Chapter 2 Origins of American Government- Setting the stage for American

Government-- A chronology of how American

Government was established.

Basic Principles of English Thought used by the Colonists

Limited Government – government does not have complete power to make choices. Their power is limited by the will of the people.› Separation of Powers / Three branches of

government Representative Government –

government is made up of representatives of the people. They serve as messengers to carry out the will of the voters.

English Bill of Rights Glorious Revolution resulted in the

overthrow of the current English Monarch and their replacement with a new monarch that viewed Parliament as the supreme authority in England. The King and Queen would serve as figure heads.

A Bill of Rights was added after the Revolution to guarantee that the monarchs and Parliament would never again be able to take rights away from the people of England.

A History of the Colonies All 13 colonies had a government that

consisted of a governor, a legislature, and a court system…but still pledged their allegiance to the English Monarch.

Democracy was valued, but not as it exists today.

Key parts of our current government was established during this time.

What are these key parts A written Constitution A Legislature of elected representatives Separation of powers between the

executive and legislative branches of government.

History Continued… Mayflower Compact was signed by the

pilgrims and was the first colonial form of government..

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut gave the people to elect their governor, judges, representatives, and to make laws.

Representative assemblies were established in the colonies to serve as legislatures.

Review What were the two principles that the

colonists supported from Britain? What key parts of our Government

came form English political thought? Why was it necessary for the colonists

to have some type of written government?

Uniting for Independence The Colonies added wealth to Britain,

so the British were fairly happy with the colonists self government until the 1700s.› As long as the colonists still pledged their

support to Great Britain› Salutary Neglect

Two events caused this relationship to change…

French and Indian War› Britain came to the aid of the colonies to

win the war› When the war was over Britain wanted to

be reimbursed for the expenses of the war George III becomes ruler of GB

› Had very different ideas about how the colonies should be governed. He wanted Great Britain to have more control over them

King George Taxes the Colonies

To build revenue to pay for the war, King George begins to heavily tax the colonies.› The Stamp Act – required colonists to pay a

tax on legal documents, and paper products.

› Other items that were taxed…- Tea- Sugar- Glass

The Boston Tea Party In retaliation for the taxes the colonists

dressed up as Indians and dumped 342 chests of British Tea into the Boston Harbor.

Britain responded by passing the Coercive Acts AKA Intolerable Acts› Closed the port of Boston, which hindered

trade in many of the colonies that relied on the Boston harbor.

How do the Colonists respond?

Stamp Act Congress- met and sent a petition to King George arguing that only colonial legislatures could impose direct taxes on the colonies.

First Continental Congress- Sept 1774› Embargo – an agreement that prohibits

trade with a nation.› Planned to meet the following year if

Britain did not change its policy.

How did Great Britain respond?

King George sent British Redcoats to the colonies.› Colonists must choose if they will be loyal

to GB or Fight to be independent Battle of Lexington and Concord

› British troops clashed with colonial minutemen

› This was the first battle of the American Revolution- It is unknown who fired the first shot

Second Continental Congress

All thirteen colonies sent delegates Second Continental Congress assumed the

powers of the Central Government.› John Hancock was chosen as President› The congress organized the war effort

- Organized an army and navy- Issued money- Appointed George Washington as commander of

the Continental Army Though it had not official authority, it served

as the acting government throughout the war

Road to Independence Common Sense by Thomas Paine helped to

gather enthusiasm, and united many people behind the idea of independence from Great Britain.

Other influential leaders started to rally support for independence.

Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declared independence and submitted his ideas to the Congress. They went right to work on writing a new declaration of indepenendence.

Declaration of Independence On July 4th, 1776 the final draft of the

Declaration of Independence was signed by all 56 delegates. It explained the reasons for declaring independence.› This document did not actually give the

states independence. That could only come after a Revolution victory.

3 Parts of the Declaration of Independence

First part is a statement of purpose and basic human rights.

Middle part is a list of specific complaints against king George III.› A violation of their liberties

Last Part states the colonists determination to be free of Great Britain’s rule. It also explained their efforts for peace and that they had no choice but to declare independence.

Review What two events lead to the colonists

desire to obtain freedom from Great Britain?

What happened at the First continental Congress and Second Continental Congress?

What was the purpose of writing the Declaration of Independence?

What are the three parts of the Declaration of Independence?

Government Under the Article of Confederation

Continued the structure of government as it was set up by the Second Continental Congress. › League of Friendship among the 13 states› Did not establish a central government.

Little power was given to the national government to control states.

