Beginnings of an American IdentityBeginnings of an American Identity

5-2: Roots of Representative Government

• The Magna Carta

The Rights of Englishmen

• 1st step toward guaranteeing rights

• Limited powers of the King

• …Over time, rights originally granted only to nobles were extended to all Englishmen

Parliament and Colonial Government

• Most important right of Englishmen … ?• To elect representatives to Parliament

• Parliament:• Bicameral Legislature

• Elected – House of Commons

• Appointed – House of Lords

Parliament and Colonial Government

• Colonists used the same model

• Governor oversaw laws made by:• Bicameral Legislature

• Elected – Colonial Assembly

• Appointed – Governor’s Council

Parliament and Colonial Government

• The highest authority to govern the colonies was …

PARLIAMENPARLIAMENTT

A Royal Governor’s Rule

• Still … many colonists believed the King and Parliament had no right to rule them. Because…•Parliament had NONO representatives

from the Colonies

• So … Who could rule the Colonies?•Their own Colonial Assemblies

A Royal Governor’s Rule

• To assert control over the colonies, King James II Created the Dominion of New EnglandDominion of New England

•Sir Edmund Andros, Governorthe Dominion of New England

• America was in Turmoil• Smugglers were avoiding taxes

established in the Navigation Acts • King Philip’s War in New England• Threat of the French in Canada• Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia

England’s Glorious Revolution

• Parliament asserts control

James IIWilliam III

&Mary II

• Invited Protestant William and Mary to rule England

• Removed Catholic James IIfrom throne

England’s Glorious Revolution

• William and Mary forced to sign the English Bill of RightsEnglish Bill of Rights

• Establishes principle that:

Government was to be based on laws made by Parliament, not on the desires of a ruler!

England’s Glorious Revolution

• Meanwhile, back in the American colonies…

• Colonists detest the Dominion!!• They use the opportunity of England’s

political turmoil to:• Arrest and jail Andros• Dissolve the Dominion of

New England• Re-establish Colonial Assemblies

Sir Edmund Andros!

Shared Power in the Colonies

• Biggest power of Colonial Assemblies was that they paid the Governor’s salary

• Idea for the structure of colonial governments originated in the …

• Magna Carta

Shared Power in the Colonies

• Because Governors’ salaries were controlled by Colonial Assemblies, they frequently chose not to enforce unpopular laws passed by Parliament. This is called … •Salutary Neglect

• As a result …•Colonists became used

to acting on their own

The Zenger Trial

• Newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger criticized New York’s governor• Accused him of removing a judge

and fixing an election• Jury decided the truth was a

defense against libel and released Zenger

• Case helped to establish Freedom of the Press in America

“The question before theCourt and you, Gentlemen

of the Jury, is not of small nor privateconcern nor is it the cause of a poor printer,

nor of New York alone.No, it may affect every Freeman

to deny the liberty of both exposingand opposing arbitrary power by

speaking and writing truth.”

- Andrew Hamilton, Zenger’s attorney

5-2: Roots of Representative Government

El Fin