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Chapter Two.Origins of American
Government.• English Political Heritage.
• Limited Government:
1. Magna Carta 1215. King John.
2. Petition of Right. 1625. King Charles.
3. English Bill of Rights. 1688.
English Political Heritage Continued.
4. Representative government.
New political ideas:
1. Jacques Rousseau.
2. Thomas Hobbs.
3. John Locke.
Government in the English Colonies.
• Written constitutions:
+ Mayflower Compact 1620
+ Great Fundamentals 1629. Basic laws.
+ Fundamentals Orders of Connecticut. 1639. Basic plan for government.
• Colonial legislatures.
+ Virginia House of Burgesses. 1619.
North America in North America in 17501750
North America in North America in 17501750
Government Colonies Continued….
• Separation of Powers:
+ Executive Branch.
+ Legislative Branch.
+ Judicial Branch.
Uniting For Independence.
• Colonies on their own:
+ Mercantilism not enforced by England.
+ This gave rise to benign or salutary neglect.
+ The colonies developed a world-wide trading economy. Even with England’s enemies!
England Tightens Controls.
• French-Indian War. 1763.
• Albany Congress.1763. Albany Plan of Union.
• Colonists need England’s help.
• FINALLY, the colonists and England win.
Winning Has a High $Price.
• Proclamation Act of 1763.
• Colonists NEVER had to pay taxes before the French-Indian War.
• England was in heavy debt after the war.
• England expected the colonist to pay their fair share.
British British ProclamationProclamation Line of 1763. Line of 1763.
BACKLASH!BACKLASH!BACKLASH!BACKLASH!
Taxes and Mercantilism.
• Sugar Tax. 1764. Fifty percent cut.
• Stamp Act. 1765.
• Parliament enacts monopoly on tea trade. 1773.
Colonial Unity and Action.
• Stamp Act Congress. 1765. What did it do?• Declared their loyalty to the King.• Asked for representation to Parliament.• Embargoed ALL English goods till Stamp Act
repealed.• Committees of Correspondence helped with
P.R. • Result? It worked!
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Stamp
Intolerable Acts.
• Parliament grants monopoly to English tea company.
• This leads to another embargo and The Boston Tea Party.
• Parliament enacts the Townsend Acts or Intolerable Acts.
Intolerable Acts.
• Colonists must pay for dumped tea.
• Boston harbor closed.
• British soldiers housed in private homes.
• Charter of Mass. revoked.
First Continental Congress
• What this congress did:
+ Pledged their loyalty to the King.
+ Stated their grievances.
+ Embargoed English goods.
Lexington and Concord: “Shot Heard Around the World.”
• England’s soldiers march on Concord to seize arms and powder.
• Colonists stop them at Lexington with rifles.
• Colonists kill almost two hundred Red Coats.
• Blood has been spilled!
Second Continental Congress.
• Chose John Hancock as President.
• S.C.C, became acting government.
• Declared Independence. 1776!
Patriot.
The Philosophical roots of
The Declaration of Independence
“All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea
whose time has come” Victor Hugo
• Jefferson, Mason and many other political leaders were influenced by the Enlightenment.
Definition • The Enlightenment, 18th Century philosophical
movement that advocated rationality as a means to establish an authoritative system of ethics, and logic. The intellectual leaders of this movement regarded their purpose as one of leading the world toward progress and out of a long period of doubtful tradition, irrationality, superstition, and tyranny, which they believed began during a historical period they called the Dark Ages.
John Locke and Natural Rights Philosophy
• Locke believed that there were rules in a state of nature, these rules were called natural law “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions”. – Jefferson’s interpretation of Locke – “the laws of nature and nature’s God”.
Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Independence
• Most people who used reason and followed their conscious understood this rule to be true.
Locke on Government
Locke also said that…• A legitimate government cannot exist until the people
have given their consent to be ruled by it. • Jefferson’s interpretation
– “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence
What is a Right?
• A right may be described as a claim to have or obtain something. Usually rights were considered “special privileges”, enjoyed only by certain groups, or classes of people. They were not enjoyed by people outside the group.
• Can you think of some rights described above
A New Type of Right “Natural Rights”
• Locke and others believed that the individuals opportunities should not be limited to their social status.
• That the individual was the most important social unit of society.
• That there were certain rights that were “unalienable” that is were so fundamental that they belonged to all persons and could not be taken away.
