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Chapter 2
Origins of American Government
Page28
The Constitution grew out of a long heritage
of law and politics. Before Americans could
create their new government, they endured
years of turmoil and revolution. In writing the
Constitution, the Framers had to consider the
rights and interests of many factions. Two
hundred years later, Americans still seek and
debate their rights.
“It is, Sir, the people’s Constitution, the
people’s government, made for the people,
made by the people, and answerable to the
people.”
--Daniel Webster (1830)
Our Political Beginnings
This is what did not happen…
American did not snap its fingers and a
government just appeared, it did not start
with the Declaration of Independence, and
it did not suddenly jump into being as the
Framers met in 1787.
It all began in the mid-1600s with the
people who first made their way to North
America. These explorers, traders, and
settlers were French, Dutch, Spanish,
Swedes, and others.
It did not take long for the English to soon
establish and control 13 colonies that
stretched 1300 miles along the Atlantic
coast.
The English had influences from early river
civilizations of Africa and Asia, Romans, and the
Magna Carta of 1215. Over thousands of years of
government influenced the English.
Our Political Beginnings
The English colonists arrived in
North America with three ideas
that were to shape the
government of the United States.
What were the ideas that came
with the first immigrants which
helped to shape the US
government?
1. Ordered Government
2. Limited Government
3. Representative Government
Ordered Government—The first English colonists
felt a strong need to establish an orderly
government…one based on those concepts they
had known back at home in England.
Many of the local government positions they began
are still with us today…sheriff, coroner, assessor,
justice of the peace, grand jury, counties,
townships, and others…
Our Political Beginnings
The early
colonists also
believed that the
government
should not be
all-powerful. For
example, they
believed that the
government
could not take
away certain
rights that
individuals have.
Limited Government – government is restricted
in what it may do, and each individual has certain
rights that government cannot take away.
Our Political Beginnings
Representative
Government – System
of government in
which public policies
are made by officials
selected by the voters
and held accountable
in periodic elections.
The early English settlers believed the
government should serve the will of the
people.
People should have a voice in deciding
what government should and should not
do.
Our Political Beginnings
What three landmark
documents in English
history influenced early
American colonists?
1. The Magna Carta
2. The Petition of Right
3. The Bill of Rights
Our Political Beginnings
The Magna Carta
On June 15, 2015, King John of Robin
Hood fame was forced to sign the Great
Charter…Magna Carta…at Runnymede.
The barons of King John were sick and
tired of the king’s military campaigns and
heavy taxes.
What the barons wanted was some sort
of protection against a king being to
heavy-handed in his policies.
The Magna Carta included such rights as
The right to trial by jury, due process of law, and
the right to life, liberty, and property. This began
the idea that the power of the monarch, or
king, was not absolute.
Our Political Beginnings
The Petition of Right
For about 400 years, the Magna Carta was
either respected by monarchs or rejected.
Parliament slowly grew in power.
In 1628, when Charles I asked Parliament to
give him ore money in taxes, Parliament
refused until he signed The Petition of Right.
The Petition of Right limited the king’s power.
The kings could not longer imprison someone
unless that person was found guilty by a jury
of his peers.
Parliament further said the king could not
impose martial law in time of peace or
require homeowners to shelter the king’s
troops without the homeowner’s consent.
Our Political Beginnings
The Petition of Right is important
because it challenged the idea
that kings could rule by divine
right. This was the beginning of
the idea that rulers must obey
the law of the land.
The Bill of Rights
In 1688, England was suffering
from years of revolt and turmoil.
Parliament decided to seek
peace. They offered the British
crown to William and Mary of
Orange. However, the couple
would have to made some
concessions. Before they accepted the crown of
leadership, the duo had to sign the Bill of Rights.
Some of the concepts included in the Bill of Rights were
the right to a fair trial, and freedom from excessive bail,
and from cruel and unusual punishment.
Our Political Beginnings
The English Colonies
These colonies turned out
to be 13 schools of
government.
The colonies developed
over a period of about
125 years.
The first colony was
Virginia in 1607.
The last colony was
Georgia in 1733.
Our Political Beginnings
Each of the colonies was started because
of different reasons and circumstances.
This caused each colony to be slightly
different and unique.
The colonists of Virginia were part of a
commercial venture.
The colonists of Massachusetts were
people who were searching for personal
and religious freedom.
The colonists of Georgia were basically
given a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Each colony had its legal basis and start with a
written charter.
Charter – A written grant of authority from the
king.
There were three kinds of colonies: royal,
proprietary, and charter.
Our Political Beginnings
Royal Colonies
None of the colonies began as royal colonies. For various
reasons, the colonies soon fell under the control of the
English Crown.
When the American Revolution began in 1775, there
were a total of eight royal colonies: New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
There was a pattern of government in royal colonies.
Bicameral – two-house legislature
1. The king named a governor.
2. The king appointed a council, which became the
upper house of the colonial legislature
Governors ruled harshly in
general, which fanned
resentment in the colonies.
Our Political Beginnings
The Proprietary Colonies
In 1775, there were three proprietary colonies:
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
These colonies were given by charter to
individuals by a grant of a king. Maryland was
given to Lord Baltimore, Pennsylvania to William
Penn. Penn also received Delaware.
These governments were similar to the royal
colonies. In Pennsylvania, however, the
legislature was unicameral (one-house) body.
The decisions of a proprietary colony could be
carried to the king in London.
Our Political Beginnings
The Charter Colonies
There were only two charter colonies: Connecticut
and Rhode Island.
They were based on charters given to the colonists.
The colonists elected their governors. These colonies
had bicameral legislatures.
Historians believe that if Britain had given the other
11 colonies the same rights as Connecticut and Rhode
Island, there never would have been an American
Revolutionary War.
The Coming of Independence
The scene is a meeting of
the Second Continental
Congress. The date is July 4,
1776. The members of the
Congress are about to sign
the Declaration of
Independence.
“We must all hang together,
or assuredly we shall all
hang separately.”
These words by Benjamin
Franklin indicated the great
personal danger each man
present assumed.
The Coming of Independence
Britain’s Colonial Policies
The British Colonies in America were controlled by
the king via a Privy Council and the Board of Trade in
London.
Parliament really did not pay much attention to the
colonies until late in U.S. colonial history.
Since Great Britain was over 3,000 miles away and it
took almost 2 months to make the round trip, the
colonists were used to being pretty much left alone.
Colonists often kept the king’s royal governor under their powers. They often would not vote
for a governor’s salary until he came to agree with them on issues. “Let us keep the dogges
poore, and we’ll make them do as we please.”
The Coming of Independence
Mid-1970s – There was a distinct federal relationship
between England and the colonies. London was responsible
for colonial defense and foreign affairs. The colonists were
given a great deal of latitude in how they ran their own
affairs.
This changed with George III in 1760. Britain started getting
in colonial business more and being more firm with the
colonies. New taxes were imposed.
The colonists disliked this new direction under George III. The
colonists did not see the reason for so many British troops
since the French had been defeated in the French and Indian
War. The king’s ministers were clowns who pushed their
hurtful agenda. The colonists faced a decision to submit or to
revolt.
The Coming of Independence
One thing was certain, if the colonies were to succeed
in gaining independence, they would have to be
unified. There had been several early attempts to
generate cooperation among the colonies.
The New England Confederation
In 1643, several colonies joined together in the New
England Confederation. They were Massachusetts Bay,
Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut settlements.
Confederation – a joining of several groups for a
common purpose.
The purpose of the New England Confederation was
to form a “league of friendship” for defense against
Native American tribes.
The New England Confederation
drifted away as the Native American
threat died.
In 1696 William Penn tried to plan
for intercolonial cooperation in
matters of trade, defense, etc.
Nothing came of it.
The Coming of Independence
The Albany Plan of Union – was a plan
offered by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 to
united the 13 colonies for trade, military,
and other purposes; the plan was turned
down by the colonies and the Crown.
In 1754, the British Board of Trade called
for a meeting of the seven northern
colonies at Albany. Those colonies were
Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania,
and Rhode Island.
The purpose of the meeting was to
discuss the problems of colonial trade
and the threat of the French.
Although Franklin’s plan was rejected, it would
be remembered later.
The Coming of Independence
The Stamp Act Congress
Resentment began forming against
Great Britain in the 1760s because
of their tax policies in the colonies.
By the Stamp act of 1765, the
colonists were ready to do
something.
In October of 1765, all the
colonies except for Georgia, New
Hampshire, North Carolina, and
Virginia sent delegates to the
Stamp Act Congress in New York.
The Stamp Act Congress wrote the Declaration of Rights
and Grievances. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.
The Coming of Independence
Things did not get any better
between the colonies and
Britain. Several colonists
wanted an organized boycott
of British goods.
Boycott – a refusal to buy or
sell certain products or
services.
March 5, 1770 – The Boston
Massacre occurred. Five
people were killed.
December 16, 1773 – The Boston Tea Party took place.
The Coming of Independence
The First Continental Congress-1774
Parliament passed a set of laws
which the colonists called the
Intolerable Acts. The purpose of
these laws was to punish the
colonies for the troubles in Boston.
Delegates from every colony except
for Georgia met in Philadelphia. The
First Continental Congress met for
two months.
They sent a Declaration of Rights to
King George III to protest what had
been done to them.
The Coming of Independence
The members of the First
Continental Congress urged all of
the colonies to refuse all trade with
England until all the despised trade
and tax laws were repealed.
Repealed – withdrawn, cancelled
In October 26, the First Continental
Congress adjourned with a call for a
second congress to meet the
following May. All of the colonial
legislatures voted to support the
actions of the First Continental
Congress.
The Coming of Independence
By the time it was May and
the Second Continental
Congress met, Britain had
refused to compromise with
the colonies and the battles
of Lexington and Concord had
already been fought three
weeks earlier.
Most of the delegates were
the same ones who had
attended the First Continental
Congress.
There were two men who were newcomers. They were
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of
Massachusetts.
Hancock was elected President of the Congress and
George Washington was appointed commander in chief.
Thomas Jefferson replaced Washington as a delegate.
The Coming of Independence
There was no getting around it…The Second
Continental Congress became, by default and
circumstance, the first official government of
the United States.
There was, however, no constitutional base.
Britain condemned the Congress as an
unlawful assembly and as a den of traitors. It
was supported by the force of public opinion
at home.
For five years, the Congress served as the
U.S. government…from the Declaration of
Independence in 1776 to the Articles of
Confederation in 1781.
What did the Congress do during those five
years…? Fought a war, raised armies and a
navy, borrowed funds, bought supplies,
created a money system, made treaties, etc.
The Coming of Independence
Slightly over a year after the Revolution
had begun, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia
proposed to the Second Continental
Congress:
“Resolved, That these United Colonies
are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent States, that they are
absolved from all allegiance to the British
Crown, and that all political connection
between them and the State of Great
Britain is, and ought to be, totally
dissolved.”
Resolution of June 7, 1776
Congress named a committee of five…
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman,
Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson to craft
a declaration of independence.
The Coming of Independence
In January of 1776, New Hampshire adopted a
constitution to replace its royal charter. South
Carolina followed with a constitution of its own
less than three months later.
Congress urged the other colonies to adopt “such
governments as shall, in the opinion of the
representatives of the people, best conduce to the
happiness and safety of their constituents.”
Many states go on the state constitution band
wagon.
Massachusetts set the best example of a
constitution-making process. They held a
convention.
Massachusetts’ constitution
went into effect in 1780. It is
the oldest constitution in
force anywhere in the world
today.
The Coming of Independence
Even though the state constitutions
differed wildly, they did share common
features, such as the principles of popular
sovereignty.
Popular Sovereignty – the principle that
government exists only with the consent
of the governed.
Other common features of the state
constitutions were limited government,
civil rights and liberties, and separation of
powers and checks and balances.
These early constitutions would have
a profound effect on the drafting of
the Constitution of the United States.
The Critical Period
Richard Henry
Lee proposed the
Declaration of
Independence.
He also proposed
“a plan of
confederation.”
On November 15,
1777, The Articles
of Confederation
were approved.
The Critical Period
Articles of Confederation – a
plan of government adopted by
the Continental Congress after
the American Revolution;
established “a firm league of
friendship” among the States,
but allowed few important
powers to the central
government.
Ratification – Formal approval
The Articles were finally ratified by all states when Maryland
finally became the last state to ratify on March 1, 1781.
The Critical Period
Government under the Articles was
simple.
A Congress was the sole body
created, and it was unicameral, made
up of delegates chosen yearly by the
States in whatever way their
legislatures might direct.
Each state had only one vote, no
matter what that state’s size, wealth,
or population.
The Critical Period
Committees of the Congress
would handle duties normally
associated with the executive or
judicial branches.
Most of the political power
would be held by the states.
With the Articles of
Confederation in place, the
United States entered what is
known as the Critical Period of
the 1780s.
The Critical Period
The Revolutionary War ended
on October 19, 1781. The win
was confirmed by the signing of
the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Soon problems erupted. States
began acting like little children.
They were jealous of one
another, stabbed each other in
the back, and played all sorts of
mean-spirited games in order to
win the upper hand.
Shay’s Rebellion – property owners were losing their
property due to foreclosures. Shay, a farmer who had served
in the army, led a rebellion which forced several courts to
close.
The Critical Period
Daniel Shay mounted an attack on the federal arsenal in Springfield. Losing badly,
Shay had to flee to New Hampshire.
Shay’s Rebellion clearly showed that a stronger government was needed.
The Critical Period
Maryland and Virginia experienced bitter
trade disputes. In an effort to solve the
problem, the states set up a trade conference,
totally ignoring the Congress.
George Washington invited them to meet at
his home in Mount Vernon.
The negotiations were successful and the
Virginia Assembly called for “a joint meeting
of the States to recommend a federal plan for
regulating commerce.
The Critical Period
Turnout at the Annapolis meeting was horrible. Only five of the
thirteen states sent representatives. The attending delegates in
Annapolis urged another meeting of the states.
By February of 1787, seven states had named delegates to go to
Philadelphia. These states were Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Congress got in on the act and asked the other states to send
delegates as well. The stage was now set for something to happen in
Philadelphia, PA.
Creating the Constitution
It’s hot and humid…all the windows are
closed to keep the meeting
secret…inside it’s so tense you could cut
the air with a knife…men exchange their
views…sometimes they get so angry
that they threaten to leave the
hall…some do.
Every state but Rhode Island sent
delegates to Philadelphia.
Thomas Jefferson, who was not one of
the delegates, would call the men who
gathered in Pennsylvania “an assembly
of demi-gods.”
Framers – Group of delegates who
drafted the United States Constitution at
the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.
Creating the Constitution
Two of the important Framers
were from South Carolina.
They were John Rutledge and
Charles Pinckney.
By and large, most of the men
represented younger
blood…the next generation of
Americans. James Madison
was 36, Alexander Hamilton
was 32…and poor old Ben
Franklin was 81 with failing
health.
The heroes of the American Revolution, the First and Second
Continental Congresses were beginning to age out. Patrick
Henry refused to attend…and former greats like John
Hancock and Richard Henry Lee were not picked by their
state to attend.
Creating the Constitution
Key Events at the Constitutional
Convention.
George Washington was unanimously
elected president of the convention.
Rules were established.
The delegates decided to keep their
meetings secret.
James Madison kept great notes on
what happened. He became the
convention’s floor leader, and was
later given the honor of being the
“Father of the Constitution.”
The Convention was called originally to rewrite the
Articles of Confederation. The delegates decided to
throw out the Articles and write a brand spanking
new constitution.
Creating the Constitution
On May 30, 1787, the Convention turned from
its focus on fixing the Articles of Confederation
to starting from scratch on a new constitution.
“Resolved…that a national Government ought to
be established consisting of a supreme
Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary.
--Edmund Randolph, Delegate from Virginia
There were plenty of debates to follow…always
spirited and sometimes bitter as the delegates
began carving out a brand new direction for the
United States of America.
Creating the Constitution
Virginia’s delegates offered the first
plan for a new constitution. The
Virginia Plan was presented by
Edmund Randolph and largely was
the work of James Madison.
The plan called for a new
government with three separate
branches: legislative, executive,
and judicial.
The legislature would be
bicameral.
Representation in each house would be
based upon either each state’s population or
upon the amount of money it gave for the
support of the central government.
Creating the Constitution
There were some delegates from mostly
smaller states who did not like the
Virginia Plan and found it too radical.
These states were Delaware, Maryland,
New Jersey…and some of the New York
delegates.
On June 15, William Patterson of New
Jersey presented the position of the
smaller states. This became known as the
New Jersey Plan.
Congress would remain unicameral with each state equally represented. Congress
would have closely limited powers to tax and regulate trade.
Creating the Constitution
The biggest disagreement
between the plans was over
representation in Congress.
This was a crucial point. The
large states expected to
dominate the new
government. The small states
feared that they would not
be able to protect their
interests.
The debate got rather hot.
Ben Franklin suggested that “henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of
Heaven…be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business.”
Creating the Constitution
Compromises were the successful ingredients
toward forming a working constitution. Here
are the most important compromises made
by the delegates:
1. The Connecticut Compromise or the Great
Compromise,
2. The Three-Fifths Compromise,
3. The Commerce and Slave Trade
Compromise
The Constitution has often been called a
bundle of compromises.
Compare this 1790 US Census
Records chart to the one in the
textbook on the top of page 52.
Creating the Constitution
Creating the Constitution
Creating the Constitution
Creating the Constitution
The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
The South feared that the Congress would act
against the interests of the agricultural South…that
they would abolish slavery and that they would tax
southern tobacco, which was the major American
export of the time.
The compromise was this…Congress was forbidden
to tax the export of goods from any state, and they
could not act on the slave trade for a period of at
least 20 years.
Creating the Constitution
On Franklin’s motion, the Constitution was signed.
Madison tells us that…
“…Doctor Franklin, looking toward the President’s chair, at
the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted,
observed to a few members near him, that Painters had
found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a
setting sun. I have, said he, often and often in the course
of the Session…looked at that behind the President
without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting.
But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a
rising and not a setting sun.”
--Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787,
James Madison
Ratifying the Constitution
Ratifying the Constitution
The Constitution today is
respected and revered,
but in 1787 and 1788, the
document was widely
criticized. Each state had a
number of people who
opposed the ratification of
the Constitution.
“The ratification of the
conventions of nine States
shall be sufficient for the
establishment of this
Constitution between the
States so ratifying the
same.”
- Article VII