Transcript Government: Chapter 2

Government: Chapter 2
Origins of American Government
The Original 13 Colonies
Sec.1 Our Political Beginnings
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The earliest English settlers brought with
them a knowledge of a political systemestablished laws, customs, and practices
that had been developing for centuries.
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English setters brought with them three
important concepts that were central the
shaping of American Government.
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Ordered Government: Colonists saw a
need for orderly regulation of their
relationships with each other. They
created local governments that are similar
to the ones found today.
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Created offices such as sheriff, corner,
assessor, and justice of the peace.
Limited Government: Colonists brought
with them the idea that government
should not be all powerful. Each individual
must have certain rights.
 Representative Government:
Government should represent the will of
the people. This concept brought with the
idea that people should have a say in what
government should or should not do.

Land Mark English Documents
The Magna Carta: Document King John
was forced to sign in 1215.
 Established the principal of limited
government and rights for citizens.
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The Petition of the Right(1628):
Limited the king’s power, increased
parliaments power, and elevated the rights
of the individual.

The English Bill of Rights(1689):
Redefined the rights of parliament and the
rights of the individuals.
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Prohibited a standing army in peacetime,
right to a fair and speedy trial, freedom
from excessive bail.
Types of Government in the
Colonies(1609-1700s)
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The thirteen colonies were founded over a
course of 125 years.
– Virginia, first in 1607
– Georgia, last 1733
– Each colony was established on the basis of a
charter, a written grant of authority from the king.
Royal Colonies: If the king revoked a charter
the colony became a Royal Colony, or subject to
the direct control of the king.
 Royal Colonies had a bicameral (two House
Legislature).

Proprietary Colonies: Ran by a proprietor or
person the king granted land.
 Legislature of proprietary colonies was both
unicameral (one house) and bicameral
depending on the colony.
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Charter Colonies: Some colonies were based
on their original charters and were largely selfgoverned.
Chapter 2 Section 2
The Coming of Independence.
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By the 1760s when King George came to
throne England began to deal more firmly
with the colonies.
Timeline of Events Leading to War
1643: League of Friendship formed by northern
colonies to defend against native Americans.
 1696: William Penn offers a plan for cooperation
that is largely ignored.
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1754: British board of trade calls a meeting of
northern colonies, Benjamin Franklin proposes
the Albany Plan (annual congress of delegates
from all colonies) turned down.
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1765: Stamp act passed
by parliament.
1765:Stamp Act
Congress, Declaration of
Rights sent to British by
colonists.
1770 March 3rd: Boston
Massacre
1772: Committees of
Correspondence carry out
resistance (Samuel
Adams)
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1773: Boston Tea Party
1774(Spring): Britain
passes new laws
(Intolerable Acts)
1774, September 5: First
Continental Congress in
Phil., 55 delegates from
all colonies except GA.
1775: Battle of Lexington
and Concord
1775, May 10: Second  1776, July 2nd:
Continental Congress,
Delegates
delegates from all
unanimously agree to
colonies present.
Lee’s statement
 1776, June 7: Richard  1776, July 4th: Adopt
Henry Lee declares
the Declaration of
the colonies “free and
Independence
independent states”
 1781: Articles of
Confederation go into
affect.
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Common Features of New States
In 1776 and 1777 most states adopted
written constitutions or bodies of
fundamental laws setting out principals of
government.
 Most constitutions were based on the idea
of popular sovereignty, which means
government can only exist with the
consent of the people.
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Civil Rights and Liberties: Many
constitutions contained a “bill of rights”
setting out “unalienable rights” held by the
people.
 Separation of Powers: Powers given to
state governments were purposely divided
into three braches executive, legislative,
and judicial.
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Chapter 2 Sec. 3
The Critical Period
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Once the declaration of independence was
signed a system of government was
needed if the country was going survive.
The Articles of Confederation were
ratified or approved on February 27th
1781.
 This established a firm league of
friendship among the states.
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Governmental Structure
A unicameral congress made up the entire
governing body under the Articles of
Confederation.
 Each state had one vote in the congress, no
matter its size.
 There was no executive or judiciary branches,
these duties were all handled by the congress.
 Each year congress would choose a president or
presiding officer.
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Power of Congress
(What Could Congress Do?)
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Main powers relate to military defense.
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Review questions 1-11 from Section 3
guided reading.
State Obligations
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By agreeing to the Articles the states had
agreed to:
– Treat citizens from other states equally
– Provide troops if needed by congress
– Give full credit to the judicial systems of other
states
– Allow open travel and trade between other
states
Weaknesses of the Articles
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Congress could not do the following:
– Tax
– Regulate trade between states
– Could not force the states to obey the Articles
or laws it made
– Congress could only exercise the power it did
have with the consent of 9 of 13 legislatures
The Critical Period
The weak Articles of Confederation caused
many disputes between the states.
 A stronger more effective government was
needed.
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Shays’ Rebellion of 1786 highlighted the
troubles.
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By 1787 representatives were calling for a
new meeting of the states.
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What followed would become the
constitutional convention in Philadelphia
Chapter 2 Sec. 5
Ratifying the Constitution
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Unlike the Articles of Confederation only
nine states were needed to ratify the new
constitution.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
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After the constitution was signed it
needed to be ratified by the states.
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Two groups quickly emerged, the
Federalists (for ratification) and the
Anti-Federalists (against ratification).
The Debate
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Federalists: Led by
James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton
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Stressed the
weakness of the
Articles of
Confederation.
Anit-Federalists:
Led by Patrick Henry,
John Hancock, and
Samuel Adams.
 Stressed the lack of
any mention of God,
Lack of a Bill of
Rights, and the
greatly increased
powers of the federal
government.
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Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
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Choose either the federalists or antifederalists to read about on page 47 and
answer the following questions.
– Who were the chief leaders of the party
you choose?
– For what reasons did your party support
or not support the constitution?
– Compare your answers with someone
who chose the opposite party.
Success
After a hotly contested debate the federalists
finally convinced every state to ratify.
 New York and Virginia were two of the last
states to ratify. Without the support of George
Washington Virginia may not have ratified.
 Without those two states the constitution may
never have gone into affect.
 P. 48
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Inauguration of a New Government
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New York was chosen as a temporary
capital.
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George Washington was elected President,
John Adams Vice President on April 6th,
1789.