Complete the Guided Reading / Structured Notes as
you view the Power Point.
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Essential Standards:
CE.C&G.1.1 Explain how tensions over power and
authority led America's founding fathers to
develop a constitutional democracy
CE.C&G.1.2 Explain how the Enlightenment and
other contributing theories impacted the writing of
the Declaration of Independence, the US
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights to help promote
liberty, justice, and equality
CE.C&G.4.2 Explain how the development of
America's national identity derived from principles
of the Declaration of Independence, US
Constitution, and Bill of Rights
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I. What Influenced Colonial Government?
a. The colonists (settlers’) ideas of government were
influenced by England and the Enlightenment and Greece
b. Democracy began in Ancient Greece
c. Enlightenment- began belief that reason and science could
be used to make life decisions- supported the rights of
individuals
d. England was ruled by a monarch
e. Magna Carta (1215)- document the King of England was
forced to sign that protected the rights of English nobles
f. Magna Carta- eventually the rights of this document were
granted to all English people
g. Most important idea from Magna Carta- no one is above
the law- not even the leader of the country
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h. Parliament (1300’s)- group of people who make laws in
England
i. English monarchs worked with Parliament to run England
j. Glorious Revolution (1688)- Parliament and the king
fought over power- Parliament removed King James from
power and appointed his daughter Mary and her husband
William as Queen and King- no bloodshed- a peaceful
transition of power
k. Glorious Revolution showed Parliament had more power
than the monarch
l. After the Glorious Revolution, Parliament’s power to make
laws, raise taxes, and control the army came from the English
Bill of Rights
m. Bill of Rights- document that lists the rights of the people
of a country
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n. English Bill of Rights (1689)- at first
granted rights to Parliament- eventually all of
England were granted those rights
i. free elections
ii. fair trial
iii. no cruel and unusual punishment
o. Common Law- English system of law that
uses previous court decisions (precedents) to
make rulings instead of using written laws
(statutes)
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p. John Locke- philosopher who believed all people
are born with the natural rights of life, liberty, and
property that no government can take away
q. Social Contract Theory- Idea that the people
and the government have a contract- the people
agree to give up certain freedoms and obey the
government’s laws and the government agrees to
protect the people- if the government breaks its
contact and does not protect the people Locke
believed the people had the right to revolt against
the government (an idea about an agreement
between the people and their government)
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r. Jean-Jacques Rousseau- philosopher who
believed people are born free and have a right
to determine how they should be governed
s. Baron de Montesquieu- philosopher who
believed government should be separated into
different parts to balance each other and make
sure no one part becomes too powerful- known
as separation of powers
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II. Colonial traditions of Self-Government
1600’s and 1700’s England established colonies in America
Colony- group of people in one place who are ruled by another
country
Roanoke Colony (1587)- “The Lost Colony”- founded by Sir
Walter Raleigh- no one knows what happened to the colonists
Jamestown, Virginia (1607)- first permanent settlement in
the colonies- many people died the first years- hard winters
little food
House of Burgesses (1619)- first representative legislature
in the colonies- marked the beginning of self-government in
the colonies- established in Jamestown
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Mayflower Compact (1620)- signed by Pilgrims
before they landed in Plymouth
(Massachusetts)- established first direct
democracy in the colonies
Town Meetings- local meetings in New England
where people would meet to discuss the
government and carry out direct democracystill used today as a way to operate the
government
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Fundamental Orders of Connecticut- 1st written
constitution in the colonies- people from
Massachusetts moved to Connecticut to escape
religious persecution and formed their own
government
1707 England united with Scotland and became
known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain
By 1733, 13 colonies had been establishedeach with its own governor (either elected by
the people or appointed by the king) and a
legislature of representatives elected by the
free adult males
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Salutary- beneficial
Salutary Neglect- Over time Great Britain
neglected the colonies by concentrating on
their own country’s issues and allowing the
colonies to make their own decisions about
government and life
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What did John Locke believe about people’s
