1. 2-1 The Colonial Period

2. Objectives
To explain why the colonist expected representative government

3. An English Political Heritage
The English colonists brought with them a heritage of freedom and principles of government that helped shape the development of the United States.
The colonies were established and governed by England

4. Magna Carta
The concept of limited government, dating from the Magna Carta in 1215, was an accepted part of the English system.

5. Petition of Rights
The Petition of Rights in 1628 signed by Charles 1 severely limited the power of the English monarch because they could not collect taxes without Parliament’s consent

6. The Colonist
The colonists believed in the limits on the ruler’s power and the freedoms protected in the English Bill of Rights, passed by Parliament in 1688.

7. Representative Government
The colonists firmly believed in representative government, following the model of Parliament.
- In a representative government the people elect delegates to make laws

8. John Locke
The ideas of the seventeenth-century English philosopher John Locke deeply influenced the American colonists.
He believed in life, liberty and property
His ideas were the textbook of the American Revolution

9. Government in the Colonies
The present system of American government evolved largely from the colonial governments and their practices.
- The Mayflower Compact was the original colonial government
- The Great Fundamentals was the original colonial law

10. Key concepts of the Colonial Government
The division of government powers among the governor, the colonial legislatures, and colonial courts helped establishes the principle of the separation of power
Written plans of government were a key feature of the colonial period.

11. Government Concepts
Representative Assemblies elected by the people helped establish the traditional of representative government in America.
- The first legislature in America was the Virginia House of Burgesses
The division of government powers among the governor, the colonial legislatures, and colonial courts helped establishes the principle of the separation of power

12. Magna Carta English Bill of Rights Mayflower compact
American Principal of Limited Government
American Principal of Representative Government
Magna Carta
English Bill of Rights
Mayflower compact
House of Burgesses