Our Political Beginnings:
Chapter 2.1
Introduction:
 Colonist brought knowledge of the English political system
to North America. Many of these ideas helped form the
government we have today.
Basic Concepts of Government:
 Early colonist brought over 3 important ideas that helped
shape our current government.
1. Ordered Government
2. Limited Government
3. Representative Government
Ordered Government:
 Those first English colonist saw the need for an orderly
regulation of their relationships with one another.
 Basically, the governments rules should help people get
along.
 They created local governments, based on those they had in
England.
- ex: sheriff, coroner, justice of the peace, counties, and
townships
Limited Government:
 The second idea early colonist brought with them was that of
limited government.
 Refers to the idea that government is not all powerful.
-Restricted in what it can do.
-Each person has certain rights that cannot be taken away.
 Idea of limited government had been around about 400 years
before the first colony was established in North America
Representative Government:
 Idea that the government should serve the will of the people.
 People should also have a say in deciding what the
government should and should not do.
 This had also been around for many years, but seemed to
flourish here.
Landmark English Documents:
 Magna Carta (1215):
-King did not have total power.
-Protected rights of :
*trial by jury
*due process of law.
*Arbitrary taking of life
* Liberty
* Property
 At first these protections were intended only for the privileged
classes. Over time they became the rights of all English people.
Petition of Right (1628): Limited the power of the king in many
ways.
 People had to be judged by their peers.
 King could not use military to rule during peacetime.
 Soldiers could not be ordered to live in peoples homes.
 People could not be forced to pay a tax, unless approved by
parliament.
English Bill of Rights (1689): Similar to our Bill of Rights.
 Fair and speedy trial
 No cruel and unusual punishment
 Free elections
Three Types of English Colonies:
 Royal Colonies- Ruled directly by the king.
 Proprietary Colonies- Organized by an owner whom the
king had granted land.
 Charter Colonies- Colonist governed themselves.
*Each colony was based on a charter. (Written grant given by
king.)
*Most colonies were bicameral, meaning they had two
chambers of legislature.
*Pennsylvania was unicameral meaning it only had one chamber
of legislature.
Bell Work:
 What were the 3 types of colonies founded in America?
1.
2.
3.
The Coming of Independence:
2.2
Introduction:
 Great Britain became more involved in ruling its colonies in
the 1760’s.
 They created new taxes and laws that caused the colonist to
object to “taxation without representation.”
 These actions would eventually lead to the decision to break
from Great Britain.
 A decision to revolt was not one to be taken lightly-or alone.
The colonies would need to learn to work together.
Growing Colonial Unity:
New England Confederation.
-“league of friendships”
 protection against the growing danger from Native
Americans.
 as danger from the Native Americans passed, and friction
among the settlements grew, the confederation eventually
dissolved.
Albany Plan:
 Ben Franklin proposed a congress of delegates from all
colonies
 These delegates would have the power to:
- raise military and naval forces
- make war and peace with the Native Americans
- regulate trade
- and tax
 Both the colonies and the king rejected it.
First Continental Congress:
 New laws passed in Great Britain’s Parliament, caused
delegates to meet in Philadelphia.
 These laws were known as the Intolerable Acts.
 Urged colonist to boycott, or refuse to buy British made
goods.
 Hoped this would force the British to repeal, or take away
their hated laws.
Second Continental Congress:
 Our first national government (1776-1781)
-Fought a war
-Raised armies and a navy
-Created a money system
-Formed alliances with foreign powers.
-Was unicameral. (only one house of legislature)
State Constitutions:
 Each state adopted a written constitution, or a body of
fundamental laws.
Common Features of State Constitutions
Popular Sovereignty:
Government can exist only with consent of the people.
Limited Government:
Many restrictions on what the government could do.
Civil Rights and
Liberties:
In every state it was made clear that the sovereign people held certain
rights that the government must respect at all times.
Separation of Powers:
Powers granted to the new state governments were purposely divided
among three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. Each
branch was given powers to check, or restrain the other branches.
Bell Work:
 What became known as our first national government?
 Was our first national government unicameral or bicameral?
