The Colonial PeriodChapter 2 Section 1

ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

I. Sources of the Constitution

A. British Customs and Traditions: Magna Carta; Petition of Right; English Bill of Rights.

B. European Philosophers: Locke; Hobbes; Montesquieu;

Rousseau C. Colonial experiences:

Mayflower Compact; elected assemblies.

D. State Constitutions: Preamble closely resembles opening to Mass. Constitution;Bill of Rights included.

An English Political Heritage

1607 – Jamestown, Virginia Colony

◦First permanent English settlement in North America

People came from many regions to North America in the 1600s

Britain established and governed 13 colonies

English colonists brought ideas about government

Some ideas already embodied in existing governing systems in North America

English system – two principles of government1. Limited government2. Representative government

Greatly influenced the development of the United States

Limited Government

Colonists accepted the idea that government was not all-powerful by the time they reached North America

Magna Carta – Great Charter◦King John forced to sign in 1215

◦Provided basis for limited government

◦Provided protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life, liberty, and property except according to law

◦Certain taxes could not be levied without popular consent

◦Rights originally only applied to nobility

◦Opponents of absolute monarchy used the precedent set to gain more political liberties

Limited Government – a system in which the power of the government is limited, not absolute

Petition of Right

1625 – Charles I

◦Dissolved Parliament

◦Lodged troops in private homes

◦Some areas under martial law

1628 – called Parliament back into session

◦Representatives forced the king to sign the Petition of Right

Greatly limited power of monarch

Repealed what he had put in place

English Bill of Rights

1688 – Parliament removed James II and crowned William III and Mary II ( William & Mary of Orange)◦Peaceful transfer known as the Glorious

Revolution

English Bill of Rights – document that set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do◦Applied to American colonies

English Bill of Rights

1. Monarchs do not have absolute authority

2. The monarch must have Parliament’s consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, or maintain an army

3. The monarch cannot interfere with parliamentary elections and debates

4. The people have a right to petition the government and to have a fair and speedy trial by jury of their peers

5. The people should not be subject to cruel and unusual punishments or to excessive fines and bail

Representative Government

Representative Government – a system of government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government

English Parliament – representative assembly with the power to enact laws◦Upper chamber and lower chamber

American legislatures grew out of the English practice of representation

New Political Ideas

Ideas and writings of English philosophers influenced the American colonists◦John Locke◦Voltaire◦Jean Jacque Rousseau

Believed that people should contract among themselves to form governments to protect their natural rights

Locke reasoned that in a state of nature (before governments were formed), all people were born free, equal, and independent

◦Believed that the laws of nature, “natural law” provided rights to life, liberty, and property

◦If government failed to protect these natural rights, the people could change that contract (social contract)

Such political philosophy was revolutionary in an age when monarchs still claimed they had God-given absolute powers

Government was legitimate only as long as people continued to consent to it

Government in the Colonies

1607-1733 – 13 English colonies founded

Present system of American government evolved

Each colony had its own government◦Governor, Legislature, Court System

Women and enslaved persons could not vote

Every colony had some type of property qualification for voting

9 of the 13 colonies had an official or established church

Key practices1. A written constitution that guaranteed basic

liberties and limited the power of government

2. A legislature of elected representatives

3. The separation of powers between the governor and the legislature

Written Constitution

Mayflower Compact – document Pilgrims signed in 1620; first example of colonial plan for self-government

1636 – Great Fundamentals First basic system of laws

1639 – Fundamental Orders of ConnecticutAmerica’s first formal constitution

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut◦America’s first formal constitution or charter

◦Laid out a plan for government that gave the people the right to elect the governor, judges, and representatives to make laws

Colonial Legislature

1619 – Virginia House of Burgesses◦First legislature in America

In England the king appointed the leaders of the Church of England; Puritans rejected this idea◦Believed that he members of each

congregation should choose their own misters and leaders

Puritans migrated to gain religious freedom

Believed that church members should elect the colony’s government

As a result, representative government was established

Colonial legislatures were examples of the consent of the governed because a large number of qualified men voted

Separation of Powers

Colonial charters divided the power of government

Separation of Powers – the division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government

Idea popularized by Charles-Louis Montesquieu

Colonial legislatures became the political training grounds for the leaders who would later write the Constitution