Natural Rights• Property-people want the freedom to
work and gain economic goods such as land, houses, tools, and money, which are necessary to survival.
• Why do you think Locke selected these as natural rights?
• Are there any other natural rights? What are they?
Social Contract Theory
• In a state of nature there would be no way to protect your rights, if someone was bigger, stronger, faster, or smarter than you they could easily deprive you of life, liberty or property.
• To correct this we institute government. Under government a society agrees to give up some of their rights so that the government can make and enforce laws that protect all of our natural rights. Government is created by the consent of the governed.
Declaration of Independence.
• Three key parts:
1. What is an ideal government?
2. List of grievances of colonists.
3. Declared freedom from England.
D.O.I. is Like a Divorce.
1. What an IDEAL marriage should be.
2. A list of complaints about the spouse.
3. Marriage is over, FREEDOM!
Jefferson’s Interpretation: Declaration of Independence
• “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
The United States in The United States in 17871787
Articles of Confederation.
• Fighting a war is a lot easier than running a government and serving its people.
• Those who created our first government, A.O.C.,wanted a weak central government. Why?
What Did the A.O.C. Look Like?
• No executive branch.
• No national court system.
• One unicameral house. Each state had one vote.
Power of the A.O.C.
• Make war.
• Send/Receive ambassadors.
• Make treaties.
• Fund a navy/army.
• Establish a post office.
• Regulate Indian affairs.
Weaknesses of the A.O.C.
• No power to tax.
• Could not regulate trade.
• Congress could NOT enforce laws.
• New laws needed 9/13 approval.
• Amendments needed all 13 states.
• NO executive OR National Court system.
Achievements of A.O.C.
• Land Ordinance Act Of 1787. Start of public schools.
• Northwest Ordinance Act Of 1787. Helped the country grow in a fair and orderly manner.
Land Ordinance Act-1785.Dividing western lands
• The territory was divided into 10 districts.
Land Ordinance of 1785
• Land would be surveyed and divided into a neat grid of townships, each 6 miles square.
• Each township had 36 sections, each 1 mile square.
• Government owned four of the sections.
• One section would be sold to support public schools.
• This same regular grid was used in other territories. It ended many boundary disputes.
Northwest Ordinance of Northwest Ordinance of 17851785
Acts of the A. O. C.• Northwest Ordinance was passed in 1787.
– Encouraged orderly settlement and the formation of new states, all controlled by law
– Promised settlers religious freedom and other civil rights– Did not allow slavery in the Northwest Territory– A single governor was put in charge.
• A district could become territory with a population of 5,000 adult males. Then could send a nonvoting representative to Congress
• A territory could write a constitution and apply for statehood with a population of 60,000.
Reasons the Articles Failed
• Economic Turmoil– States had different currencies– States had laws that favored debtors
• Shay’s Rebellion– A series of attacks on courthouses by a
small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.
Shay’s Rebellion.
• Weak central government and economic depression lead to general unrest.
• Farmers were losing their farms to foreclosure.
• Daniel Shay organized ex revolutionary soliders in Mass. to revolt.
Rebellion Almost Topples Government.
• Mass. had to use local(Militia) boys to put down rebellion. The national government had no troops.
• Why is this bad?
• The revolt failed, but just barely!
• A.O.C. is a failure!
Constitutional Convention 1787.
• All states EXCEPT Rhode Island sent reps to Philadelphia to FIX the A.O.C.
• The reps soon realized that the A.O.C. was fatally flawed.
• In secret the reps decided to create a new constitution and government.
Convention Begins!
• Key leaders:
• George Washington. “Rising Sun Chair.”
• Benjamin Franklin.
• James Madison, “The father Of The Constitution.”
Key Agreements from The Start.
• Limited Government.
• Representative Government.
• Three branches of government: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive.
• A new, STRONGER national government.
The Ratification Controversy
• Ratification was closely contested nationally during 1787 and 1788
• Any nine of the thirteen states were sufficient for ratification
• But rejection by any of the four most prominent states-Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, or Virginia would have doomed the Constitution
Decisions and Compromises.
• The three MOST important events at the convention?
• Compromise, Compromise, COMPROMISE!
Virginia Plan.
• Three principles:
1. Strong national legislature-Bicameral.
2. Strong President, chosen by legislature.
3. National judiciary appointed by legislature.
Virginia Plan.
• After looking at this plan, which branch of government would have had the MOST power?
New Jersey Plan.
