[ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals
[ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals
Learning Objectives
• Explain how constitutional government in the United States
has been influenced by centuries of political ideas and
traditions from England and elsewhere.
• Analyze the significance of three landmark historical
documents to the American system of government.
• Describe the three types of colonies that the English
established in North America and explain why they are
important to the study of American government.
[ 2.1 ] Origins of American Political Ideals
Key Terms
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limited government
Jamestown
representative government
King John
Magna Carta
due process
Charles I
Petition of Right
William and Mary of Orange
Glorious Revolution
English Bill of Rights
King George II
charter
bicameral
proprietary
George Calvert, Lord Baltimore
William Penn
unicameral
Origins of American Constitutional Government
The American system of government did not suddenly spring into
being with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in
1776. Nor was it created by the Framers of the Constitution in
1787. Instead, the beginnings of what was to become the United
States can be found in the mid-sixteenth century, when
explorers, traders, and settlers first made their way to North
America.
Origins of American Constitutional Government
Ships such as the Mayflower brought English colonists to North America, where they
established governments based on political traditions and ideas from Europe and elsewhere.
Origins of American Constitutional Government
• Ordered Government
• Limited Government
• Representative Government
Origins of American Constitutional Government
The English settlers brought ideas about government with them to North America. Analyze
Charts How is representative government practiced in the United States today?
Influential Documents and Ideas
These basic notions of ordered, limited, and representative
government can be traced to ideas that began to emerge
hundreds of years before the English reached North America, as
well as to several landmark documents in English history.
Influential Documents and Ideas
• The Magna Carta
• The Petition of Right
• The English Bill of Rights
Influential Documents and Ideas
King John reluctantly signed the Magna Carta, thereby limiting his own power. Centuries
later, many ideas from the Magna Carta influenced America’s founding documents.
Three Types of Colonies
England’s colonies in North America have been described as
“schools of government,” because they were the settings in
which Americans first began to learn the difficult art of
government. Later, the lessons learned by the colonists would
help inform the development of the government of the new
United States.
Three Types of Colonies
• Royal Colonies
• The Proprietary Colonies
• The Charter Colonies
Three Types of Colonies
Despite the varying government systems of the colonies, they were all influenced by their
English roots. Analyze Maps How were the legislatures of the proprietary colonies
structured?
Three Types of Colonies
In 1619, Virginia’s colonial legislature became the first representative body to meet in the
North American English colonies. Its lower house was called the House of Burgesses.
Quiz: Origins of American Constitutional
Government
The English colonists brought with them knowledge of political systems that
influenced constitutional government in North America. Which one of these
basic notions held that the people should have a voice in determining what their
government can and cannot do?
A.
B.
C.
D.
colonial government
limited government
ordered government
representative government
Quiz: Influential Documents and Ideas
Which event from English history between 1628 and 1690 most directly
influenced later American political ideas and traditions?
A. Parliament acted to limit the power of the monarch and guarantee certain
rights to the people.
B. King John waged many wars and imposed heavy taxes on the English people.
C. Charles I called Parliament into session to request more money in taxes.
D. Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary of Orange after searching
for a suitable ruler.
Quiz: Three Types of Colonies
Which of the following correctly describes the differences between royal and
proprietary colonies?
A. royal: governor and his council named by the king; proprietary: governor
appointed by the proprietor
B. royal: governor’s council subject to direct control of the crown; proprietary:
governor subject to direct control of the crown
C. royal: governor elected by the king’s council; proprietary: governor selected
the proprietor
D. royal: governor named by the king; proprietary colonies: governors elected
by male property owners