AMERICA’S POLITICAL HERITAGE

Chapter 4

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Is the American system of government truly

unique? Is individual freedom the same thing as

freedom we enjoy as a nation? What is the significance of the Declaration

of Independence? What kind of power structure did the

colonists want to avoid in creating a new government?

What challenges did America face in forming a new government?

THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE Heritage - the

traditions passed down to us from generation to generation

HAVING A VOICE IN GOVERNMENT In each colony, citizens elected

representatives to the legislature It was a right as a citizen of EnglandLegislature - a group of people chosen to

make laws Still subject to England

Charter - a document giving permission to create a government

Charters were taken away if the colony challenged England became a royal colony with an appointed royal

governor

WHERE FREEDOM COMES FROM Religious Freedom

Different today than in colonial America In colonial America, this meant that you had the

right to belong to any Christian church Today, this means that you have the right to

practice any religion and also the right to practice no religion

Religion tied to Government Example - paying taxes to support the official

Church of England

WHERE FREEDOM COMES FROM Freedom of the Press (remember, no 1st

amendment yet) John Peter Zenger Trial

He wrote for a New York Newspaper and accused the governor of accepting bribes and interfering with elections

Zenger was put in jail by the governor Zenger’s lawyer claimed that freedom of the

press was a basic right Zenger was found not guilty and was released What did this do for the Freedom of the Press?

DISCONTENT Colonists were starting to become

upset with how England had tightened its control of the colonies

Tyranny - the abuse of power By the mid 1700’s the colonists were

concerned that England might try to strip them of their rights and their voice in government

ROOTS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Ancient Athenians

(Greeks) Direct Democracy - a

form of government in which laws are made directly by the citizens

Ex: Town meetings and local governments

Ancient Romans Republic - a

government in which representatives were elected to make laws

Ex: Colonial legislatures

ROOTS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Magna Carta (Great Charter)

Limited the power of those in power King John of England signed this document limiting

his own power While the Magna Carta was an important step, it

did not give equal rights to all people English Bill of Rights

Parliament was established as England’s law making body (grew in power)

The English Bill of Rights limited the powers of the king

The king could not collect taxes without Parliament’s approval

Rights of citizens were listed, proclaimed that everyone must obey the law, everyone had the right of trial by jury

ROOTS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT John Locke

Natural Rights - rights you are born with and that no government can take away What are examples of your Natural Rights?

Representative government is the only reasonable kind and that “government exists to serve the people, not for people to serve the government”

ROOTS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Baron de Montesquieu

Separation of Powers - dividing government power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches

Why is separation of powers necessary?

CLASHING VIEWS To pay debts, England raised taxes on

the colonies to bring in money How did the colonists react?

“No taxation without representation” The First Continental Congress (1774)

Delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss how England was violating the rights of the colonists

The delegates pledged to cut off trade with England if their rights continued to be abused

CLASHING VIEWS The 2nd Continental Congress (1 year later)

Things got worse Many thought that the war had already begun Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”

“To be always running three or four thousand miles with a tale or a petition, waiting four or five months for an answer, which when obtained requires five or six more months to explain it, will in a few years be looked at as folly and childishness. There was a time when it was proper, and there is a proper time for it to cease. England belongs to England, America belongs to itself.”

THE DECLARATION The 2nd Continental Congress voted for

Independence Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin,

and John Adams were all appointed to the committee to write the Declaration

Who was the Declaration written for? What actually was the Declaration? The Declaration was adopted on July 4,

1776

ORGANIZING A NEW GOVERNMENT Compact - a written agreement to make

and obey laws for the welfare of the group

Each state created its own Constitution that listed the rights of citizens and outlined a plan of government

Remember, the states were still 13 separate governments

Forming a National Government Everyone feared that they would create a

government that would also have the ability to become oppressive

ORGANIZING A NEW GOVERNMENT Large States (Virginia, Pennsylvania)

wanted a government whose representation was based on population

Small States (Delaware, Rhode Island) wanted a government whose states each had the same number of votes

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION A loose alliance of states was written in

1777 This called for a national legislature in

which each state would have one vote (Congress)

This Congress did not have the power to tax or to enforce any law that it made

Most power remained with the states The Articles of Confederation was

ratified in 1781 Ratification - approval

PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW GOVERNMENT Debt

The Revolutionary War had caused the states and Congress to borrow a great deal of money

The value of American money was in question

Lack of trade with England and its colonies made things difficult

PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW GOVERNMENTShay’s Rebellion

*Farmers who were unable to pay taxes on their land were losing their farms, courts threatened to take the land if the farmers didn’t pay

*In 1786, Daniel Shays and other Massachusetts farmers stormed into court houses and (violently) disrupted courts

*****People started to call for a stronger National Government