1. American ideas about government…
New and old ideas develop and come together
Unit 1 Lesson 5

2. Lesson objectives
Explain America’s traditions of constitutional government
Explain why American colonists attached special importance to such constitutional principles as written guarantees of basic rights and representative government.
Evaluate, take and defend positions on the differences between life in colonial America and England during the same period.

3. Colonial Settlement
England wanted to develop a profitable maritime empire
In order to get settlers to go to America, incentives were offered
Royal Proprietorships
Proprietors were often friends to the king
Proprietors had to find ways to get settlers to come to their province that they were given by the Crown.
11 of 13 colonies were founded as proprietorships
William Penn of “Penn”sylavania is the best known
Joint-stock Companies
Business ventures
Given certain areas along the East Coast
Each needed enough people to start a colony
Virginia Company of London was the first with Jamestown 1607

4. Colonial settlement was not easy
1620, after a 7 week voyage, travelers to Virginia were to set up a colony and government
They arrived at Cape Cod at what is now Massachusetts
Established the governmental agreement document on the ship
Mayflower Compact
Was an early example of the Social Contract Theory in practice
In order to get settlers to go to America, incentives were offered

5. What was unique about this American experience
Arriving in an undeveloped land
Land was cheap
Especially in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas
Labor was scarce
Indentured servants
Looked forward to serving and then buying land themselves
Sold their labor for the cost of the voyage over to the colonies
Non –indentured servants and free labors earned higher wages in America
People were able to achieve prosperity, some did fail
Colonists did not carry over land laws from Britain
Wealth and family name meant little –work to survive
Working to improve one’s lot in life became a fundamental in America
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Paine
Alexander Hamilton

6. Rights in Colonies
Charter: written document from a government/ruler granting certain rights
Virginia Rights: enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunities as if living in or born in Britain
Similar rights in Massachusetts, Maryland and other colonies
All coming from and echoing ideas originating in the Magna Carta
The tradition of expressing rights in writing continued
Massachusetts Body of Liberties
Protected against any abuse by a judge or magistrate of the colony
Protected against: man being “arrested, restrayned [sic], banished nor anywayes [sic] punished…unleass by vertue [sic], of some express laws of the country warranting the same.”
America’s first bill of rights

7. rights of colonial Charters—Part II
Massachusetts Body of Liberties…cont..
Guaranteed
Free elections
Right of trial by jury
Free men to own property
Limited
Government taking property without just compensation
Forcing witnesses to testify against themselves
Cruel and unusual punishment
Suffrage: right to vote
Gave protections to those who could not vote
Right of petition for redress of grievances
Pennsylvania
Probable Cause
Trial by jury of peers
No taxation without representation
FIRST to protect rights of conscience

8. Who didn’t benefit from these rights?
Women:
Right to vote belonged to Protestant White men
No political rights
Could not own property
Lost most of their legal identity to husbands: Legal doctrine coverture: “Husband and wife are one person…the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage.”
Immigrants
½ to 1/3 were indentured servants
Bound for a few years to decades
Indentured servants had a low status close to slaves until their time of indenture ended
Native Americans
Treated as foreign entities
Removed from lands when necessary for expansion or dealt with through treaties
Slaves
Slaves were denied basic human rights
By % of population were African American Slaves

9. Basic ideas of constitutional Government
Structure of colonial governments
Governor
Council of 3-30 landowners – advisors to the governor; may have served as court
Assembly selected by people to weigh in on matters such as taxation
Beyond these measures little governmental direction was given
Allowed for development of self-government
Innovative governmental structures
Colonial constitutions established the preference for written constitutions
Some constitutions were successful others were not

10. Developing constitutional principles
Fundamental rights
Understood them in the Englishman’s frame work
Began to shape life, liberty, property from natural rights theory
Rule of Law
Government that created the laws were responsible to enforce them and to obey them
Representative Government
Important to new settlers
Protection from governors who might violate people’s rights
No taxation without representation
SEPARATION OF POWERS
legislative
Governors (Executive)
Courts (judicial)
Bicameral: Two houses:
Upper- appointed by governor or elected by wealthy citizens.
Lower: Elected by all men in colony who owned property.
Except Pennsylvania: Unicameral: one House
Legislative were strongest in colonies.
Responsible for carrying out and enforcing laws.
Wanted to ensure colonies were governed consistent with British Law
Most were chosen by Crown ~ except Connecticut and Rhode Island. They elected their governors.
Administered local justice; presided over trials.
Required to follow strict rules of procedure
Some colonies created a two-tiered system of trial and appeals.

11. Colonies more representative than Britain
Life/ liberty/property
Property requirement
Competitions for office
This belief depended on property ownership and defense of property
Government was supposed to protect private property
Reason why property is linked to suffrage
50 acre requirement
Land was easy to acquire
Voting base was larger than in England
Choice of candidates running for office
Served shorter terms in office compared to Parliament
Required to live in district they represented -- not true in Britain where they knew little of constituents