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9 colonies joined together to protest England’s Stamp Act, and England repealed it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