Transcript Roots of American

Roots of American
Chapter 2 Section 1
Our English Heritage
Influences from England’s early
government
 Many of the rights that American
citizens enjoy today can be traced
back to the political and legal
traditions of England.
 When English people began settling
here in the 1600’s they brought with
them a history of limited and
representative government
Influences from England’s early
government
 England was ruled my a Monarch (a
king or queen), however the noble
families had considerable power.
 The monarch gave them ownership of
vast lands in exchange for their
loyalty, tax payments, and promises
of military support
King John
 Inherited the throne in 1199
 Treated the nobles harshly
 He was jealous of their wealth and
influence
 The nobles rebelled in 1215 and
forced the king to sign the Magna
Carta
Magna Carta
 Magna Carta is Latin for great charter
 This document proteted the nobles
privileges and upheld their authority
 It also granted rights to all land
holders
 Rights that eventually came to apply
to all English People
Magna Carta
 Lead to equal treatment under the
law
 Trial by one’s peers
 The magna carta was a contract that
limited the power of the monarch by
guaranteeing that no one would be
above the law, not even the king or
queen
Parliament
 The parliament grew in power and
size until eventually it split.
 Into the house of lords (nobles)
 And the house of Commons (citizens)
 Over time the parliament became
more powerful than the monarchy
 This lead to the Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution
 Parliament removed King James II
from the throne and invited his
daughter Mary and her husband
William to rule instead
 No violence
 From this time on no ruler would
have more power than the legislature
The English Bill of rights
 A document that stated that the monarch
could not suspend parliaments laws
 Could not create special courts
 Impose taxes or raise an army with out
parliaments consent
 The bill of rights also guaranteed
 Free speech
 Free election
 And right to a fair trial
Common Law
 A system of laws based on precedent
and customs
 Precedent – a ruling in an earlier case
that was similar
Bringing the English Heritage to
America
 Even though the colonist were far
from home they remained loyal
subjects of England
 The keep a strong sense of the
English political system
 They accepted common law and
believed that the ruler was not above
the law
Jamestown
 The first permanent English
settlement in North America was
Jamestown 1607
 Was created by a charter from King
James
 A charter is a written document
granting land and the authority to set
up colonial governments.
The Virginia House of Burgesses
 In 1619 the colonist chose two
representative from each county to meet
with the governor and his council.
 These 22 men were called burgesses and
they formed the House of Burgesses
 The first representative legislature in
English colonies
 This marked the beginning of self
government in colonial America.
Plymouth
 In 1620 a new group of colonist
known as Pilgrims arrived in America
 They build a settlement called
Plymouth in Massachusetts
 They drew up a written plan for
government called the Mayflower
Compact
 A compact is an agreement among a
group of people.
The Mayflower Compact
 The compact stated that the
government would make Just and
equal laws for the general good of
the colony.
 The signers pledged to obey those
law
 This set up a Direct democracy in
which all men would vote and the
majority would rule
Early Colonial Governments
 By 1733 13 English colonies stretched
from Massachusetts in the north to
Georgia in the south
 Each colony set up its own
government
 Each had a governor and a legislature
with elected representatives
England takes a
Hands off Approach
 As time passed the governments took on
more and more power and responsibility
 While the king and parliament were
preoccupied with matter in England
 America soon grew used to making their
own decisions.
 They built towns roads, and organized their
own churches, schools, and hospitals.
 All with out the help of Great Britain.