1. Our Political Beginnings

2. Basic Concepts of Government
Ordered Government
English Colonists saw a need for an orderly regulation of their relationships with one another
Saw a need for government
Created local governments

3. Limited Government Government is restricted in what it can do
Every Individual has certain rights
Idea had been developing in England for over 400 years before Jamestown in 1607

4. Representative Government
Government should serve the will of the people

5. Landmark English Documents
Magna Carta
document accepted by King John of England on June 15, 1215 which contains a series of laws establishing the rights of English barons and major landowners thereby limiting the authority of the King.
Latin word which means 'great charter'
individual rights and considered as a part of the English Constitution where there is no written constitution

6. Magna Carta Guarantees fundamental rights Trial by jury
Due Process of Laws
Protection of life, liberty, and property
Originally intended for privileged class, but over time became rights of all people

7. Petition of Right
Magna Carta was respected by some kings and ignored by others
1628 Charles I asked for more tax money
Parliament said only if you sign the Petition of Right
Petition limited the kinds power

8. King no longer imprison or punish any person but by the judgment of his peers
King may not impose martial law in times of peace
Can’t require homeowners to shelter troops

9. Petition said “No man should be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament.

10. The English Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689
no royal interference with the law
only civil courts, not Church courts, are legal
freedom to petition the monarch without fear of retribution

11. no standing army may be maintained during a time of peace without the consent of parliament
no royal interference in the freedom of the people to have arms for their own defense as suitable to their class and as allowed by law
no royal interference in the election of members of parliament

12. No excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment