Government in the English Colonies

• A constitution is a set of rules that establishes the framework of a government and the powers of that government

• The Framers of the U.S. Constitution had valuable political assets:

  • English political heritage

  • Judeo-Christian teachings such as the Ten Commandments

  • Knowledge of philosophy, political science, law and history

  • Hands-on political experience during the colonial era

• The English crown had little to do with the early colonies

• Colonists drew up their own laws and institutions to create systems of self government, or government under the control of the people who lived within the colony

• The Virginia Colony

  • The first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown, was established in what is now Virginia

  • In 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses elected the first legislature, or lawmaking body, in the colonies

• Plymouth Colony

  • The first New England colony was founded in 1620 in Plymouth, Massachusetts

  • The colonists consisted of Pilgrims, a group of English Protestants who wanted to separate from the Church of England

  • The Pilgrims established the Mayflower Compact, a social contract that was the first agreement to set out the basic rules for governing in the colony

• The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the Puritans

• William Penn was the proprietor of the Pennsylvania colony

• Other colonies developed and adopted their own constitutions

• By the American Revolution, all colonies had legislatures that carried out the daily business of colonial government

• Colonists often tried to limit the power of royal governors assigned by the King

• Colonial leaders gained political experience and became familiar with practical problems of governing

The Rebellion of the Colonists

• The British victory over France in the Seven Years’ War brought conflict

  • Part of the peace treaty with Native Americans, the Proclamation of 1763 banned or greatly restricted colonists from settling on land west of the Appalachians, which angered many colonists

  • The British government imposed taxes on the American colonists to help pay off the war debt

  • The war inspired colonists to develop a separate identity front he British, as many began to call themselves “Americans”

• The Sugar Act (1764)

  • In 1764, parliament placed a duty, or import tax, on sugar from French and Dutch colonies

  • The British saw the sugar tax as a way to raise money

  • The American colonists saw the sugar tax as a violation of their rights

• The Stamp Act (1765)

  • Everyday items were taxed including legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards

  • Delegates, or chosen representatives, prepared and sent a declaration of rights and grievances to King George III

  • Popular revolts against the Stamp Act included attacks on tax collectors

  • Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but enacted a law stating that Parliament had full power and authority to make laws concerning the American colonies

• Parliament continued to pass more laws and imposed further taxes

• Colonists protested and boycotted British products

• In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act with 2 goals:

  • To make sure British tea was the only tea sold in the colonies

  • To reassert its authority to tax the colonies

• The Boston Tea Party occurred when colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor

  • The British government retaliated width the Coercive Acts

  • The colonists labeled these laws the “Intolerable Acts”

• The First Continental Congress

  • Delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies gathered in a meeting called the First Continental Congress

  • A congress is a conference or meeting held to discuss important issues

  • The delegates called for the repeal of the Coercive Acts and a continued boycott of British goods

  • Congress organized committees of “safety” or “observation” and militia in the colonies

• The Second Continental Congress

  • The British saw the Congress’ actions as a rebellion

  • The clashes between colonial militia and British forces in 1775 at Lexington and Concord marked the first battles of the American Revolution

  • Delegates from all 13 colonies gathered for the Continental Congress

  • The Congress assumed the powers of a central government and named George Washington as the army’s commander in chief

• Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

  • Influential pamphlet arguing in favor of independence for the American colonies

  • He attacked every argument that favored loyalty to King George III

  • Historians view Common Sense as the single most important publication of the American Revolution

Independence and Revolution

• The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776. The document:

  • Declared that the Americans were a separate nation from Great Britain

  • Was written by Thomas Jefferson and included a total of 56 signers

  • Relied on the philosophical ideas of John Locke

  • Listed the former colonies’ grievances against King George III

  • Originally contained a passage condemning the slave trade that was removed by Congress

• Each colony created a constitution

• All constitutions called for a limited government, or a government whose powers and actions are limited by a system of laws

  • One way to limit government was through the separation of powers, a political idea that spreads functions and powers among different branches of government

  • Another way to limit government was to include a bill, or list of rights that defined citizens’ civil liberties

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• Republicanism is the belief that a government’s power comes from its citizens and the representatives they choose to make their laws

