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8th Grade American History
STAAR Review
Objective 4:
Political Influences
NEISD
Representative
Government
A representative government is a
government where the people
choose/elect individuals to make
and enforce laws on their behalf.
Growth of Representative Government
in the American Colonies
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The Magna Carta, 1215 and the English Bill of
Rights, 1689, limited the power of the British King
and granted some rights to the English people
Many colonists came in search of religious freedom
The Enlightenment encouraged the use of reason
to improve society and government
Colonists were use to British government, where
an elected legislature made laws
Because of the distance between Britain and the
colonies, a system of self-government was
established
Colonial Government
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Most colonies established their own
elected legislative assemblies
Most colonies had a Royal Governor who
shared power with the colonial
assemblies
Virginia House of Burgesses, 1619:
First elected legislature in the colonies
Mayflower Compact, 1620: Agreement
signed by the Pilgrims that created a
government based on majority rule
John Locke’s
Natural Rights Philosophy
“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern
it which obliges every one… No one ought to harm
another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions…”
~John Locke
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Natural rights are rights
that people are born with
that cannot be taken
away (unalienable rights)
What did John Locke
consider to be natural rights?
The Declaration of
Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1774
 Announced the colonies’
independence from Great Britain
and established the United States
as a nation

Equality
 The
Declaration of Independence
states, “all men are created equal”
 This means that all Americans have
the same rights and should be
treated equally by the government
Unalienable Rights
Unalienable rights are the basic
rights of all human beings and
cannot be taken away
 The Declaration of Independence
states that “all men” have
unalienable rights and that “among
these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness”

Consent of the Governed
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Consent of the Governed means that the
government should be based on the
wishes of the people
The Declaration of Independence argues
that British rule of the colonies was not
the wish of the colonists and therefore the
colonists had the right to form a new
government
Articles of Confederation
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First plan of government
The colonist’s feared a strong national
government because of the abuses of the
British King and Parliament
The Articles of Confederation created a
weak national government with strong
state governments
Weaknesses of
Articles of
Confederation
No power to tax or raise money
 No power to regulate trade
 No power to raise an army
 Difficult to amend
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The Constitutional Convention, 1787
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Also known as The Philadelphia Convention
Purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation
Instead, the delegates created
a new plan of government, The
U.S. Constitution
The new plan created a
stronger national government
divided into three separate
branches
Legislative Branch
MAKE
LAWS
Executive Branch
ENFORCE
LAWS
Judicial Branch
INTERPRET
LAWS
Compare Articles and Constitution
Articles of Confederation
U.S. Constitution
One house Congress
Two house Congress
No Executive Branch
Executive Branch headed
by President
No Judicial Branch
Judicial Branch headed by
Supreme Court
Each state issues its
own money
Only Congress can issue
money
Only states can pass
taxes
Congress and states can
pass taxes
The Principles of the U.S.
Constitution
1. Popular Sovereignty
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A government
receives its
authority to rule
from the people
2. Limited Government

Powers of the
government are
limited to
those given to it
by the people
3. Republicanism

A form of government
where the people rule
through elected
representatives
4. Federalism

Division of power
between state
governments and
the national or
federal
government
Example of Federalism
5. Separation of Powers
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The division of the
national government
into three branches –
legislative, executive,
and judicial
Each branch has
different powers and
responsibilities
6. Individual Rights
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Rights that the
government must protect
They are protected
through the Bill of Rights
and other Constitutional
Amendments
7. Checks and Balances
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Ability to check, or
control, the power of
the other branches
Purpose is to keep any
one branch from
becoming too powerful
Example of Checks and Balances
 Congress
passes laws
 The President can veto a law
 Supreme Court can rule that a
law is unconstitutional
The Ratification Debate
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The Constitution was sent to
the states for ratification…
Federalists
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Supported the Constitution
They thought a STRONG national
government would protect the
people and improve the economy
Leaders: Alexander Hamilton and
James Madison
Wrote The Federalist Papers to
explain the benefits of the new
Constitution
Anti-Federalists
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Opposed the Constitution
They wanted state governments to
have more power because they
feared a strong central government
would lead to abuse of power
Leaders: Patrick Henry and George
Mason
The Bill of Rights
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An agreement was made to add
a Bill of Rights to the
Constitution that would protect
the rights of the people
The Amendment…
First
Speech, press,
religion, assembly,
and to petition
Second
Bear arms
Third
Fourth
Fifth
No quartering of
soldiers
Unreasonable
searches
Rights of the accused,
right not to testify
against oneself
The Amendment…
Sixth
Speedy jury trial
Seventh
Eight
Ninth
Tenth
Jury trial in
civil cases
Cruel and unusual
punishment
Rights reserved for
the people
Rights reserved for
the states
How the Bill of Rights
Addressed Grievances from the
Declaration of Independence
Declaration of
Independence
Bill of Rights
Illegal quartering
of troops
(Quartering Act)
Depriving colonists
of the right to a
jury trial
3rd Amendment
6th and 7th
Amendments
Amending the Constitution

Why do you think three fourths of the
states must vote yes before an amendment
can be added to the Constitution?
Supreme Court Case:
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
 Established
Judicial Review: that
the Supreme Court had the right
to review all laws made by
Congress
 Effect: Made the Supreme Court
more powerful
Supreme Court Case:
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
 Supreme
Court ruled that African
Americans were not citizens of
the U.S. and that the Missouri
Compromise was unconstitutional
 Effect: Increased the power of
the national government
Political Controversy: Slavery
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In 1860, Abraham Lincoln ran for president as a
Republican
He did not want slavery to exist in any new
territory
Southerners feared that he would abolish slavery
After he won the election, southern states
seceded from the Union and created the
Confederacy
Result… THE CIVIL WAR
Reconstruction Amendments
 13th
Amendment: Abolished
slavery
 14th Amendment: Protected the
civil rights of all Americans,
including former slaves
 15th Amendment: Right to vote
for African-American men