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The Magna Carta
Magna Carta (Latin, “Great Charter”), June 15, 1215.
Document sealed by King John of England, in which he made a
series of promises to his subjects that he would govern England
and deal with his vassals according to the customs of feudal law.
Over the course of centuries, these promises have required
governments in England to follow the law in dealing with their
citizens and early American colonists accepted these promises as
fundamental rights.
The Magna Carta contains 63 clauses. The clauses
established the principles of equal access to the courts, trial by a
jury of peers, and due process of law. These protections were cited
in many founding documents of the American colonies and were
incorporated into the Constitution of the United States.
The Magna Carta established the principle that no person, not
even the king, is above the law. More specifically, this means that
the government must follow its own laws in its dealings with its
citizens, just as citizens must obey the law in their dealings with
other citizens.
In addition, many modern rights that were unknown in the 13th
century have been based on the Magna Carta, including habeas
corpus and the principle of no taxation without representation.
Neither of these concepts existed in the original Magna Carta of
1215 but both became accepted as English law during the early
17th century and were later adopted into the US Constitution.
Adapted from:
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761565830_2/Magna_Carta.
html
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The Magna Carta
John of England signs Magna Carta—illustration from Cassell's History of England (1902)
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The Massachusetts Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
(1780) was written by John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James
Bowdoin. It is the oldest functioning written constitution in the world
and greatly influenced the United States Constitution.
The Massachusetts constitution was the last of the state
constitutions to be approved and, therefore, has a more
sophisticated structure. It contains a preamble, a declaration of
rights, a listing of governmental powers, and a series of Articles of
Amendment.
This document contained many provisions that would later be
established within the United States Constitution. These include
the division of the Legislature amongst a Senate and House of
Representatives, a listing of basic human rights, and the
establishment of a court system.
This document is also fundamentally different from the U.S.
constitution in that it explicitly endorses the Christian religion and
provides direct funding to church related activities. It also allows
private citizens to file legislation under “the right of free petition.”
It has been amended over 120 times, however, it still remains
the working Constitution for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Constitution
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The Massachusetts Constitution
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The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation (1781) was the first constitution of the
United States. The Articles were in place from March 1, 1781, to June 21,
1788, when the present Constitution of the United States went into effect.
The Articles were written by a Committee of the Second Continental
Congress of the 13 Colonies. The head of the committee, John Dickinson,
presented a report on the proposed articles to the Congress on July 12,
1776, but they were not ratified until 1781.
Because of their experience with Great Britain, the 13 states feared a
powerful central government. Therefore, the Articles created a loose
confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to a central
government. The national government would consist of a single house of
Congress, where each state would have one vote. Congress had the power
to set up a postal department, to raise armed forces, and to control the
development of the western territories. With the consent of nine of the
thirteen states, Congress could also appropriate money as well as declare
war and enter into treaties and alliances with foreign nations.
In attempting to limit the power of the central government, the Second
Continental Congress created one without sufficient power to govern
effectively, which led to serious national and international problems.
Because of the Articles, the United States government could not regulate
trade and levy taxes. States often refused to give the government the
money it needed so the government could not pay off the debts it had
incurred during the revolution. Congress could not pass needed measures
because they lacked the nine-state majority required to become laws.
Due to these problems a Constitutional Convention was held in 1787 to
revise the Articles and ultimately led to their dismissal and the adoption of
the United States Constitution.
Adapted from: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567227/Articles_of_Confederation.html
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The Articles of Confederation
John Dickinson
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The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 forced American colonists to
provide food, shelter, and other amenities to British forces stationed
in the colonies. The British insisted that this Act would protect the
colonies from attack from the French and Native Americans;
however, tax-weary Englishmen demanded that this be done at a
decreased cost. It seemed only fair that the colonies share some of
the burden of their defense.
During the Stamp Act unrest of 1765 and 1766, colonists
became wary that more and more soldiers were stationed in or near
American cities. Some of those were new units brought from
England; others were transferred from western posts, a move that
enabled Native Americans to regain the offensive on some portions
of the frontier.
