Post on 05-Jan-2016
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Chapter 2Historical Roots of
American Government
Started in 1600’s◦ Explorers, traders, and settlers from French,
Dutch, Spanish, Swedes, and others combined with Native Americans to inhabit the continent
English (13 Colonies)◦ Brought with them knowledge of political system◦ Established laws, customs, practices, and
institutions
Ordered Government◦ Need for “ordered” regulations ◦ Created local governments based on what they
knew (England) (Sheriff, coroner, assessor, and grand jury)
Limited Government◦ Government is not all-powerful and can’t take away
individual rights Representative Government
◦ People should have a voice in government decisions
The Magna Carta (1215)◦First document to ever limit the power of a king
◦Guaranteed some rights of citizens – king could not punish someone without jury trial and due process of law
Petition of Right◦ Limited the Kings
power and required jury of peers
◦ Even monarch must obey law of land
English Bill of Rights◦ Right to a fair trial,
prevented cruel or unusual punishment
John Locke’s 2nd Treatise on Government◦Natural Rights – men had rights given to them by God before governments were ever created.
John Locke
◦LIFE◦LIBERTY◦PROPERTY◦Government’s purpose is to protect these, not take them away!
John Locke
Colonies established over 125 year span by a charter (written authority from king)
Royal Colonies Proprietary Colonies Charter Colonies
Required every published piece of paper to receive a British stamp of approval, and pay a tax with it
True intention was likely to stop colonists from publishing essays and newspapers critical of Britain’s government
9 colonies joined together to protest England’s Stamp Act, and England repealed it
◦Trying to repair relationship with Britain
◦Sent a “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” to the king, boycotted trade with England
Trying to defeat BritainConvened in the middle of the Revolutionary War
Elected George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the ArmyColonial Unity
July 4th, 1776
Men have inalienable natural rights Governments exist by the consent of the governed
Abusive governments can be replaced
The Articles of Confederation◦A huge mistake, but a good learning experience
Was not a strong national government
Rather, it was a “firm league of friendship” between 13 independent states
National Government could not:◦Collect Taxes◦Regulate Trade Between States
◦Create a Court System◦Use Troops Without Permission from the States
As a result:◦States never sent the government any money
◦States boycotted each other’s goods and currency
◦States made trade agreements with foreign countries
Legislative Branch (Congress)◦Unicameral (One House)◦States could send as many or as few Reps. as they wanted
◦Each state gets 1 vote regardless of number of Reps.
◦Any change to the Articles required approval of all 13 states
Executive Branch◦No national executive branch◦All executive and judicial powers were given to the states
May 25th to September 17th, 1787
Original purpose was to slightly edit the Articles of Confederation
What ended up happening was a secret meeting where the Founding Fathers created a brand new government
lol :)lol ;->
Ben Franklin:
Holla!
Who were the Framers (Writers)?◦A gathering of 55 of the most brilliant minds in history?
◦Most were in their 30’s and 40’s◦All upper class, well educated, white males Middle and lower classes, women and racial minorities were not given the opportunity to participate
◦Most famous names : George Washington, James Madison, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton
The Framers are really just men – or “politicians,” even
They are fighting with one another on every issue, and forming compromises to resolve the fights
James Madison becomes known as the “Father of the Constitution,” as he became the leader of the convention, and did much of the writing
James Madison
The Virginia Plan◦The “Big State Plan”◦3 Branches – Legislative, Executive, Judicial, each with checks and balances against the others
◦Bicameral legislature with representation based on population alone
The New Jersey Plan◦ The “Small State Plan”◦ Unicameral legislature with all states represented equally
◦ Executive would be three presidents, who chose the Judicial branch
The Connecticut Compromise◦ “The Great Compromise”◦ Bicameral legislature, one house based on population, one on equality
StateState PopulationPopulation # in # in HouseHouse
# in # in SenateSenate
CaliforniaCalifornia 35 million35 million 5353 22
ArizonaArizona 5 million5 million 88 22
WyomingWyoming 0.5 million0.5 million 11 22
The 3/5ths Compromise◦Southern states wanted to count slaves as part of their populations to get more votes in Congress
◦Compromise allowed them to count slaves as 3/5ths of a person in the census
◦*Note* - slaves did NOT get 3/5ths of a vote!
The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise◦ Southern states feared that slavery would be banned by more heavily populated Northern states in Congress
◦ Compromise prevented Congress from acting on the matter of slave trade for at least 20 years
Framers pulled from a number of places to get the final product:◦ Ancient Greece’s Democracy and Rome’s Republic
◦John Locke’s 2nd Treatise on Government
◦Charles de Montesquieu’s ideas about separating the powers of government
◦Great Britain’s government
British Government
Bicameral Legislature (House of Lords and
Commons)
Strong Executive (King)
Royal Court System
Federal Relationship w/ Colonies
Articles of Confederation
Unicameral Legislature
No Executive
No Court System
Confederation of States
New Constitution
Bicameral Legislature (House
and Senate)
Strong Executive (President)
Supreme Court System
Federal Government
Ratify – vote on and pass
Constitution required that 9 of the 13 states needed to approve it to take effect
Did someone say “Rat”ify?
Federalists – favored ratification of the Constitution and a new federal government
Anti-Federalists - opposed the new Constitution on almost all grounds◦Especially wanted to add a bill of rights
Famous Federalists: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, George Washington◦ Madison, Hamilton,
and Jay write The Federalist Papers – persuasive essays to explain why the new Constitution can be effective and preserve personal liberty
Famous Anti-Federalists: Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams, John Hancock