The Colonial Period

1. The Colonial Period Chapter 2 Section 1

2. Movie Clips • http://www.history.com/topics/mayflower-compact/videos#deconstructed-mayflower • http://www.history.com/topics/colonial-government-and-politics/videos#the-mayflower

3. Section 1 An English Political Heritage • The English colonists advanced two basic political principles: • limited government—the concept that a monarch’s power is limited, not absolute • representative government—a government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government

4. Section 1 An English Political Heritage (cont.) • The Magna Carta came to represent the idea of limited government to protect from: • unjust punishment and the loss of life, and • levying of taxes without popular consent. • The Petition of Right limited the power of Charles I by preventing him from collecting tax without Parliament’s consent.

5. Section 1 An English Political Heritage (cont.) • The English Bill of Rights advanced several principles including: • Monarchs do not have absolute authority. • The monarch must have Parliament’s consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, and maintain an army. • The monarch cannot interfere with parliamentary elections.

6. Section 1 An English Political Heritage (cont.) • John Locke’s theory of a social contract was based on natural rights to: • life, • liberty, and • property.

7. Section 1 Colonial Governments • Colonial governments established practices that became key to the nation’s system of government, including: • a written constitution • a legislature of elected representatives • the separation of powers between the executive and the legislature The Thirteen Colonies

9. Section 1 Colonial Governments (cont.) • The Mayflower Compact was the first colonial plan for self-government. • The General Fundamentals was the first system of law in the English colonies. • The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was America’s first formal constitution. • The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first colonial legislature in America.