Chapter 2 Origins of American Government Section 1

Chapter 2: Origins of American Government

Section 1: Our Political Beginnings

Basic Concepts of Colonial Government Ordered government: Planned to consist of offices and units that meet the needs of society Colonial offices/units still in use: Sheriff Justice of the Peace Grand Juries Counties Townships Limited government: Government has restrictions & people have guaranteed rights Representative government: Government in which the people have a say

Important Documents in English History: Magna Carta 1200 s England: King John was cruel and unfair Group of nobles forced him to sign Magna Carta A written agreement that stated: King had to get nobles’ advice on important matters Special taxes could be raised only with nobles’ consent No one could be imprisoned without being judged by his peers Judges & other officials to be appointed to serve kingdom Creation of Parliament to be elected by the people to make laws Background Image: Magna Carta, 1215

Discussion Question Why is the Magna Carta from English history ? important in American history?

Important Documents in English History: Petition of Right 1628, Parliament decided the king had become too strong Wrote Petition of Right that said: King couldn’t force people to loan him money People had right to trial by jury before being imprisoned Background Image: The Petition of Right

Important Documents In English History: English Bill of Rights 1689, Parliament passed the English Bill of Rights Stated powers of King or Queen: Parliament had to approve all taxes King not allowed to stop Parliament People could ask king for help People had right to a jury trial The English Bill of Rights

Discussion Question How did the Petition of Right and the English Bill ? of Rights continue to change English government?

Section 2: The Coming of Independence

Early Associations of the Colonies New England Confederation: Formed to help defend against Native Americans. Later dissolved. Albany Plan of Union: Northern colonies united for decisions about: Trade War (attacks by the French) Benjamin Franklin suggested a congress formed by representatives from all the colonies, but they turned down the idea.

First Continental Congress Colonists were angry about a group of English laws they called the “Intolerable Acts. ” In 1774 held a meeting now called the “First Continental Congress” Congress sent King George a list of demands called the Declaration of Rights Also said they would boycott British goods Did not persuade the king

Revolution Begins Started April 19, 1775 Fist battles were at Lexington and Concord Colonists fighting were the “minutemen”: ready to fight the British “at a minute’s notice. ” Detail: “The Engagement at the North Bridge in Concord”

Second Continental Congress Met in May 1775 Appointed George Washington to lead the Continental Army Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence to send to King George Wrote the Articles of Confederation to join the states Didn’t take effect until 1781 because required all 13 states to ratify. The Articles of Confederation

Declaration of Independence First part says people have certain rights, including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. ” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ”

Declaration of Independence Middle part: List of “grievances” (complaints) against the King Last paragraph: Declaration that the US was now independent of England

Declaration of Independence, John Trumbull, 1819 Declaration of Independence John Trumbull

End of Revolution Declaration approved July 4, 1776 October 1871, British surrendered at Yorktown War was over by 1873 Surrender of Lord Cornwallis John Trumbull

State Constitutions By 1777, most states had written their own Constitutions Wrote them at conventions called for that purpose Most constitutions gave most power to the legislative branch Terms of elected officials were kept short

Section 3: The Critical Period

The Articles of Confederation Approved on Nov. 15, 1777 Established a “firm league of friendship” between the 13 states States retained their own sovereignty Main reasons for joining together were “their common defense, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare. ” Required all 13 states to approve Didn’t get all approvals and go into effect until Marcy 1, 1781

Government under the Articles Only government body created was Congress was “unicameral”—had one house Each state had one representative No executive or judicial branches Committees of Congress handled executive and judicial functions

Powers of Congress and the States Under the Articles Powers of Congress Make war & peace Send & receive ambassadors Make treaties Borrow money Set up a money system Establish post offices Build a navy & army Create uniform standards for weights & measures Settle disputes among the states Powers of the States Everything else, including Protecting life and property Promoting “the safety and happiness of the people”

Obligations of States Under the Articles Obey the Articles and Congress Provide funds and troops requested by Congress Treat citizens of other states fairly Give full faith and credit to acts of other states Surrender fugitives from other states Submit disputes to Congress for settlement Allow open travel and trade among states

Limitations of Articles of Confederation Was generally a weak government Couldn’t tax so had no way to raise money other than borrowing Couldn’t regulate trade between states Needed consent of 9 out of 13 states to exercise its powers Could only be changes with unanimous consent of all 13 states

Discussion Question What problems do you predict as a result of the ? weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

