1. Our Political Beginnings
The English Constitution

2. English Constitution: Basically Unwritten
Rule of Law had come down from Babylonians (Hammurabi’s Code), the Bible and the Romans

3. English Colonists Brought Three Concepts that Shaped U.S. Govt.
Ordered government: predictable & regulated relationships with one another
Limited government: government restricted in what it may do. Individual has rights
Representative government: people should have a voice in deciding what the government should and should not do

4. English Government Traced to Landmark Documents: Magna Carta
In 1215 CE King John was waging unsuccessful wars and heavily taxing his subjects.
Barons sick of it and at Runnymede force him to sign the Magna Carta
Guaranteed barons the right to trial by jury, the due process of law, & arbitrary taking of their property.
Originally applied only to them, but gradually became the rights of all English people
Importance: King’s power limited

5. More Landmark Documents: Petition of Rights (1628)
Some English kings observed Magna Carta; some did not.
Charles I did not; fervent believer in divine right of kings; did not want to listen to Parliament
Charles I did want more money for taxes in order to wage war
Parliament refused until he signed the Petition of Rights
This document guaranteed that even a king must obey the laws of the land

6. Petition of Rights: The King is Not Above the Law
Reaffirmed the Right to a trial by jury of his peers or by the law of the land
King could not declare martial law in peacetime or force citizens to keep soldiers in their homes (quarter troops) without the consent of the owner
No man can be forced to pay or loan money to the government or pay taxes without an Act of Parliament

7. The Glorious Revolution & the Bill of Rights
Charles I went on to ignore the Petition of Rights
Eventually the fight between himself and Parliament ended in civil war
Charles I ended up losing his head
A dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell was set up & was unpopular
The monarchy was restored but James II was unpopular
People asked William and Mary of Orange to rule instead: Glorious Revolution
They signed Bill of Rights

8. English Bill of Rights Guarantees:
Trial by jury
Due process of law
Right of private property
No cruel or unusual punishment
No excessive bail or fines
The right to bear arms
The right to petition the monarch….and not be punished for petitioning