2. Getting into the mind of an Englishman of the 1700s H-SS- Describe the Enlightenment and the rise of democratic ideas as the context in which the nation was founded.

3. Background Roman empire collapsed due to invasions by barbarians Two institutions take its place: 1. Feudalism-System of decentralized control that provided local protection from Viking marauders. 2. Catholic Church- unifying religion that brought people from different nations together in faith.

5. Roman Empire

6. Feudalism

7. Over time nation-states emerge: Ex: Spain, France, England, etc. Most popular form of gov’t was the Monarchy- dynastic hereditary system; rule by King or Queen. Monarchs struggled w/ powerful nobles for political & military power w/in nation-states 1215-England King John I signed a document known as the “Great Charter” or in Latin the “Magna Carta.” Magna Carta Magna Carta 1215 A.D.

8. English Barons forced King John to sign because the king was unfair- he raised taxes all the time to pay for his military campaigns in France. Magna Carta is significant because it is a legal document that limited the power of a King. Unheard of in their times normally kings had “ absolute power ” Magna Carta set the precedent that a King is not above the law but rather lives under the law

9. 63 clauses in Magna Carta- we look at 2 as examples of traditional English thought. Clause 12-declared “taxes shall be levied in our kingdom only by common consent of our kingdom” Translation: “No taxation w/o representation” Clause 39-Due process of law “No freeman shall be arrested or imprisoned…except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land” Translation: right to jury trial, equal protection under the law, laws work in orderly fashion

10. Why did the Monarchy in England have to surrender some power while other Monarchs ruled w/ absolute power? England was a poorer nation, it did not have wealth like the Spanish and French, until much later. Example: Spain ruled most of North and South America-extracted gold & silver. England had fewer colonies w/o gold & silver American colonies cost the English money to protect

13. Significance: Englishmen in the New World regarded themselves as free English subjects with the same rights and duties as Englishmen living in England. This included the belief that the King’s and Parliament’s power were limited by documents such as the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights Fact: Magna Carta, Petition of Rights, and English Bill of Rights are equal to our U. S. Constitution-founding documents