1. Chapter 2 Origins of American Government

3. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Identify the three basic concepts of government that influenced government in the English colonies.
Explain the significance of the following English documents: the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the English Bill of Rights.
Describe the three types of colonies that the English established in North America.

4. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Why it Matters:
Our system of government has its origins in the concepts and political ideas that English colonists brought with them when they settled North America. The colonies served as a school for learning about government.

5. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Political Dictionary:
Limited government
Representative government
Magna Carta
Petition of Right
English Bill of Rights
Charter
Bicameral
Proprietary
Unicameral

6. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Basic Concepts of Government (cont)
Ordered Government
Words=sheriff, coroner, assessor, justice of the peace, the grand jury, counties, townships, etc.
Limited Government—restraint on actions of government.
Representative Government—”government of, by, and for the people.”

8. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Landmark English Documents
The Magna Carta
Runnymede in 1215—to restrain King John
Trial by jury
Due process of law
Protection against arbitrary taking of life, liberty, or property.
First intended only for the privileged classes.
Established the principle that the power of the monarch is NOT “absolute.”

9. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Landmark English Documents (cont).
The Petition of Right—1628, to limit the power of King Charles I when he asked Parliament for more taxes.
Limited the power of the king
Could not imprison or punish without judgment of peers or law of the land.
Could not impose martial law.
Require housing of the king’s troops in homes.

10. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
Landmark English Documents (cont).
The Bill of Rights—1688
Restored monarchy with William and Mary in the Glorious Revolution.
Prohibited a standing army in peacetime.
That parliamentary elections be free.
That taxation without the approval of Parliament was prohibited.
Guaranteed right to a fair trial, freedom from excessive bail, and no cruel and inhuman punishment.

12. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
The English Colonies
Came about over a 125 year period—Virginia first in 1607, Georgia last in 1733.
Created by “charters” which were later withdrawn.
Royal Colonies (8)
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Evolved the “bicameral” or two-house legislature.
Governor + governor’s council + lower house

13. Section 1—Our Political Beginnings
The English Colonies
Proprietary (3) A grant to a person—Lord Baltimore in Maryland, William Penn in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Pennsylvania had a “unicameral” or one-house legislature.
The Charter Colonies (2)—quite liberal
Connecticut and Rhode Island

14. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
Explain how Britain’s colonial policies contributed to the growth of self-government in the colonies.
Identify some of the steps that led to growing feelings of colonial unity.
Compare the outcomes of the First and Second Continental Congresses.
Analyze the ideas in the Declaration of Independence.
Describe the drafting of the first State constitutions and summarize the constitutions’ common features.

15. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
Why It Matters:
Changes in British colonial policies led to resentment in the colonies and eventually to the American Revolution. Ideas expressed in the early State constitutions influenced the development of the governmental system under which we live today.

16. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
Political Dictionary:
Confederation
Albany Plan of Union
Delegate
Boycott
Repeal
Popular Sovereignty

17. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”—Benjamin Franklin, July 4, 1776.
Britain’s Colonial Policies
Controlled separately by Privy Council and the Board of Trade under the King—
Parliament not much involved.
London was 3,000 miles away
Almost “federal”—allowed a lot of self-rule

18. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
Britain’s Colonial Policies (cont.)
King George III in 1760
More restrictive
Additional taxes
Taxation without representation
To support troops stationed in North America after French and Indian War of
King’s ministers were poorly informed and stubborn.
Choice was to submit or revolt.

19. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
Growing Colonial Unity
Early Attempts
New England Confederation in 1643
1696—William Penn’s plan
The Albany Plan
Offered by Benjamin Franklin
The Stamp Act Congress
1765—stamps on all legal documents
Later repealed

20. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
Growing Colonial Unity (cont.)
The Stamp Act Congress (cont.)
New laws stimulated a “boycott.”
March 5, 1770, Boston Massacre
Committees of Correspondence led by Samuel Adams organized resistance (1772).
December 16, 1773—Boston Tea Party

21. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
The First Continental Congress
Parliament passed more laws to “punish” the colonies in 1774
Intolerable Acts
Met on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia
For 2 months
Issued a Declaration of Rights-a protest
Adjourned on October 26 calling for a second meeting.

22. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
The Second Continental Congress
May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia
Battles of Lexington and Concord—”the Shot Heard Round the World”—April 19
Representatives from all 13 colonies—John Hancock as president.
Our First National Government
From July 1776-March 1, 1781

23. Section 2—The Coming of Independence
The Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776, adopted.
“We hold these truths . . .”
“. . .our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”