 Who rejected the Albany Plan?
The Critical Period:
2.3
Introduction:
 The Articles of Confederation established a fairly weak
central government, which led to conflicts among the States.
The turmoil of the critical period of the 1780’s led to the
writing of the Constitution and the creation of a stronger
national government.
Articles of Confederation:
 The Articles of Confederation: Established a fairly weak
central government, which led to conflicts among the states.
 This established “ a firm league of friendship” among the
States.
 The Articles were finally ratified by all 13 states in 1781
- Maryland was the last to ratify the Articles.
Government Structure:
 Government Structure: Unicameral, congress was made
up of delegates who were chosen yearly by the states. Each
state had one vote in congress.
 Presiding Officer :or president of congress was chosen by
congress.
 No executive or judicial branch
Powers of Congress:
 Powers of Congress: Although congress was limited in
power, it did have several important powers.
-Make war and peace
-Make treaties
-Borrow, and set up money system
-Build a navy, and raise an army
-settle disputes among states
State Obligations:
 State Obligations: By agreeing to the articles of
confederation, state pledged to obey the article and acts of
congress.
-provide funds and troops requested by congress.
-treat citizens of other states fairly and equally.
-return fugitives
-allow open travel between state boarders.
-States would retain power that was not given to congress.
Weaknesses:
 Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:
-Congress did not have the power to tax.
-Congress could not regulate trade between states.
-Congress lacked the power to make states obey the Articles
of Confederation.
The Critical Period:
 The Critical Period, the 1780’s: The Revolutionary War
ended in 1781, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
 Although the war was over, peace brought new problems to
the young nation.
- States were not getting along and didn’t trust each other.
-States refused to support the central government both
financially and in any other way.
-States set high taxes on goods from other states.
Need for a Stronger Government:
 The Need for a Stronger Government: The Articles of
Confederation created a government that was unable to deal
with the nation’s problems.
 As time passed, demand for a stronger national government
grew.
 A meeting of the delegates in Philadelphia later became
known as the Constitutional Convention.
Bell Work:
 List the 3 major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Creating the Constitution:
2.4
The Framers:
 The Framers: Each state sent delegates to attend the
Philadelphia Convention. These delegates are known as the
framers of the Constitution.
 The framers were in Philadelphia to revise the articles of
confederation.
 Instead they decided to write a whole new constitution.
The Virginia Plan:
The Virginia Plan: (James Madison)
 Called for 3 branches of government
 Bicameral legislature (2 houses of government)
 Number of representatives each state sent to congress was
linked to wealth and population.
- large heavily populated states liked this plan.
- smaller populated states did not.
The New Jersey Plan:
The New Jersey Plan: (William Patterson)
 Called for a government without strong and separate
branches.
 Unicameral (1 house of legislature)
 Representatives would be equal for all states.
- smaller populated states favored this plan.
- large states did not.
Compromises:
Connecticut Compromise:
 Combined the basic features of both the Virginia Plan and the
New Jersey Plan.
-3 branches of government
-Bicameral
-Representatives in Senate = 2 for every state
-Representatives in the house = based on state’s population
Three-Fifths Compromise:
 Because representation in congress would be based on a states
population, slaves became an issue.
 Southern slave states would have more representatives in the
house.
- Northern states felt that since the slaves were not considered
citizens, they should not be counted.
 It was decided that 3/5th of slaves would be counted in a state’s
population.
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise:
 The convention agreed that Congress would have the power to
regulate foreign and interstate trade.
-Southerners worried that Congress would act against Southern
interest of the agricultural South.
*export tax on tobacco
*Interfere with slave trade
Through the compromise it was agreed that:
 Congress could not tax a states exports.
 Congress could not take any actions against slave trade for 20
years.
Sources of the Constitution:
 The Framers were the delegates that helped construct the
Constitution.
 Most came from wealthy backgrounds.
 Most were well educated on the governments of ancient
Greece, Rome, and modern day Europe.
 More importantly, the framers drew on their experiences
with the Second Continental Congress, Articles of
Confederation, and their own State governments.