American Government
Chapter 2
Origins of
American Government
Our Political Beginnings
Three Basic Ideas From England
1. Ordered governments
Government rules help people get along
2. Limited government
Government powers are limited
3. Representative Government
People tell the government what they can and cannot do
Important English Documents
Magna Carta: signed in 1215
The king did not have total power. Led to the
Establishment of Parliament
Petition of Right: signed in 1628
King could not use the military to rule in peacetime
English Bill of Rights: signed in 1689
Guaranteed a fair and speedy trial and free
parliamentary elections
Government in the Colonies
The government in each of the 13 American Colonies started
with a charter. A charter gave them the power to rule.
Three Types of Colonies
Royal Colonies
The British king controlled these colonies
Proprietary Colonies
Established by wealthy owners who received land
from the king.
Charter Colonies
the
Self-governing, the king gave the people land to form
colony
The Coming of Independence
Growing Colonial Unity
1. Albany Plan of Union
2. Stamp Act Congress
3. 1st Continental Congress (1774)
4. 2nd Continental Congress (1775)
5. Declaration of Independence (1776)
6. Articles of Confederation (1781)
The First State Governments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The New State Constitutions has These
Common Ideas
Limited Government
Civil rights and liberties
Separation of Powers
Checks and balances
Popular sovereignty
The Critical Period
The First National Constitution
1. The Articles of Confederation (1781)
2. Had little power
3. One branch Government (Legislature)
4. Each State had one vote
5. Had no way to force the states to obey
the articles or the laws that it passed.
Powers of the Confederation
1. Make war and peace
2. Send and receive ambassadors
3. Make treaties
4. Set up a monetary system
5. Borrow money
6. Build a navy
7. Raise an army
8. Fix universal standard weights and measures
9. Settle disputes among the states
Weaknesses of the Confederation
1. One Vote per state
2. Congress powerless to collect taxes
3. Congress powerless to regulate foreign or
interstate trade
4. No executive to enforce acts of Congress
5. No National Court System
6. Amendments only with consent of all of the
states
7. A 9/13 majority required to pass laws
8. Articles of Confederation only a “firm league of
Friendship”
Attempts to Fix the Articles
I.
Mount Vernon Convention: Meetings held between
delegates from Maryland and Virginia to solve their
trade problems
II. Annapolis Convention: A nation wide conference held to
examine and correct the nation’s problems. Only five
states sent delegates.
III. Philadelphia Convention: Scheduled for the summer of
1787. This time 12 states sent delegates. This convention
became know as the Constitutional Convention.
Creating the Constitution
The Decision to Write a New
Constitution
1. 56 delegates or Framers representing 12 states
make the decision that the Articles of Confederation
cannot be fixed. These men represent a new wave of
leadership in American government.
2. They got ideas for the new Constitution from
many sources, such as ancient Greek and Roman
Governments, and from 17th Century political
philosophers like Montesquieu (French) and Locke
(English)
3. Many older revolutionary leaders boycotted the
convention.
The Virginia Plan
1. Written by James Madison
2. Called for three separate branches in the government
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
3. Representation in congress was based on population
4. Called for Bicameral Congress (2 houses)
5. States with larger populations favored this plan
The New Jersey Plan
1. Written by William Paterson
2. No separation of powers
3. A Unicameral legislature (one house)
4. Equal representation in Congress
5. States with smaller populations favored this plan
The Compromises
Arguments over how congress should be setup lead
to a stalemate at the convention. Many delegates
threatened to leave the convention.
Connecticut Compromise: Settled the issue of congress by
establishing a
Bi-cameral Congress
Senate (Equal representation)
House (Representation based on Population
Three distinct and separate branches of government
More Compromises
3/5 Compromise: Settled the issue of how African
American slaves would be counted in the population
for representation in Congress.
Southern slave states wish to count all slaves. Non
Slaves states opposed this. In the end 60% of all
slaves were counted
Commerce and Slave Trade: Compromise: Forbid the
taxing of Exports.
No action would be taken against the slave trade for 20
years
Ratifying the Constitution
The framers of the new Constitution decide that 9 states
would have to approve the Constitution before it would go
into effect.
Two Groups Formed in Regards to the Constitution
1. The Federalists
A. Favored the Constitution)
B. James Madison & Alexander Hamilton
C. They believed that the Constitution was strong
enough to solve the country’s problems
D. Wrote the Federalists Papers
Ratification (Continued)
2. Anti-Federalists
A. Opposed the Constitution
B. Led by Patrick Henry and John Hancock
C. Believed the Constitution was too strong.
Wanted a bill of rights add to protect individual
freedoms
The ratification process was completed in 1788 and the
states held elections. The new government met in March
1789 in New York City. George Washington was elected
President by the Electoral College.