The American Colonies and Their Government

1. The American Colonies and Their Government Chapter 2

2. Ancient Democracies • In the 400s BC, the Greek city-states of Athens created the world’s first democracy • All free men over 18 were considered citizens • The system in which people govern themselves, is called direct democracy • It was possible in Athens because the city-state was small • The Origin of Democracy

3. Ancient Democracies • In places with large populations, direct democracy is not practical • In such places, people choose leaders to govern for them • This form of democracy is called representative democracy • A government based on representative democracy is called a republic • The US is a republic

4. Ancient Democracies • As the ancient Greeks were creating democracy, the ancient Romans were creating the world’s first republic • In 509 BC the Romans overthrew their king • Government was put in the hands of a senate • Members of this body were chosen from among Rome’s wealthy upper class, called patricians • The senators elected two members, called consuls, to lead the government • Both consuls had to agree

5. Ancient Democracies • Rome’s common citizens, called plebeians, soon tired of the rule of the patricians • A long struggle followed • The plebeians finally gained political equality in 287 BC • Rome continued as a republic until General Julius Caesar took control around 50 BC. • After his death, monarchs called emperors ruled Rome and its empire for more than 500 years

6. Early English Influences • The Roman Empire collapsed around AD 476 • For the next 700 years, kings and lords ruled most of Europe • England rose up against King John in 1215 • They forced him to sign a document called the Magna Carta • The Magna Carta limited the king’s power • Magna Carta

7. Early English Influences • The Magna Carta established the principle of limited government. • The idea that a ruler or government is not all powerful • At first, many of the rights protected by the Magna Carta applied only to nobles. • Over time, however, those rights came to apply to all English people. • Kings who came after John were advised by nobles and church officials. • This group grew to include representatives of the common people, as well. • By the late 1300s the advisers had become a legislature, or lawmaking body. • It was called Parliament

8. The English Bill of Rights • England does not have a written constitution like we have in the United States. • Instead, their constitution is made up of common law, case law, historical documents, and acts of Parliament. • The Magna Carta is among the oldest and most important of these laws which, combined, outline British rights.

10. Enlightenment Thinkers • An early Enlightenment thinker, Thomas Hobbes, experienced the English Civil War firsthand. • Hobbes believed that an agreement, called a social contract, existed between government and the people. • In this contract, the people agreed to give up some freedom and be ruled by government • In return, government had to protect the people’s rights

11. Enlightenment Thinkers • Another English thinker, John Locke, was influenced by the events of the Glorious Revolution. • In 1690 he published Two Treatises of Government • Locke wrote that all people were born equal with certain God-given rights, called natural rights • These included the rights to life, to freedom, and to own property • The Philosophy of Liberty

12. Enlightenment Thinkers • At about this time, another French writer named Baron de Montesquieu developed the idea that the power of government should be divided into branches • Then Montesquieu believed, no one branch would become too strong and threaten people’s rights • Montesquieu called this idea the separation of powers

13. First Colonial Governments • England founded colonies in America throughout the 1600s • A colony is an area of settlement in one place that is controlled by a country in another place • The early colonists were loyal to England • They brought to America the traditions, beliefs, and changes that had shaped England’s government • These included a strong belief in their rights and representative government

14. The Mayflower Compact • In 1620 Pilgrims set sail for Virginia, seeking religious freedom • They knew that to survive they needed to form their own government • So they drew up a compact, or written agreement • All the Pilgrim men aboard the ship signed

15. Economic Opportunity • People came to America for several reasons. • Those too poor to pay for their trip to America came as indentured servants. • These servants worked for 4-7 years, until their debt was paid

16. ReligiousFreedom • Other people wanted religious freedom. • Some groups were persecuted, or treated harshly, because of their religious beliefs. • The Puritans founded Massachusetts for this reason.

17. New England Colonies • Located farthest north • They were Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island • The cold climate and rocky soil made large-scale farming difficult • A number of New Englanders worked as shopkeepers or in other small businesses • Others were employed in ship building and fishing • The region’s forests provided wood for boats

18. The Middle Colonies • New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware were English colonies located south of New England • These colonies were known as the Middle Colonies • The climate and soil in this region were better for agriculture • Farmers raised wheat and other cash crops

19. The Southern Colonies • The English colonies farthest south along the Atlantic Coast were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. • A warm climate, a long growing season, and rich soil made large-scale agriculture successful in the Southern Colonies. • Large farms called plantations developed on the coastal plains. • Over time, however, plantation owners came to depend on the labor of enslaved Africans.

20. Colonial Government • England was far away • Messages took weeks to arrive • Over the years, the colonists began to depend on their own government– and their elected legislatures– for leadership • They began to see themselves as Americans rather than English subjects

21. A Time of Change • By the mid 1700s, the colonies had become used to governing themselves through their elected legislatures • Colonists knew of writings of John Locke • They began to resent the fact that they had fewer rights than people living in Great Britain

22. The French and Indian War • As the colonies grew, they expanded westward • By the 1750s, British colonists were moving into areas also claimed by France • In 1754, French forces joined with some Native American groups • Together they drove British colonists from land west of the Appalachian Mountains • The conflict was called the French and Indian War • It led to war between Great Britain and France in Europe

23. The French and Indian War • Britain sent troops to the colonies • Finally, the British army won the war in 1763 • Britain took control of French lands all the way to the Mississippi River

24. New Laws and Taxes • The French and Indian War had been long and costly. • The colonists had caused the war by moving west. • Therefore, King George decided they should pay for it. • So he issued a proclamation, or an official statement, which forbade the colonists from settling in the lands won from France. • The king’s actions enraged the colonists.

25. New Laws and Taxes • In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act. • The colonies protested this tax. • Colonial leaders called on the colonists to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods • In 1766 Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act. • The same day, however, it passed the Declaratory Act. • This law stated that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies and made decisions for them “in all cases whatsoever.”

26. Colonial Dissatisfaction Grows • A year after repealing the Stamp Act, Parliament levied a new set of taxes. • The Townshend Acts placed duties on a wide range of goods that the colonies imported from overseas. • In 1770, Parliament repealed all the duties except for a tax on tea.

27. Colonial Dissatisfaction Grows • One of the Townshend Acts allowed general search warrants. • They made it lawful for officers to enter any business or home to look for goods on which the import duty had not been paid. • In 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act. • This made the British company’s tea cheaper than other tea sold in the colonies

28. Colonial Dissatisfaction Grows • In December 1773, some angry colonists boarded several ships in Boston Harbor. • These ships carried the British company’s tea waiting to be unloaded. • Urged on by the large crowd onshore, the protesters dumped 342 chests of the company’s tea into the water • This protest became known as the Boston Tea Party

30. The First Continental Congress • In September 1774, delegates, or representatives, from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to plan a united response to the Coercive Acts

31. The Second Continental Congress • In April 1775, British troops and colonial militiamen had fought at Lexington and Concord, in Massachusetts • Meanwhile, support for independence grew in the colonies • In January 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet titled Common Sense • He used the ideas of John Locke to make the case for independence

32. The Declaration of Independence • The Congress chose a committee to draft a document to explain to the world why the colonies should be free • The committee consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman • The committee chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence

33. The Declaration of Independence • Jefferson put together a long list of ways in which King George had abused his power • The Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. • Too Late to Apologize - Declaration of Independence

34. The End