King. – New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, N & S Carolina Proprietary Colonies (3) – King granted land to a person for a colony. – Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware Charter Colonies (2) – Self-governed by colonists; charter to operate granted by King. – Connecticut, Rhode Island

8. The Coming Independence Colonists lived 3,000 miles from England and were used to a measure of independence. However, England had large debts from war and needed money. French & Indian War – England racked up large debt. Parliament – Did not get involved in colonial admin. Privy Council, Board of Trade – King’s advisors; ran colonies for King under his orders.

10. Albany Plan (1754) – Created by Ben Franklin; colonies formed annual Congress. – Congress can raise military & naval forces for war w/ natives. – Congress can regulate trade w/ natives. – Congress can tax. – Congress can collect customs duties. Plan was turned down by colonies & Crown. Stamp Acts (early 1760s) – Colonists opposed due to “taxation without representation”.

12. Stamp Act Congress - 1765 Declaration of Rights & Grievances – Strong protest against George III, Parliament, & Stamp Act. Boycott of British Goods (1770) – colonists begin to drink coffee! Boston Massacre – Due to tax protests Committees of Correspondence – Led organized resistance against Crown; sprang up in all colonies; helped organize protests & spread info. – Many founding fathers were members. Boston Tea Party

14. First Continental Congress (1774) – 55 delegates but no one from Georgia. Met for 2 months, drafted Declaration of Rights; sent to George III in protest of colonial policies. – Result – No satisfaction from Crown, led to boycott of all British trade. Battles of Lexington & Concord. Second Continental Congress (1775) – Delegates from all colonies met in Philadelphia. – John Hancock chosen as President of Congress. Army created with George Washington chosen as General. – Raised money for army. – Unicameral legislature created.

17. Declaration of Independence Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed “Colonies ought to be free, &bonds w/ England dissolved”. Committee was formed – 5 men to write Declaration of Independence. – T. Jefferson, B. Franklin, J. Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston – Jefferson did most of the work; relied heavily on writings of Locke (social contract). – Three Parts: Preamble List of grievances Declaration itself The 13 colonies are now called the UNITED STATES of AMERCIA; now let the war begin!

19. The colonies are now STATES! 1776-77 – States began to create written constitutions. – Massachusetts set example by drafting 1 st. Mass. Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in use in the world. Four common features found in all the new state constitutions: – Popular sovereignty – Limited government – Civil rights and liberties – Separation of powers with checks and balances

21. The Critical Period The government in America was the Articles of Confederation. – First national constitution. – Loose confederation of sovereign states. – Unicameral congress. – Each state had only 1 vote. – No executive branch. – No judicial branch. Obligations of the States to the Articles. – Pledged to obey the Acts of Congress. – Provide the funds and troops requested. – Treat the citizens of other states equally. – Give full faith & credit to public acts of other states.

23. Why were the 1780s so Critical? Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation – States could tax each other. – National govt could not collect taxes. – Only way national govt could get money for the Revolution was to borrow. Meeting at Mount Vernon (March 1785) – 2 states proposed a federal plan for regulation commerce. Meeting at Annapolis (Sept 1786) – Only 5 of 13 states attended. – Met to consider updating Articles. – Announced new meeting for May 1787. Would lead to the new Constitution.

24. Shay’s Rebellion (1786). – Many farmers in debt, farms seized. – Organized resistance against tax collectors & courts. – Daniel Shays of Massachusetts attacked Springfield Armory, failed; fled north to Amherst, caught. – Sentenced to death, later pardoned. How did this affect the creation of new Constitution? – Mass govt passed laws to ease debtors’ burden. – Showed weakness of Articles, strengthened arguments of those wanting strong federal govt (Federalists).

26. Creating the Constitution The Philadelphia Convention – 55 delegates attended from all states. – G. Washington elected unanimously as President of Convention. – Procedures: Each state got 1 vote; majority rules. Secretive, no public statements. – B. Franklin demanded secrecy to protect from outside pressures. Original plan was to revise Articles, but soon realized it was easier to start over.

28. The Constitution – A Bundle of Compromises James Madison’s Notes – Account of Convention. Two major conflicts that had to be settled: – Representation of states in Congress. – Should slaves be counted in the population? Virginia Plan – Mostly Madison’s work. – 3 branches, bicameral legislature, membership in legis. Based on population or states’ donations to fed govt. New Jersey Plan – Supported by small states. – Unicameral congress, federal executive of more than 1 person.

29. Connecticut Compromise – Bicameral legislature. – Senate (upper house) – states represented equally. – House of Representatives (lower house) – based on states’ population. Three-Fifths Compromise – Slaved count as 3/5 of a person for census purposes. Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise – Congress can’t tax imports & can’t act on slave trade for 20 years.

30. Ratification Federalists – Supported new Constitution & wanted to give fed govt more power. – Led by J. Madison & A. Hamilton. Anti-Federalists – Wanted states to maintain power & to limit fed govt power. – Led by T. Jefferson, P. Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and J. Hancock. Nine states ratified, but Virginia & New York had not. – Their ratifications were crucial. – Virginia ratified 4 days after New Hampshire (9 th state). – New York shortly after.

31. Federalists Anti-Federalists

32. Federalist Papers. – Written by J. Madison, A. Hamilton, John jay. – 85 essays written in support of Constitution. Helped get New York and Virginia to ratify. – Brilliant arguments!