Origins of American Government

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Origins of American Government
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Section 1

• Our Political Beginnings
• -

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English settlers brought with them 3 basic
concepts of democracy

• Ordered government regulate interactions between
  people (police, juries, etc)
• Limited government govt. is not all powerful,
  can be checked
• Representative government govt. should serve the
  will of the people

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3 landmark English documents

• Magna Carta of 1215 written to King John b/c the
  wealthy barons were tired of military campaigns
  during peacetime, heavy taxes, unfair trials,
  etc.
• Petition of Right 1628 written to Charles I
  demanding no taxation w/out representation and no
  military during peacetime and trial by peers
  (divine right challenged)
• Bill of Rights 1689 was written to protect all
  classes. List of rights monarch cannot take away

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Colonies in America

• All colonies were formed by a charter from the
  King but all began to take on one of 3 forms.
• Royal
• Proprietary
• Charter

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Royal Colonies

• There were 8 Royal Colonies (VA was first)
• King chose the governor and served as an advisor
  to the King
• Governor chose a council that was the upper
  chamber of the legislature and served as the
  highest court
• Lower chamber of the legislature was elected by
  the people who could vote
• Governor chose judges and he and his council had
  the power of the purse (could tax and spend)
• All laws had to be approved by governor and King

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Charter colonies

• These colonies were largely self governing
• A charter was given by the King to a group of
  people (RI, CT) and they would largely be left to
  rule themselves.
• Governors were elected by the people and laws
  made here did not require the Kings consent.
  Judges were appointed by the colonys bicameral
  legislatures.

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Proprietary colonies

• 3 colonies were proprietary (MD, PA, DE)
• These colonies were granted by the King to a
  proprietor or owner (Penn/Baltimore).
• The owner then choose the governor and could make
  whatever laws necessary.
• PA had a unicameral legislature, while MD/DE had
  a bicameral legislature w/ the governors council
  as the upper chamber.

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Section 2

• The Coming of Independence

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Britains Colonial Policies

• Administration of the colonies was left to the
  King, Parliament had little to do w/ them.
• W/ distance and time, each colony became self
  sufficient and pretty much self governing
• Mother England provided for defense, a common
  currency, and foreign affairs
• Most parliamentary rules on trade restrictions
  were ignored and the colonists paid very little
  in taxes b/c it was difficult to collect
• Until. King George III (1760)

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King George III

• He saw economic potential in the colonies and
  imposed a series of taxes (sugar, stamp,etc)
• The French and Indian War (1754-1763) had created
  a huge war debt that had to be paid and the
  colonists were to help
• He failed to remove British troops even after the
  war was over
• Said they could not move west of the Appalachians

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Early Attempts at Unity in the Colonies

• New England Confederation in 1643- 1684 league of
  friendship between 4 colonies for defense
• 1696 Wm Penn suggested colonies unify in matters
  of trade, defense and criminal matters but he
  was ignored
• Albany Plan of Union 1754- meeting in Albany of 7
  northern colonies to discuss Fr/Nat Amer attacks
  and colonial trade problems. Ben Franklin
  proposed colonies send delegates annually but was
  turned down
• Stamp Act Congress- 9 colonies meet in
  Philadelphia and write Declaration of Rights and
  Grievances to the King asking that Stamp Act be
  repealed and arguing for their rights

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Attempts at unity cont.

• Sons of liberty organized boycotts and protests
  throughout the colonies
• Committees of Correspondence were formed
  throughout the colonies to transfer information
• First Continental Congress met in 1774 to discuss
  the Intolerable Acts only GA is a no show
• Second Continental Congress meets in 1775 a month
  after the Revolutionary War has started and
  serves as our national govt. during the war
  (foreign affairs, handles money, military, etc)

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Reaction?

• King loosens some taxes but creates others
• He continues to use the military to control
  rebels
• Protests multiply
• Committees of Correspondence are created to unite
  the colonies
• Sons of Liberty organize boycotts/protests

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First Continental Congress

• 12 out of 13 meet in Philadelphia in 1774 to
  discuss the Intolerable Acts and the worsening
  situation
• Wrote a Declaration of Rights to the King and
  encouraged a colonial boycott of Br. Goods

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Second Continental Congress

• Am Revolution started in April, all 13 colonies
  sent delegates
• Organized the war effort and handles foreign
  affairs (raised money, got supplies, etc)
• G Washington chosen Commander in Chief of the
  military
• J. Hancock was president of the Congress

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Declaration of Independence

• Richard Henry Lee had suggested this a year
  before
• Written by a committee of 5 headed by T.
  Jefferson
• Adopted on July 4, 1776
• First paragraph announces the split, rest of the
  essay explains why we must separate (details
  wrongdoings)

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First State Governments

• States set about writing their own Constitutions
  which had many different features but many had
• popular sovereignty
• limited government
• separation of powers
• checks and balances
• civil rights/liberties
• Memories of Mother England were fresh when they
  wrote these!!