natural rights? P. 34
Explain how the people and government operate
under a social contract. P. 35
Who did philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
believe had the right to determine how people
would be governed? P. 35
Why did Baron de Montesquieu develop the idea
of dividing the government into parts? P. 35
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II. People of the Colonies
People came to the American colonies for many
different reasons
i. religious freedom, economics, land ownership, slavery
As people settled the colonies they wanted more landto get more land they had to take it from the Native
Americans
The governor of Virginia tried to limit the land settlers
could take from Native Americans
Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)- Nathaniel Bacon revolted
against colonial government of Virginia to oppose limits
on land acquisition- showed many settlers were not
willing to be restricted by governmental policies
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Why did Nathaniel Bacon lead attacks on the
colonial government of Virginia? P. 42
Why is Bacon’s Rebellion considered to be
significant? P. 42
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II. An American Identity
Common ideas and interests that united the
colonists under one identity as Americans(how Americans see themselves)
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Ideas About Government-
◦ The Enlightenment and Great Awakening led people
to a belief in equality- egalitarianism
◦ Colonists believed they were equal to all English
people and deserved their same rights
◦ Colonists believed they deserved to have a voice in
Parliament if the British government was going to
make economic and political decisions that impacted
their lives
◦ The colonists supported the power of Parliament
because they were the voice of the people
◦ The colonists did not support the way the British king
appointed colonial government officials without a voice from
the colonists
◦ British trade and tax policies supported the British and
hurt the colonists while not allowing the colonists to have a
voice in Parliament
◦ Salutary Neglect in areas of government, land ownership and
religion grew into colonial expectations
◦ Colonists became used to self-government and gradually came
to think of it as their right
◦ As colonists read more Enlightenment writings supporting the
rights of individuals they became more and more concerned
with British policies that limited their rights
◦ Colonists began to look for answers to the problem of how to
change British policies
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How were British trade and tax policies unfair
toward the colonists? P. 49
After years of being allowed to govern
themselves, how did colonists view selfgovernment? P. 49
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I. Colonial Resistance
CAUSES OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
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A. Mercantilisma. Britain developed a plan to gain more wealth and powercalled Mercantilism
b. Mercantilism- The theory that a country should sell more
goods to other countries than it buys to increase the
country’s wealth in silver and gold
c. Favorable Balance of Trade-When your country has more
exports than imports- the result you get when mercantilism
is working correctly
d. Great Britain decided to use the raw materials found in
the colonies to make their plan of mercantilism work without
giving any of their profits to the colonies
e. To make mercantilism work the British created a series of
laws called the Navigation Acts (1660’s)- all countries
selling to or buying from the colonies had to pay to use
English ships
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B. Iroquois League (1500’s)
a. Iroquois tribes of the northeast agreed to stop
fighting each other and united to form Iroquois
League
b. Made then the dominant tribe among the eastern
Native American people
c. League was so successful it influenced Benjamin
Franklin to propose the Albany Plan of Union
C. Albany Plan of Union (1754)
a. plan to create a federal union of the coloniesproposed by Benjamin Franklin
b. rejected- but showed many colonists were
thinking of uniting
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D. French and Indian War (1754-1763)
a. Britain defeated the French and gained new
land in America
b. Britain went deep into debt to pay for the
war
c. to pay for the French and Indian War Britain
decided to tax the colonies
d. ended with the Treaty of Paris 1763
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E. Proclamation of 1763
a. law forbidding colonists to move west of the
Appalachian Mountains
b. created to keep the peace with Native
Americans
c. angered colonists who wanted to settle in
that region
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F. Stamp Act (1765)
a. tax created to pay for French and Indian
War
b. colonists had to pay tax on all paper products
c. first direct tax on colonists
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G. Quartering Act
a. required colonists to feed, house and supply
British troops
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H. Boycott
a. colonists refused to buy British goods to
protest policies
b. angered British because they lost money
