Origins of American Government - Study Notes

Section 1: Our Political Background

• The earliest settlers brought with them knowledge of political systems from their homelands.
• The dominant system they knew and adopted was the English system, including its laws, customs, practices, and institutions.

Section 2: English Settlers and the Colonial Landscape

• English Settlers Arrive in North America: the British Empire prospers in the New World.
• English settlers on the eastern coast kept Dutch and French colonists out.
• By the 1700s, the eastern seaboard was heavily English.

Section 3: Britain Gradually Dominates the New World in the 1700s

• BEFORE 1754: Major colonial powers and approximate maps:
  • English, New France, New Spain, with expansion and territorial claims.
  • Distances/Scale: on a map, relative distances shown as 0 to 500 miles (0 to 500 mi) or 0 to 500 kilometers (0 to 500 km).
• AFTER 1763: Territorial shifts following the Treaty of Paris and related events, with English dominance expanding in North America.
• Note: Maps illustrate shifts in control and the geographic spread of European powers in North America.

Section 4: Why Colonists Left England

• To flee religious persecution.
• To establish a utopian society.
• To become landowners: the average person could not easily obtain land in England.
• To make their fortunes: new opportunities in the colonies.
• To provide raw materials for England: the colonies supported England’s mercantile system and competition with other nations.

Section 5: Basic Concepts of Government

• The earliest settlers carried knowledge of political systems from their home countries.
• The dominant system they brought was the English system, with its laws, customs, practices, and institutions.

Section 6: Basic Concepts of Government (cont.)

• Three ideas from the English system would profoundly influence the future U.S. government:
  • Ordered government
  • Limited government
  • Representative government

Section 7: Ordered Government

• Colonists recognized the need for orderly regulation of relationships with one another, i.e., government.
• They created local governments modeled on those in England.
• Many of these local units remain in use today, e.g.: sheriff, coroner, assessor, justice of the peace, counties, townships, etc.

Section 8: Limited Government

• Government is not all-powerful.
• Limited government means government is restricted in what it may do, and individuals have certain rights that government cannot take away.

Section 9: Representative Government

• Government should serve the will of the people.
• Growing insistence that people have a voice in deciding what a government should and should not do.
• Example phrase: “government of, by, and for the people.”

Section 10: Seeds of Self-Rule in English Political Beliefs

• Magna Carta, 1215 (1215)
  • Limits king’s power.
  • Provides due process and the rule of law.
• Petition of Right, 1628 (1628)
  • Establishes that the king is not above the law.
• English Bill of Rights, 1689 (1689)
  • Protects rights of the people.

Section 11: The Magna Carta

• In 1215, a group of barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta (Latin: ‘Great Charter’).
• Included fundamental rights such as:
  • Trial by jury.
  • Due process of law (protection against arbitrary life, liberty, or property deprivation).

Section 12: The Magna Carta (cont.)

• Initially, protections applied to the privileged classes but eventually became the rights of all English people.
• These rights were incorporated into other English documents.
• Established the principle that the monarchy’s power was not absolute.

Section 13: Petition of Right: Limits on the King’s Power

• No punishment without peer judgment.
• No imposition of military rule in peacetime.
• No requirement that homeowners house troops (billeting).
• No collection of money without the consent of Parliament.

Section 14: English Bill of Rights: Increases Citizens’ Power

• Right to trial by jury of peers.
• Freedom from excessive bail or fines.
• Right to keep arms.
• Right to petition the government.
• Freedom of speech and debate within Parliament.
• Right to have Parliament make laws.
• Right to have no standing army without Parliament’s permission.

Section 15: The English Colonies: Charter-Based Foundations

• Each of the original 13 English colonies was established by a charter.
• A charter is a written grant of authority by the king.
• These charters led to three kinds of colonies:
  • Royal
  • Proprietary
  • Charter

Section 16: Royal Colonies

• Royal colonies were subject to direct control by the Crown.
• There were 8 royal colonies: New Hampshire (NH), Massachusetts (MA), New York (NY), New Jersey (NJ), Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), and Georgia (GA).

Section 17: Royal Colonies (cont.)

• Governmental structure:
  • A royally appointed governor
  • Bicameral legislature:
  • Upper house: royally appointed governor’s council
  • Lower house: elected by property owners qualified to vote

Section 18: Proprietary Colonies

• Proprietary colonies were organized by a proprietor, a person to whom the king granted land.
• The three proprietary colonies were: Maryland (MD), Pennsylvania (PA), and Delaware (DE).

Section 19: Proprietary Colonies (cont.)

• Governmental structures:
  • Governor appointed by the proprietor
  • Bicameral legislature in MD and DE
  • Unicameral legislature in PA

Section 20: Charter Colonies

• The charter colonies were largely self-governing.
• The two charter colonies were: Connecticut (CT) and Rhode Island (RI).
• Governors were elected but subject to the king’s approval.
• Bicameral legislatures whose laws were not subject to governor veto or Crown approval.

Section 21: Who Could Vote in the Colonies?

• Property: Only property owners (later amended to taxpayers) were allowed to vote.
• Religion: Voters had to meet moral or religious standards.
• Race: Blacks were forbidden to own property, so they could not vote.
• Gender: Few women were allowed to vote.