The reaction of the colonists to the Quartering Act was largely
negative and was rooted in two issues: A fear of a standing army
and the cost of the soldiers’ expenses. The colonists preferred to
rely on militia that could be called to service during a crisis due to
their expediency and low cost.
Other more radical colonists believed that the only purpose of
the Quartering Act was so that the British Crown could spy on the
colonists and keep them from creating a more democratic society.
It was also a clear violation of the colonists’ property rights. This
was an early example of the British Parliament making decisions for
the colonies without hearing the colonists’ concerns.
Adapted from: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h641.html
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The Quartering Act
The Intolerable Acts
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The Intolerable Acts of 1774 (also known as the Coercive Acts)
were four laws passed by the British Parliament in response to the
Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts, as they were called by the
colonists, were intended to punish the colony of Massachusetts for
destroying tea that belonged to the East India Company and to
show the other American colonies what might happen if they
disobeyed British policies.
The Intolerable acts were swift and severe. First, the Boston
Port Act closed the port of Boston to all trade until the destroyed tea
was paid for. Second, the Massachusetts Government Act revoked
the colony’s charter and forbade town meetings. This essentially
banned the elected representatives of Massachusetts from
meeting. Third, the expanded Quartering Act required the colonists
to provide quarters for British soldiers. Fourth, the Impartial
Administration of Justice Act removed British officials from the
jurisdiction of Massachusetts Courts and placed them in British
Courts.
These acts plainly violated many rights colonists believed they
had as English citizens, including the right assembly, the right to
property, and the right to equal protection under the law.
Resentment of these acts contributed to the creation of the First
Continental Congress and ultimately to the outbreak of the
American Revolution in 1775.
Adapted from: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761579222/Intolerable_Acts.html
The Intolerable Acts
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From the London Magazine, May 1, 1774. British Cartoon Collection. Prints and Photographs Division. LC-USZC4-5289
The Tea Acts
The Tea Act of 1773 was an act of British Parliament backed
by Lord North to lend a hand the beleaguered East India Company.
The Act eliminated most customs duties on tea from the Company
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making it cheaper than the smuggled Dutch tea most colonists
drank. While tea did drop in price, American Colonists still had to
pay a small duty (or tax) on the tea and this new arrangement
caused American merchants to lose a valuable trade in Dutch tea.
More importantly to many colonists, was that this created a
Monopoly where one British company controlled the entire supply
of tea to the colonies. This uneven distribution of taxes and
Parliamentary protection struck colonists and both unfair and
dismissive of their rights as Englishmen.
Lord North knew that it would be unpopular in the colonies but
he was determined to uphold parliamentary supremacy. When a
shipment of tea arrived in Boston, radical Patriots led by Samuel
Adams prevented its unloading. When Governor Hutchinson
refused to permit the tea to be reexported, the Patriots, many
disguised as Native Americans, threw the cargo overboard in the
so-called Boston Tea Party in December 1773. The Boston Tea
Party served to further unite colonists and was one of the primary
causes of the American Revolution.
Adapted from: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569964_4/American_Revolution.html#p48
The Tea Acts
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Library of Congress
Rights of Englishmen
Rights of Englishmen were a series of written and unwritten
rights most English citizens considered fundamental and basic.
These rights were most clearly laid out in 1760 when William
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Blackstone described the Fundamental Laws of England in
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
These rights are derived from a number of different documents
including the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628), the
English Bill of Rights (1689), and other acts of the Monarchy and
Parliament. These rights were fundamental to the both the people
of England and to the colonists living in North America.
Many rights United States citizens enjoy today were initially
considered to be Rights of an Englishmen. The Magna Carta
includes the right to Habeas Corpus, which guarantees a person
the right to appear before a court to determine the lawfulness of
their detention. The English Bill of Rights includes the right to
petition the government, the right to bear arms, and freedom from
excessive bail and cruel punishments. The Petition of Right
demanded that taxation could not occur without Parliament’s
consent and protected citizens from arbitrary arrest.
Many other rights were considered Rights of an Englishman;
however, not all were adopted into our constitution. These rights
were considered fundamental by English colonists and influenced
their response to British decisions and acts of Parliament.
Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Laws_of_England
Rights of Englishmen
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