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I. Stamp Act Congress (1765)
a. meeting of colonists in New York
b. representatives from 13 colonies wrote a
letter to King George III opposing the new
British policies
c. First time a majority of colonists joined
together to oppose British rule
d. Parliament repealed Stamp Act
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J. Declaratory Act (1766)
a. said Parliament had the right to make
decisions for the colonies in all cases as a
response to the actions of the Stamp Act
Congress
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K. Townshend Acts (1767)
a. legalized the use of writs of assistance to
assist British customs officers in catching
smugglers
b. writ of assistance- general search warrants
that allowed customs officers to enter any
location to look for evidence of smuggling- no
probable cause required
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L. Boston Massacre (1770)
a. British soldiers were provoked by colonists
and shot 5 colonists
b. cartoon in newspaper made colonists look
innocent when they had caused the fight
c. colonists believed the cartoon and became
angry
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M. “No taxation without representation”
a. colonists slogan used to voice their anger
over British policy of taxing colonists without
allowing colonists to be represented in
Parliament
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N. Tea Acts (1773)
a. gave an economic advantage to British tea
merchants over colonial tea merchants (made
British tea cheaper)
O. Boston Tea Party (1773)
a. to protest the Tea Act colonists dressed up as
Native Americans and dumped British tea into the
Boston Harbor to prevent British merchants from
selling it and making a profit
P. Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) (1773)
a. laws that limited the colonists’ civil rights,
including the right to a trial by jury
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II. Moving Toward Independence
A. First Continental Congress (1774)
a. delegates (representatives) from 12 colonies (all
except Georgia) met to form a political group to
formally protest England’s treatment of the colonists
b. sent letter to King George demanding he restore the
colonists’ rights
c. agreed to continue boycott of British goods
B. Declaration of Rights and Grievances (1774)
a. letter written to King George demanding he restore
the colonists’ rights
b. expressed loyalty to the king but condemned the
Coercive Acts
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C. Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)
a. first battles of the Revolutionary War between
British and colonial Minutemen
b. Each of the 13 colonies maintained separate armies
known as militias (small volunteer armies of colonial
soldiers)
c. fought because King George responded to First
Continental Congress with force
D. “Shot Heard Around the World” (1775)
a. when shots were fired at the battles of Lexington
and Concord they began the Revolutionary War
b. the War had an impact on countries around the world
c. should be called “shot heard about around the world”
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E. Second Continental Congress (1775)
a. delegates (representatives) from the
colonies met to discuss the colonial response to
the Battles of Lexington and Concord
b. members debated the issue and decided to
declare their independence from England
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F. Thomas Paine “Common Sense”
a. T. Paine wrote pamphlet called “Common
Sense”
b. pamphlet called for colonists to declare their
independence from Britain
c. said Parliament didn’t make any decisions
without the king’s approval and colonists should
break free of king’s abusive control
d. his ideas influenced members of the Second
Cont. Congress
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III. The Declaration of Independence
A. Declaration of Independence
a. letter written by Thomas Jefferson at Second Continental
Congress to King George telling him the colonists were demanding
their independence from England because of his abuse of power
b. stated democratic ideals held by the colonists
i. all men are created equal
ii. all men are born with the rights of Life, Liberty, and the
Pursuit of Happiness
c. stated if the government abuses its power the people have a
right to abolish the government and create a new one
d. influenced by the ideas of John Locke and other Enlightenment
thinkers
B. The Declaration of Independence officially began the
American Revolution in 1776
C. American Revolution ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783
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How did Britain pay off the war debt from the
French and Indian War? P. 52
What about the Townshend Acts of 1767
angered the colonists? P. 52
Why were the colonists angry about the British
taxes? P. 53
How did King George III respond to the
demands of the First Continental Congress?
P. 54
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What arguments against the King were made in
the Declaration of Independence? P. 55
In the Declaration of Independence, what did
Thomas Jefferson say was the purpose of
government? P. 56
Whose ideas did Thomas Jefferson use to
support his statements in the Declaration of
Independence? P. 56