• Most patriots were republicans, as they wanted to form a republic

• State constitutions reflected republican ideas and embraced popular sovereignty, the idea that the people hold the ultimate power of government

  • Popular sovereignty was limited in that, for the most part, only white men who were property owners were allowed to vote

• Some leaders were nationalists who favored an effective central authority

• Others favored republican views that called for more control by the individual states

• Tension between the two views would continue beyond the end of the war

The Confederation of States

• The delegates to the Second Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a plan of confederation, or a voluntary association of independent states

• The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution and established the Congress of the Confederation as the sole governing body

• This Congress was unicameral, meaning it had one legislative house

• The Congress named a president to preside over meetings, but the official had no direct government powers

• The Congress had the sole power to wage war, to make peace, and settle states’ claims

• The Congress had no power to raise revenues or force states to meet military quotas

• Passing laws was difficult because 9 states had to approve any law

• Under the Articles of Confederation, states would enter into independent agreements with other countries and tax imports from other states

• By 1784, the nation was suffering from an economic crisis, which led to inflation, or an overall rise in prices

• Shays’ Rebellion broke out in 1786

• Similar disruptions occurred, frightening many Americans into supporting the creation of a true national government

• The Annapolis Meeting

  • A meeting of the states was called in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1786 to consider extending national authority to matters of interstate commerce

  • Only 5 of the 13 states sent delegates to the meeting, so the issue could not be addressed effectively

• In 1787, delegates Alexander Hamilton and James Madison persuaded others to call for a convention in Philadelphia

• The Philadelphia Convention evolved into a meeting “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation,” which became known as the Constitutional Convention

Drafting and Ratifying the Constitution

• The Constitutional Convention opened in Philadelphia on May 25th, 1787

• The 55 delegates included Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton

• The majority of delegates were wealthy elites among the most privileged and powerful members of society

• The Constitutional Convention met in secrecy

• The Virginia Plan

  • Bicameral (two chamber) legislature, with the large chamber chosen by the people

  • National executive branch, elected by the legislature

  • Greater influence for states with larger populations

• The New Jersey Plan

  • Congress to regulate and impose taxes

  • Each state to have one vote

  • Acts of Congress to be the supreme law of the land

  • Executive office consisting of more than one person, elected by Congress

  • National supreme court appointed by the executive

• The Great Compromise was a set of different rules for representatives in the 2 houses of the new legislature

  • In the House of Representatives, the number of representatives for each state would depend on the state’s population and representatives would be elected by the people

  • In the Senate, each state would have 2 senators chosen by the state legislature

• The Three-Fifths Compromise

  • Southern states feared having less power than more populous states in the North

  • In these states, enslaved populations made up around 40% of the population

  • The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement that the number of representatives would be determined by adding “three-fifths of all other person” to “the total number of free persons”

• Some delegates wanted slavery banned, and Southern delegates did not accept this, so they compromised by agreeing that Congress could prohibit the importation of enslaved people, beginning in 1808

• Under the Constitution, the president would:

  • Be commander in chief of the army, navy and the state militias

  • Have extensive appointment powers, with Senate approval

  • Be elected by an electoral college, or group of electors selected in each state

• A problem under the Confederation was a lack of judiciary, or system of courts, so:

  • The Constitution established the U.S. Supreme Court

  • Congress established lower courts to review cases before they went to the Supreme Court

• Framers wanted to ensure the removal of dishonest or corrupt leaders, so the Constitution provides that an official suspected of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” may be impeached - charged with wrongdoing

• When the Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation, all 13 states had to ratify, or formally approve, it

• Federalists favored a strong central government and the new Constitution

  • The Federalist Papers addressed fears expressed by the Constitution’s critics, outlining how federal officials would be chosen “directly or indirectly” by the people and the benefits of the separation of powers into three branches

  • Federalists clearly stated they favored a strong federal government - one that shared power with the state governments

• Anti-Federalists opposed a strong central government and the new Constitutions

  • Critics claimed that the central government created by the Constitution was too powerful and argued the Constitution need a bill of rights to uphold important freedoms

• The Constitution was ratified in 1790, which was helped by the promise to add a bill of rights