Our Political Beginnings

Chapter 2

• The Colonists brought with them to North America knowledge of the English political system, including three key ideas about government.

Ordered Government

• The first idea was that of ordered government.

• This means that a government’s rules should help people get along.

Limited Government

• The second idea, of limited government, means that government has restricted powers.

Representative Government

• The third idea, of representative government, means that government should serve the people.

This might be a question on the test!

Three Landmark Documents

• The English tradition of government grew from three landmark documents.

• The Magna Carta (1215)

• The Petition of Right (1628)

• The English Bill of Rights (1689)

The Magna Carta (1215)

• The Magna Carta said that the king did not have total power, and it protected the rights of trial by jury and due process of law.

This might be a question on the test!

The Petition of Right (1628)

• The Petition of Right said the king could not use the military to rule during peacetime or let soldiers live in people’s homes.

• King could not imprison subjects without the lawful judgment of their peers or by rule of law.

• King could not impose military rule in peacetime.• King could not force unwilling citizens to house soldiers.

The English Bill of Rights (1689)• The English Bill of Rights

forbade keeping an army during peacetime,

• guaranteed a fair and speedy trial, and

• ensured that all parliamentary elections were free,

• Forbade cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail.

The Coming of Independence

Section Two

• Great Britain became more involved in ruling it colonies in the 1760s.

• It created new taxes and laws that caused the colonists to object to “taxation without representation.”

Patrick Henry’s famous statement

• The colonist reacted to the changes in British policy by taking small steps toward unity.

• The New England States had already formed a confederation, or union for a common purpose, in the 1600s.

Albany Plan of Union

• Benjamin Franklin’s, Albany Plan of Union proposed a congress of delegates from all colonies, but both the colonies and the king rejected it.

First Continental Congress meets in Carpenter’s Hall in 1774

Carpenter’s Hall – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1774Aka Independence Hall

First Continental Congress

• Twelve of the thirteen colonies joined at the First Continental Congress in 1774.

• They met to plan opposition to harsh British policies and punishment of colonists who resisted.

• One form of opposition was to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods.

• The colonists hoped to force the British to repeal, or recall, their hated policies.

War for Independence

• Finally, the colonists were ready to fight. • The American Revolution began on April 19,

1775.

• On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress began.

• It became the first government of the new United States and produced the Declaration of Independence

Hint: This might be a question on the test!

• The newly formed States wrote constitutions.

• A constitution is the basic set of laws that creates a government.

• The State constitutions all shared the principle of popular sovereignty, meaning that government can exist only with the consent of the people governed.

This might be a question on the test!

The Critical Period

Section 3

• The 1780s were problem-filled years for the United States.

• Although the States wanted a permanent government, they did not want to give it much power.

• The 13 States ratified – or formally approved—the Articles of Confederation in 1781

• The Articles set up a government that tied the States together in a loose union.

• They also created a central government that had power to do little more than set up an army and a navy, make war and peace, and settle State disputes.

• This government consisted of only one branch, the Congress, which was unicameral.

• Each state had one vote.• Each year, Congress was to

choose one of its members as its presiding officer, or chairperson

• The National Government had no power to make the States obey the Articles or the laws passed by the legislature.

• The States had the power to tax and printed their own money.

• When a rebellion broke out in Massachusetts, many leaders were convinced that Americans had to strengthen the government.

• Delegates from Maryland and Virginia met at Mount Vernon, Virginia, to solve their trade problems.

• Their success led them to call a meeting at Annapolis, Maryland, to try to solve some of the nation’s problems.

• Only five States sent delegates.• They set up another meeting in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania which become the Constitutional Convention.

Creating the Constitution

Section 4

• In 1787, 55 delegates from 12 States met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.

• Later known as the Framers, these delegates soon decided to write a new constitution instead.

The Virginia PlanThe delegates fromVirginia were the firstTo offer a plan. The Virginia Plan calledFor three branches ofGovernment, an Executive, a bicameralLegislature, and courts.The number of Representatives a State sent to the Legislature was linkedTo its wealth andPopulation. Small States opposed thisPlan.

The Virginia Plan

The New Jersey Plan

• The New Jersey Plan called for a government without strong and separate branches.

• It also proposed a unicameral legislature with an equal number of representatives from each State.

Connecticut Compromise• The Connecticut

Compromise combined the basic features of the Virginia and New Jersey plans.

• It called for two houses in Congress.

• In the smaller Senate, the States would have equal representation.

• In the larger House, each State would be represented based on its population.

Three-Fifths Compromise

• The Constitution became a document of compromises.• The Three-Fifths Compromise determined that States

could count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations, which increased their representation in the House.

Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

• The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise forbade Congress from taxing exports from any State as well as from acting against the slave trade for 20 years.

• The Framers made many other compromises before they completed their work on September 17, 1787

Ratifying the Constitution

Section 5

Section 5Ratifying the Constitution

• The Framers had provided that before the Constitution could take effect, at least nine of the 13 States had to ratify it.

• Americans were greatly divided in their opinions about the Constitution.

Federalist and Anti-Federalist

• Two groups formed during the ratification process

• The Federalists, who favored ratifying the Constitution, and

• The Anti-Federalists, who strongly opposed it.

• The Federalists stressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

• The Anti-Federalists attacked almost every part of the Constitution, but two features drew the strongest criticism:

• 1) the greatly increased powers of the central government and

• 2) the lack of a bill of rights that would provide for basic liberties such as freedom of speech and religion.

• The struggle for ratification was intense in several States, especially Virginia and New York.

• The Federalists finally won in both States.

• After eleven States had ratified the Constitution in 1788, the States held elections for a new President.

• The first Congress of the new National Government met in March 1789.

• Because there was not a quorum, or majority of its members, the electoral votes could not be counted until April 6.

• At that point, it declared George Washington President.

The End!!!!