Weaknesses of the Articles Congress did not have the power to lay

or collect taxes. Congress did not have the power to

regulate trade. Congress did not have the authority to

enforce the laws set up by the Articles of Confederation.

Weaknesses continued… Laws needed the approval of 9 of the

13 states› Usually only 9 or 10 delegates were in

attendance at a given time. Amending the Article required the

approval of all 13 states. Central Government did not have an

executive branch No national court system

Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation

Fair policy to develop new lands› Northwest Ordinance and Ordinance of 1787 – territories

could apply for statehood when their population reached a certain number.

Peace Treaty with Great Britain› All land owned by GB became property of the

U.S. Set departments for foreign affairs

› Would become the Presidential cabinet “Full Faith and Credit”

› States would support the legal acts of other states, this could not be enforced but was added to the Constitution where it would be.

We needed a Central Government

States began to quarrel over borders, tariffs, and trade

States thought of themselves as sovereign and even began to deal with foreign nations

Without the ability to tax, the government did not have money to pay back the huge debt created by the war.› Farmers and merchants went unpaid

Shay’s Rebellion- The final straw

Daniel Shays lead a group of farmers to rebel against the Supreme Court of Massachusetts› The Supreme Court was repossessing land

and farms from farmers who could not pay their debts.

The Mass. Militia put down the rebellion, but caused enough fear in the states that they were willing to talk about strengthening the national government.

The Constitutional Convention…Organization

George Washington was chosen to preside over the meetings.

A majority, each state gets one vote, would make decisions.

7 states would need to have delegates in attendance for meetings to be held.

Press and public were NOT allowed in

Agreements Abandon the former government and

begin again Limited and Representative

government would remain Power of government would be divided

between three branches Limit the power of the states to coin

money STRENTHEN THE NATIONAL

GOVERNMENT

Compromises Large states and small states had different

ideas of what they wanted the new government to look like and the role that the states would play.› Why would large and small states have different

views?- Large states wanted representation to be based on

population, which gave them a larger say in government.

- Small states wanted representation to be based on equality, so that all states would have an equal voice in government.

Virginia Plan V. New Jersey Plan Strong national legislature

› 2 houses- Upper house chosen by the

people lower house by the upper house

- Problem: Small states will not have much say in government

Strong executive branch› Chosen by the legislature

- Problem: will no power in legislature, small states will have no say in the executives

National judicial branch › Appointed by the

legislature- Problem: will no power in

legislature, small states will have no say in the executives

Keep the major features of the Articles of Confederation› Don’t want to give too

much power to the national government

Unicameral legislature › Each state would receive a

single vote- Problem: This gave large and

small population states the same influence in congress

Weak Executive › Appointed by Congress

- Problem: Congress would have too much power

Judicial branch with limited power› Appointed by Congress

- Problem: This gave large and small population states the same influence in congress

Connecticut Compromise The Virginia Plan was approved with the

following changes…› Legislative Branch would have 2 parts

- House of Representatives – representation based on population

- Senate – 2 members from each state- This gave the larger states more say in the House,

but small states were protected by the Senate.› Strong Executive chosen by the people› Judicial Branch

- Justices appointed by the Executive Branch and confirmed by the Legislative Branch

Other Compromises Three-fifths Compromise

› South wanted- slaves to be counted for representation but not for taxes.

› North wanted- slaves to be counted for taxes and not for representation.

› The decision- slaves would count as 3/5 of a person for both representation and tax purposes.

Commerce and slave trade› Congress could not ban the slave trade until

1808.› Congress could regulate trade, but could not

impose export taxes on the south.

Compromises continued… Slavery

› The north wanted to be free of slavery, but knew the south would never agree and decided to leave the issue of slavery for later generations to decide.

Electoral College system was created to choose the president of the United States

Federalists V. Antifederalists Without a strong

national government Anarchy would reign› Power to protect

the states and national boundaries would not exist.

Opposed the constitution- feared a strong national government› Wanted state

governments to keep power

Not sanctioned by law› illegal

Lacked a Bill of Rights› Fear that rights of the

people would again be violated by the government

The Constitution is Ratified Will the agreement to add a Bill of

Rights the constitution was approved, after much convincing and a close vote New York was the last state to sign.

George Washington was elected the First President of the United States, John Adams Vice President

Review Why didn’t the Articles of Confederation

work as a government of the new states? What event causes the states to decide to

review the Articles of Confederation? What was so important about the

Connecticut Compromise? How was the view of Federalists and

Antifederalists different? What was added to the Constitution that

caused the Antifederalists to sign it?