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Section 3

• The Critical Period

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Articles of Confederation1781-1787

• Was written by the 2nd Continental Congress
• Was approved in 1777 by the congress and then
  ratified by the last state in 1781 when they
  would take effect
• The is our first constitution
• See pages 793-796 in your book for a copy of the
  Articles

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Governmental Structure under the Articles

• Congress was the sole body created
• Unicameral Congress was created made up of
  delegates chosen by state legislatures from the
  13 states and was directed by a chosen presiding
  officer
• No executive or judicial branches
• Each state had 1 vote only regardless of
  wealth/population

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Powers of the Congress (Articles)

• Make war and peace
• Send and receive ambassadors
• Make treaties
• Borrow money
• Set up a money system
• Establish a post office
• Raise an army/navy by asking for troops
• Set uniform standards of weights and measures

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State obligations

• Provide funds and troops
• Treat citizens of other states fairly
• Give full faith and credit to other states legal
  documents/proceedings
• Return fugitives to their homestate
• Allow travel between the states

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Weaknesses of the Articles

• No power to tax
• Had huge unpaid debts and states didnt always
  meet requests for funds made by Congress
• Couldnt regulate trade between states
• No enforcement power- couldnt make states obey
• Took 9 out of 13 states to exercise powers/make
  laws and 13 out of 13 to change the Articles.
  Getting all the states together wasnt easy
  either.

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the critical period

• Name given to the period that we were governed
  under the Articles of Confederation b/c our
  future was so unstable/fragile
• The National government proved to weak to handle
  the nations problems. States bickered often
  broke rules under the Articles.
• Economic chaos occurred as debts mounted and
  violence broke out
• Shays Rebellion in the fall of 1786

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Need for a stronger government

• Mount Vernon meeting- March 1785 VA/MD met to
  work out trade problems. Meeting so successful,
  that a meeting was called for all the colonies to
  discuss economic matters the next year.
• Annapolis September 1786 5 out of 13 colonies met
  to discuss trade problems as suggested. They
  called another meeting which would become the
  Philadelphia Convention

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Section 4

• Creating the Constitution

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The Framers

• Who were they?
• 55 men from 12 of the 13 colonies who were some
  of the best of their times
• Profile?
• Wealthy, educated, experienced, young (half under
  age of 40), new generation of politicians
• Several well knowns did not attend

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Organization and Procedures

• Met in May 1787
• Worked in secrecy
• Madison and others kept journals of proceedings
• Used a committee system though votes were taken
  by the whole group
• G. Washington presided.
• Decided not to revise the Articles but rewrite
  them and get a new Constitution

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Virginia Plan

• Representation based on .
• 3 Separate branches
• bicameral legislature
• Congress had veto power over state laws
• Congress chose executive/judges
• They served as a council of revision and could
  veto bills
• Single executive/multiple courts w/ one or
  more Supreme Court

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New Jersey Plan

• Unicameral legislature
• Group executive
• Representation based on equality with each state
  having one vote
• Single Supreme Court for the judicial branch
• Impeachment powers
• Strengthened ability to regulate trade/tax

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Connecticut Compromise

• Bicameral legislature
• Representation based on____in the Senate.
• Representation based on _____ in the House.
• Single executive
• One Supreme court and multiple lower courts
• Impeachment and veto powers

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3/5 compromise

• Slavery was a divisive issue
• Slaves would be counted for representation and
  taxation purposes. States could count 3/5 of
  their slave population.

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Commerce and Slave Trade

• Slavery wont be touched for 20 years.
• A tax would be paid on newly imported slaves
• No tax will be charged on exports

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Bundle of compromises

• Large and small states
• Northern and southern states
• Industrial and rural
• Rich and poor

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Section 5

• Ratifying the Constitution

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The Fight for Ratification

• Copies of the secretly written Constitution were
  sent to the states to be ratified and immediately
  two camps formed (Federalists and
  Antifederalists)
• 9 out of 13 states were needed to ratify the
  document
• In June of 1788 New Hampshire was the 9th state
  to ratify
• North Carolina and Rhode Island were the last two
  to hold out. VA and NY also stalled

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Federalists v. Antifederalists

• Federalists wanted a strong national government
  to replace the weak Articles. They also did not
  see any reason to include a Bill of Rights
  (Madison, Hamilton, J. Adams, Washington)
• Anti federalists wanted to maintain power at the
  state level and demanded that a Bill of Rights be
  included (P. Henry, S Adams, T. Jefferson)

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Federalist Papers

• As a result of the close votes in Virginia and
  New York a series of 85 essays were anonymously
  published in the local newspapers to persuade
  citizens to vote for the Constitution
• John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison wrote
  them
• Anti federalists also submitted their own essays
  in response

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The new Government

• Virginia and New Yorks adoption ensured that the
  new nation would not be divided
• Fall of 1788 plans began to be made. New York
  was chosen as our first capital and our first
  president would be chosen in January 1789 and
  take office in April.
• George Washington was chosen unanimously as our
  first President