CHAPTER 2: ORIGINS OF

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Section 1: Our political beginnings
Section 2: The coming of
independence
 Section 1

Our Political
Beginnings
Basic Concepts of Government
 Ordered Government – colonists saw a need for an
orderly regulation of their relationships with one
another. (they needed a government)
 Many offices established still exist today: sheriff,
justice of the peace, & the grand jury.
 Limited Government – government is restricted in
what they do and every individual has certain
rights that government cannot take away.
 Representative Government – the idea that
government should serve the will of the people.
“Government of, by, and for the people”
 Landmark English
Documents
 Magna Carta – A.K.A. the Great Charter –
included guarantees of fundamental rights
such as trial by jury and due process
(protection against the arbitrary taking of life,
liberty, or property).
 Originally intended for the privileged class
only.
 Established the critical idea that the
monarchy’s power was not absolute.
 Continued
 Petition of Rights – limited the king’s power in several ways.
 Demanded that the king no longer imprison or punish any
person without judgment by his peers or by the law of the
land.
 Insisted that the king may not impose martial law (military
rule) in times of peace
 Does not require homeowners to shelter the king’s troops
without their consent.
 Declared that no man should be required to give any gift,
loan, tax, or any like charge without consent or by act of
Parliament.
 Said that even a king must obey the law of the land
 Continued
 English Bill of Rights – coincided with the
Glorious Revolution associated with William
and Mary of Orange.
 Prohibited a standing army in peace time,
except with the consent of Parliament.
 Included guarantees such as the right to a fair
trial and freedom from excessive bail and cruel
and unusual punishment.
 13 Colonies
 A.K.A. the 13 schools of government
 Established over a span of 125 years
 1st colony: Virginia (1st permanent settlement:
Jamestown in 1607
 Last colony: Georgia (Savannah 1733)
 3 different types of colonies existed: royal,
proprietary, and charter.
 Royal Colonies
 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York,
New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia.
 1st royal colony: Virginia
 Led by royal governors who took orders from
Britain and ruled with a stern hand and caused
much tension and resentment.
 Bicameral legislature (2 houses)
 Proprietary Colonies
 Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
 Land given to a person by the King.
 Maryland: Lord Baltimore (1632) – haven for
Catholics
 Pennsylvania (1681) & Delaware (1682) –
William Penn
 Unicameral legislature (1 house)
 Charter Colonies
 Massachusetts Bay Colony, Connecticut, and
Rhode Island
 Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1st charter colony
established in 1629.
 Connecticut established in 1633
 Rhode Island established in 1636
 Laws made by their bicameral legislatures
were not subject to the governor’s veto, nor
was the Crown’s approval needed.
 Section 2

The Coming of
Independence
 Britain’s Colonial Policies
 13 colonies were separately controlled under the king
through the Privy Council and the Board of Trade in
London.
 Due to the vast distance however between London and the
colonies the colonies became used to a large amount of self
government and they began to assume broad lawmaking
powers.
 By the mid 1700s the relationship between Britain and the
colonies became federal which meant that the central
government in London was responsible for colonial
defense, foreign affairs, a uniform system of money and
credit, and a common market for colonial trade. This
meant the colonies had a wide amount of self-rule.
 Colonial Unity
 Early attempts: 1643 – Massachusetts Bay,
Plymouth, New Haven, & Connecticut
settlements founded the League of Friendship
for defense against Native Americans. This
was known as a confederation.
 Confederation – a joining of several groups for
a common purpose.
 The Albany Plan
 1754
 Benjamin Franklin
 Called for an annual meeting of delegates from
the 13 colonies and they would have the power
to raise a military and naval force, make war
and peace with the Native Americans, regulate
trade with the Native Americans, and tax and
collect customs duties.
 Stamp Act Congress
 1765
 Required the use of tax stamps on all legal documents, on
certain business agreements, and on newspapers.
 Participants: All colonies except Georgia, New Hampshire,
North Carolina, & Virginia.
 Took place in New York
 Prepared a protest entitled the Declaration of Rights and
Grievances and sent it to the King
 Marked the first time a significant number of colonies had
banded together to oppose the British government
 Repealed by Parliament
 Cause of Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770
 Cause of Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773
 1st Continental Congress
 Spring of 1774
 Philadelphia
 Delegates from all colonies except Georgia
 In response to the Intolerable Acts which were
passed by Parliament in response to the problems in
Boston and elsewhere.
 Result: Declaration of Rights was sent to King
George protesting Britain’s colonial policies.
 Urged colonies to refuse all trade with England and
to ignore all taxes and trade regulations until the
Intolerable Acts were repealed.
 2nd Continental Congress
 May 10, 1775
 Philadelphia
 Each of the 13 colonies sent delegates
 John Hancock was chosen as President of the
Congress
 Created a continental army and appointed George
Washington as Commander-in-Chief
 Occurred because the British government began to
hand down even stricter punishments and
regulations to the colonies as a result of the 1st
Continental Congress
 1st National Government
 The 2nd Continental Congress became our first
national government for 5 years from July 1776
until the Articles of Confederation came about
on March 1, 1781
 Unicameral legislature (exercised both
executive and legislative powers)
 During its time it did the following: fought a
war, raised an army and navy, borrowed
funds, bought supplies, created a money
system, and made treaties with foreign powers.
 Declaration of
Independence
 Worked off of the notion of “the consent of the
governed”
 Went against divine right and tradition.
 Said people were “created equal” and were
endowed with certain “unalienable rights”
 Said that people should rule, not be ruled.
 When adopted the United States of America
was born and the 13 colonies became free and
independent states.
 1st State Constitutions
 1st state: New Hampshire – January 1776 (replaced royal
charter)
 State constitutions = written bodies of fundamental laws
setting out the principles, structures, and processes of
their governments.
 Massachusetts constitution of 1780 is the oldest of the
present day constitutions, and the oldest written
constitution in force today.
 Common features: popular sovereignty (a government
that exists with the consent of the governed), limited
government, civil rights and liberties, separation of
powers, and checks and balances.
 Common Features
 Limited Government - State governments could
exercise only those powers granted to them by the
people through the constitution.
 Civil Rights & Liberties - Sovereign people held
certain rights that the government must respect at all
times.
 Separation of Powers, Checks & Balances – The
powers granted to the new state governments were
divided among 3 distinct branches (executive,
legislative, & judicial) and each branch was given
powers to check, or restrain, the other branches of
government.