1. The Colonial Period
Chapter 2 Section 1

2. ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC
I. Sources of the Constitution
A. British Customs and Traditions: Magna Carta; Petition of Right; English Bill of Rights.
B. European Philosophers:
Locke; Hobbes; Montesquieu; Rousseau
C. Colonial experiences:
Mayflower Compact; elected assemblies.
D. State Constitutions:
Preamble closely resembles opening to Mass. Constitution;
Bill of Rights included.

3. An English Political Heritage
1607 – Jamestown, Virginia Colony
First permanent English settlement in North America
People came from many regions to North America in the 1600s
Britain established and governed 13 colonies
English colonists brought ideas about government
An English Political Heritage

4. English system – two principles of government
Some ideas already embodied in existing governing systems in North America
English system – two principles of government
Limited government
Representative government
Greatly influenced the development of the United States

5. Colonists accepted the idea that government was not all-powerful by the time they reached North America
Magna Carta – Great Charter
King John forced to sign in 1215
Provided basis for limited government
Limited Government

6. Provided protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life, liberty, and property except according to law
Certain taxes could not be levied without popular consent
Rights originally only applied to nobility
Opponents of absolute monarchy used the precedent set to gain more political liberties
Limited Government – a system in which the power of the government is limited, not absolute

7. Petition of Right 1625 – Charles I Dissolved Parliament
Lodged troops in private homes
Some areas under martial law
Petition of Right

8. 1628 – called Parliament back into session
Representatives forced the king to sign the Petition of Right
Greatly limited power of monarch
Repealed what he had put in place

9. 1688 – Parliament removed James II and crowned William III and Mary II ( William & Mary of Orange)
Peaceful transfer known as the Glorious Revolution
English Bill of Rights – document that set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do
Applied to American colonies
English Bill of Rights

10. English Bill of Rights 1. Monarchs do not have absolute authority
2. The monarch must have Parliament’s consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, or maintain an army
3. The monarch cannot interfere with parliamentary elections and debates
English Bill of Rights

11. 4. The people have a right to petition the government and to have a fair and speedy trial by jury of their peers 5. The people should not be subject to cruel and unusual punishments or to excessive fines and bail

12. Representative Government
Representative Government – a system of government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government
English Parliament – representative assembly with the power to enact laws
Upper chamber and lower chamber
American legislatures grew out of the English practice of representation
Representative Government

13. Ideas and writings of English philosophers influenced the American colonists
John Locke
Voltaire
Jean Jacque Rousseau
Believed that people should contract among themselves to form governments to protect their natural rights
New Political Ideas

14. Locke reasoned that in a state of nature (before governments were formed), all people were born free, equal, and independent
Believed that the laws of nature, “natural law” provided rights to life, liberty, and property
If government failed to protect these natural rights, the people could change that contract (social contract)

15. Such political philosophy was revolutionary in an age when monarchs still claimed they had God-given absolute powers
Government was legitimate only as long as people continued to consent to it

16. Government in the Colonies
– 13 English colonies founded
Present system of American government evolved
Each colony had its own government
Governor, Legislature, Court System
Government in the Colonies

17. Women and enslaved persons could not vote
Every colony had some type of property qualification for voting
9 of the 13 colonies had an official or established church

18. Key practices
A written constitution that guaranteed basic liberties and limited the power of government
A legislature of elected representatives
The separation of powers between the governor and the legislature

19. Mayflower Compact – document Pilgrims signed in 1620; first example of colonial plan for self-government
1636 – Great Fundamentals
First basic system of laws
1639 – Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
America’s first formal constitution
Written Constitution

20. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
America’s first formal constitution or charter
Laid out a plan for government that gave the people the right to elect the governor, judges, and representatives to make laws

21. Colonial Legislature 1619 – Virginia House of Burgesses
First legislature in America
In England the king appointed the leaders of the Church of England; Puritans rejected this idea
Believed that he members of each congregation should choose their own misters and leaders
Colonial Legislature

22. Puritans migrated to gain religious freedom
Believed that church members should elect the colony’s government
As a result, representative government was established
Colonial legislatures were examples of the consent of the governed because a large number of qualified men voted

23. Separation of Powers Colonial charters divided the power of government
Separation of Powers – the division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government
Separation of Powers

24. Idea popularized by Charles-Louis Montesquieu
Colonial legislatures became the political training grounds for the leaders who would later write the Constitution