1. Foundations of u.S. Government
English Heritage and Colonial Times

2. Being British OUR FOUNDERS WERE BRITISH!
Expected equal treatment based on:
The Magna Carta
English Bill of Rights

4. Magna Carta (The Great Charter)
Treaty between King and Nobles in 1215
Unjust or cruel punishment
Taxation without representation
Roots of Parliament
Charter

5. English Bill of Rights The Glorious Revolution
King William III & Queen Mary
Rule by consent
No standing armies
Reaffirmed rights in Magna Carta

6. English Bill of Rights Cont.
"The settlement marked a considerable triumph.... If no Roman Catholic could be king, then no kingship could be unconditional. The adoption of the exclusionist solution lent support to John Locke’s [view] that government was in the nature of a social contract between the king and his people represented in parliament. The revolution permanently established Parliament as the ruling power of England."
-Britannica.com

7. New Ideas John Locke Born equal; Natural Rights
Charles-Louis de Montesquieu
Balance of Powers
Blackstone
God's law above Human law

8. Colonial Governments Differences No Nobles Autonomy Similarities
Subjects of the King
Property = Rights

9. Written Constitutions
The Mayflower Compact
1st New World plan for self Gov.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
1st Colonial Charter (Primitive Constitution)
Other Colonies followed
All under Royal Supervision

10. Colonial Legislatures
Determined by Church Membership
Massachusetts Bay Colony
General Court
Representative gov. begins
By 1776 Colonies had been practicing for Independence for over 100 years