1. Origins of English Rights

2. Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights
Magna Carta: Document signed in 1215 that limited the king’s power, guaranteed jury trials, and limited king’s right to tax and raise an army. Sets up foundation for limited government- the government must follow the law
English Bill of Rights: The 1689 English Bill of Rights had a massive influence on the colonies in North America and the Constitution of the United States. The most important Articles of the 1689 English Bill of Rights are as follows:
A frequently summoned Parliament and free elections
Members should have freedom of speech in Parliament
No armies should be raised in peacetime
No taxes could be levied, without the authority of parliament
Laws should not be dispensed with, or suspended, without the consent of parliament
No excessive fines should imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
Are the Articles of the English Bill of Rights sounding familiar?

3. ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHERS
Montesquieu
John Locke
Voltaire
Voltaire said: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your RIGHT to say it.”
Rousseau

4. Ideas of the enlightenment
Social contract theory: says that government comes from the consent of the governed.
*People agree to have a government as long as it does not violate their rights and freedoms.
In return they agreed to follow the law of the contract…

5. (you are born with them)
Natural rights: Rights that are so basic that they cannot be taken away.
(you are born with them)
-John Locke - Life, LIBERTY ,AND PROPERTY
-Declaration of Independence - LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

6. Mayflower compact
Social contract of the Pilgrims.
Created in 1620
Became the foundation of law at the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts and ESTABLISHED THE IDEA OF SELF GOVERNMENT IN THE COLONIES.

7. What is significant about Jamestown?
House of Burgesses
Established in Jamestown, VA in 1619
first representative governing body In the New World.
(what does that mean?... Representative governing body)
What is significant about Jamestown?

8. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The first governmental Constitution in the
American colonies

9. Pilgrims and the Puritans

10. New England Puritans Thousands of Puritans settled in
New England to practice religious
freedom and they established
governments in Massachusetts,
Connecticut and New Hampshire
based on the religious beliefs of
the Puritans. Ironically, they did
not allow religious freedom for
Settlers who were not Puritan.
Church attendance was mandatory and punishments for violation of laws was harsh.
Puritans believed in witchcraft and in the 1690s, twelve women were executed after
being convicted of witchcraft in Salem Mass.

11. Religious Toleration
Roger Williams believed the native Americans should have been compensated for their land and disagreed with the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was exiled.
He started a new colony (Rhode Island) and granted religious freedom there.
William Penn
William Penn, a Quaker, established a
Colony (Pennsylvania) to allow the
Quakers and other religions to freely
practice their beliefs

12. Maryland’s Act of Toleration
Lord Baltimore was granted a
charter in the New World and
founded a colony for Catholics.
England was a protestant nation
and Catholics were not welcomed.
In 1649, the Maryland legislature
passed the Act of Toleration which
allowed both Protestant and
Catholics to freely practice their
religion. This was a major milestone
for religious freedom in America

13. Slavery in the Colonies
Triangular Trade

14. Middle Passage
The Middle Passage refers to the forced transportation of West Africans to North America as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
*Between 1450 and 1850 more than 12 million Africans were exported from Africa on slave ships

17. Indentured Servants
In the early years of the colonies, the labor supply came from Indentured Servants.
They agreed to work for a landowner for a period of 4 to 7 years in return for passage to America, food and housing.
By the late 1600’s the system of Slavery increased to meet the demand for labor in the American Colonies.

18. The Great Awakening A religious revival that swept across the colonies
in the 1730s.
Jonathon Edwards (Puritan)
and George Whitefield
(Anglican) were two notable
preachers.
New colleges were founded
to train new ministers to
preach. Today’s Ivy League
Schools such as Princeton,
Yale, Brown and Dartmouth
were all established around
this time.
The Great Awakening helped to create a sense
of spirit and independence that would be a factor
in the move toward independence years later.

19. Freedom of the Press
John Peter Zenger was found not guilty of libel (printing scandalous lies) for
publishing a story about the corrupt governor of New York colony. Zenger’s
Victory in this trial set the stage for freedom of the press in America.