1. Unicameral legislature
2. One vote per state.
3. Congress would have power to tax and regulate trade.
4. Weak executive branch with more than one president.
5. Limited national Judiciary.
Connecticut Compromise.
• Bicameral House:
1. House of Reps based on population.
2. Senate has two reps regardless of population.
How does this solve the “Big state little state conflict?”
Three-Fifths Compromise.
• The South wanted to count their slaves for the purpose getting more representation in the House.
• North Carolina had a bigger slave population than free.
• Why did the North oppose this idea?
Commerce Compromise.
• The South wanted NO tax on exports to foreign countries.
• Why was this so important to them?
Compromise on Slave Trade.
• Congress could NOT try to ban the slave trade until 1808.
• Congress gained the power to regulate interstate and foreign trade.
Slavery Question.
• The question of slavery was left out of the constitution except for a clause that stated runaway slaves had to be returned by northern states.
• “Fire bell in the night.” Thomas Jefferson.
Other Compromises.
• Electoral College.
• Four year term for President.
Checks and BalancesLEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Checks on Judicial BranchChecks on Judicial Branch
• May propose constitutional amendments to overrule judicial decisions
• May impeach Supreme Court justices
Checks on Executive BranchChecks on Executive Branch
• May reject appointments made by executive
• May reject treaties• Controls funding for presidential
initiatives• May impeach president• May override a veto
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Checks on Legislative BranchChecks on Legislative Branch
• May declare laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional
Checks on Executive BranchChecks on Executive Branch
• May declare executive actions to be unconstitutional
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Checks on Legislative BranchChecks on Legislative Branch
• May veto bills
• May adjourn Congress in certain situations
Checks on Judicial BranchChecks on Judicial Branch
• Appoints judges
Ratifying The Constitution.
• Federalist v. Anti-Federalist.• The Federalist lead by Alexander Hamilton, James
Madison, and John Jay wanted a very strong national government.
• The Anti-Federalist lead by Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine were afraid that this new government could become a dictatorship.
Federalist vs. Anti-FederalistFederalist vs. Anti-FederalistStrongholds at the End of the Strongholds at the End of the
WarWar
What was the basis for Anti-Federalist Opposition?
• In general, the Anti-Federalists viewed the Constitution as a threat to five cherished values– Local law.– Political Stability.– The Principles of the Declaration of Independence– Federalism: Separation between Federal and state
governments. – Anti-Commericalism
What’s So Special About States’ Rights?
• Anti-Federalists believed that effective administration could only exist in states with a small territory with a homogenous population.
• In large, diverse republics, many significant differences in condition, interest, and habit have to be ignored for the sake of uniform administration.
• A large national government would impose uniform rules despite American diversity, resulting in hardship and inequity in many parts of the country.
Hamilton’s Strategy
• Hamilton focused on behind the scenes political manipulation to build support among political elites.
• He also proposed a series of essays designed to persuade the public of the Constitution’s value.
• These essays served as a “debaters handbook.”
The Federalist Papers
• A set of essays, written by Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, and published in New York newspapers under the pseudonym Publius.
• During the ratification controversy, these essays were circulated nationally.
• The essays linked opposition to the new Constitution with hot-headed liberals (Patrick Henry) and those with a vested interest in maintaining a weak government (George Clinton).
Four Themes of the Federalist Papers
• An explanation of the blessings of national government
• An indictment of the Articles of Confederation for failing to provide such a government at the national level
• An analysis and defense of the Constitution as an instrument of federalism and governance
• An exposition of the costs and benefits of freedom. They are essays designed to persuade
Federalist #10, Madison
• This essay explains how the Constitution protects against a tyranny of the majority, without resort to dictatorship.
• The key to understanding Madison’s argument is that the tyrant is an individual or group who, if given power, would harm others in pursuit of self-interest.
• A faction is the term to describe an individual or group seeking that power.
Occupational Composition of Occupational Composition of Several State AssembliesSeveral State Assemblies
in the 1780sin the 1780s
Ratification of the Ratification of the ConstitutionConstitution
The Federalist Papers
Adding a Bill of Rights
• Fight for ratification
• The Federalists were better prepared than their opponents. They quickly organized and gained control of several state conventions, especially in small states.
• After 11 states had ratified the Constitution, the Congress of the Confederation set dates for elections to choose members of Congress and presidential electors.
Ratifying the Constitution.The Last BIG Compromise!