The 1780 s: The Critical Period Revolutionary War ended Oct. 19, . 1781 States violated the Articles by Making agreements with foreign governments Organizing their own military forces States taxed each other’s goods and restricted trade States printed their own money Violence and rebellion broke out in several places Shays’s Rebellion in Massachusetts in 1786 was a rebellion of farmers who could not afford to pay their debts and taxes

Section 4: Creating the Constitution

Framers of the Constitution Came from 12 of the states (RI didn’t attend) 55 delegates attended

The Convention Met at the PA Statehouse (now Independence Hall) Began May 25, 1787 Elected George Washington to preside Met through September 17 Met “for the sole and express purpose” of revising the Articles of Confederation Decided right away they were going to create a new government and constitution Independence Hall

Assembly Room at Independence Hall

Sticky Issue: States’ Representation in Congress Large states and small states argues over how many representatives each state should get Large states wanted representation based on population Small states wanted each state to have the same number of representatives

The Virginia Plan Largely the work of James Madison Proposed by State of Virginia (a large state) Called for three separate branches of gov’t (leg. , exec. and jud. ) Legislature would be “bicameral”—have two houses Representation would be based on states’ populations VIRGINIA

The New Jersey Plan Proposed by State of New Jersey (a small state) Called for three separate branches of gov’t Legislature would be “unicameral”—have one house Each state would have an equal number of representatives NEW JERSEY VIRGINIA

The Connecticut Compromise Aka “The Great Compromise” Said that the legislature would have two houses One house would have representation based on population, the other would have an equal number of representatives for each state

Should Slaves Count Toward Population? In southern states, enslaved people made up a large percent of the population These states wanted to count slaves toward population so they would have more representatives in Congress Northern states opposed counting slaves Color indicates percent of population that was enslaved; numbers are total number of slaves in

The Three-Fifths Compromise Said that states would count all free persons toward population Said that states would count three-fifths of “all other persons” (slaves) –U. S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 Notice that the word “slave” is never used in the Constitution because it was too controversial

Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise Included to protect the financial interests of the South Had two parts: Congress couldn’t tax exports from any state -Article I, Section 9, Clause 5 Congress couldn’t regulate the slave trade for 20 years -Article I, Section 9, Clause 1

Section 5: Ratifying the Constitution

The Federalists Favored the Constitution Believed we needed a strong central government Well-known Federalists: Alexander Hamilton James Madison John Jay Hamilton Madison Jay

The Federalist Papers A series of 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison & Jay supporting the Constitution Originally published in New York newspapers Written under the pen name “Publius”

Some Arguments for the Constitution in The Federalist Papers Rule of law: Government leaders would have to abide by the law, just like the rest of the public Military under civilian control: Commander in Chief of the military would be the president, elected by the people Enumerated powers: Congress was limited to the 18 powers listed (“enumerated”) in the Constitution

The Anti-Federalists Opposed to the Constitution Believed the state governments should be stronger Afraid a strong central government could take away state and individual rights Famous Anti-Federalist: Patrick Henry (remember him from “Give me liberty or give me death!” in 1775) Henry

Another Compromise: The Bill of Rights Federalists agreed to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution after it was ratified Would protect such rights as freedom of speech, religion, and the press Designed to prevent government from limiting people’s basic human rights Many Federalists agreed to the Constitution with this promise The Bill of Rights

Ratification 1. Delaware ratified first 2. Pennsylvan Dec. 12, State ia Within 6 months, 9 Vote Dec. 7, 1787 30 -0 46 -23 1787 3. New Jersey Dec. 18, Enough for Ratification states ratified—enough to adopt Politically, needed support of big states VA and NY Washington & Madison got VA to ratify NYmight have voted against Constitution; Hamilton stalled until heard that VA ratified, then NY also ratified Date 38 -0 1787 4. Georgia Jan 2, 1788 26 -0 5. Connecticut Jan. 9, 1788 12840 6. Massachus Feb. 6, 1788 187168 7. Maryland Apr. 28, 1788 63 -11 8. S. Carolina May 23, 1788 14973 9. New Jun. 21, 1788 57 -46 Jun. 26, 1788 89 -79 etts Hampshire 10. Virginia

Government in the New United States New York City was the temporary capital Later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Moved to Washington D. C. in 1800 First meeting of Congress: March 4 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City George Washington inaugurated: April 30, 1789; Federal Hall, New York City George Washington’s Inauguration