1. Road to the Declaration of Independence

2. What and where is this building?

3. What about these buildings?

4. Do you see similarities? Why?

5. Elgin Marbles

6. Elgin Marbles

7. Parthenon before its destruction

8. Athens lost its Marbles

9. Athens – the birthplace of democracy?
Under Pericles - The democratic idea of a government responsible to the people
trial by jury
civil liberties of thought, speech, writing and worship*
*excluding women, slaves and non citizens

10. Why Study the Government of England?
England Controlled the thirteen colonies after the acquisition of New Amsterdam (New York)
The colonists used a system that they knew!
The U.S. system is rooted in the tradition of English Common Law

11. What is Common Law?
A series of unwritten laws that have become law through
Precedent (what have judges decided before?)
Common usage
History

12. Magna Carta – 1215 Signed by King John at Runnymede
Ended absolute power of the King
Originally rights provided to the barons (nobility) – eventually all persons inherit these rights
Provided for:
Due process
Protection of life, liberty and property

13. Magna Carta

14. King John at Runnymede

15. The Petition of Right 1628 Signed by Charles I
Parliament refused to vote for more taxes for the King until he signed
Provided for trial by jury
No martial law in time of peace
No sheltering of the King’s troops without the consent of homeowners

16. English Bill of Rights - 1689
Followed the Glorious Revolution of 1688
James II is ousted and his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange are offered the crown in exchange for their signatures on the EBR
Provided for (reiterated)
No standing army in peacetime
Free parliamentary elections
Right of subjects to petition the Monarch
Fair Trial
No excessive bail or
cruel or unusual punishment

17. John Locke – Second Treatise on Government
By “Nature” all men are “free, equal and independent, no one can be put out of this estate and subjected to the political power of another without his own consent”
“If man in the state of nature be so free Why would he part with his freedom?”
To join into the society of others for mutual preservation
“the great and chief end, therefore, of men uniting into commonwealth, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property. . .

18. John Locke on tyranny and the dissolution of government
There is a social contract between people and their government
Uses words of King James I – “a lawful King doth directly differ from a tyrant”
If a government is tyrannical then it is the right of the people to establish a new government

19. Colonists move to the New World
Plymouth Plantation – 1620
Jamestown

20. Charters for the New World Each included the guarantee that those sailing for the New World and their heirs would have "all the rights and immunities of free and natural subjects."

21. Writs of Assistance - The Crown attempts to prevent smuggling
Writs of Assistance – writs began to be enforced in the colonies in 1760
Gave holder of the writ the ability to search any home without probable cause
Used to stop smuggling – but were used arbitrarily – colonists believed this violated their rights because there was no due process

22. Stamp Act
Stamp Act 1765 – Taxes must be paid on paper goods, legal documents, newspapers, and dice
American colonists believed that it violated their rights as Englishmen as it amounted to “taxation without representation”

23. Quartering Act
The Quartering Act – American colonists had to provide room and board to British soldiers
Items required to be provided: bedding, candles, firewood, Ale or cider
Why were colonists so opposed to this act if they didn’t mind billeting soldiers during the French and Indian War?

24. British Army Occupies Boston - 1768