Roots of American Democracy

Focus (1) Chapter 2 begins on page 26 of your textbook. Click the forward button to see more information about the above picture.

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Section 1-1 Objectives Describe the development of Parliament.  Terms to Know Parliament, legislature, precedent, common law.  Our English Heritage Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. Explain how English government changed after the Glorious Revolution.  Explain what is meant by an unwritten constitution.  Discuss England’s system of common law.

Our English Heritage  Henry III advised by parliaments  1300 Parliament became legislature

 Legislature makes laws for a state or country  Leg. Developed into 2 houses

Glorious Revolution  1600’s King James II deposed  William and Mary became King

 Parliament’s more powerful than king  Parliament allowed citizens to have power

 Bill of Rights gave Parliament power 1.make laws 2. Raise taxes

3. Control nation’s army 4. Set up system of elections

Unwritten Constitution: England’s laws are not written down  Laws contained in documents  Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, customs

Common Law: 1. People live by unwritten laws 2. Court decisions used as basis of law

3. Similar cases get similar results 4. This system evolved, not planned Some laws today are based on Common law

5. Precedent- ruling from earlier case that was similar 6. Common law was based on precedent

Section 1 Assessment 1 It started as an advisory board to the king, developed into a legislature, then into a two-house lawmaking body, and then into citizen rule through the legislature. How did the English Parliament develop? Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.

Section 1 Assessment 2 The people, not the monarch, became the source of Parliament’s power. The English Bill of Rights was also written at this time. How did the government of England change after the Glorious Revolution? Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.

Section 1 Assessment 3 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. An unwritten constitution is based on customs and various written documents, but no single document contains a master plan for the government. What is meant by an unwritten constitution?

Section 1 Assessment 4 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. English common law is a system of law based on precedent. What is English common law?

Section Trans 1-1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to view the next section of the transparency.

Section 2-1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. Objectives Explain the importance of the House of Burgesses.  Terms to Know colony, colonists, compact, town meeting  The Colonial Experience Discuss the importance of the Mayflower Compact.  Describe the similarities among English colonial governments.  Explain why the colonists began to develop a new sense of identity as Americans.

Colonial Experience: Colony- people in one place who are ruled by a government in another place

Colonists- Those living in a colony Distance gave rise to Colonists wanting to rule themselves

1607 Jamestown colonists form House of Burgess 

1. House of Lords- nobles 2. House of Commons- reps. From town & counties

Burgesses: representatives from each town or plantation met with governor 1 st attempt to have rep. Government

Mayflower Compact:  1620 Plymouth founded  Formed written plan of government On ship before arriving

 Compact- agreement among people  Called for just and equal laws  Pledged to obey laws

Direct democracy established through town meetings

Section 2 Assessment 1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The House of Burgesses was the representative government for Jamestown. It was the first legislature in colonial America. What was the House of Burgesses and why was it important?

Section 2 Assessment 2 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The Mayflower Compact established a tradition of direct democracy that remained strong in New England. Why was the Mayflower Compact an important document?

Section 2 Assessment 3 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Each colony had a governor and a legislature. How were the governments of English colonies similar?

Section 2 Assessment 4 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The colonists began to develop a sense of identity because Britain wanted to control the thriving economies in the colonies, making colonists aware of the need to separate from English rule. Why did the colonists begin to develop a sense of identity as Americans?

Section Trans 2-1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to view the activities.

Section Trans 2-2 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Chapter 2, Section 2 What influence do you think the national origins of the colonists had on patterns of settlement? People from the same country or region often tended to settle close together.

Section 3-1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. Objectives Discuss the American colonists’ reaction to British taxes.  Terms to Know mercantilism, boycott, repeal, delegate, congress, independence  Toward Independence Discuss the roles of the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress in the movement toward independence.  Explain the basic ideas found in the Declaration of Independence.

As colonies grew so did various forms of governments. Each had governor and legislature

British or American: Considered British colonists but governed themselves. They built the towns, became source of wealth for Britain.

Britain: Mercantilism-theory that a country should sell more goods to other countries than it buys.

The U.S. was a source of cheap materials which were used to manufacture goods

Taxes:  Stamp Act- expensive tax stamp to newspapers and legal documents

Colonists respond: No taxation without representation

Began Boycotting or refusing to buy British goods *Stamp act is cancelled

Intolerable Acts:

 Restrict right to jury  British soldiers allowed to search colonist homes  Soldiers could move into their homes

First Continental Congress: 13 colonies sent delegates to a meeting in Philadelphia

 Congress is a formal meeting at which delegates discuss matters of common concern

 Document sent to Britain demanding to have rights restored

 Made plans to extend boycott  King George III refused to hear requests/protests

 Battles of Lexington and Concord in Mass.  Led to increase support of independence

Independence:  Means self reliance and freedom from outside control  Ben Franklin representative of the colonist

Section 3 Assessment 1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The Americans protested and boycotted British goods. How did American colonists react to British taxes?

Section 3 Assessment 2 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The First Continental Congress sent a document to King George III demanding that the Intolerable Acts be repealed. The Second Continental Congress commissioned Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence, a document that explained why Americans had the right to be independent from Britain. What roles did the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress play in the movement toward independence?

The basic ideas in the Declaration of Independence are: –all people are equal –people have certain natural rights Section 3 Assessment 3 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. What are the basic ideas found in the Declaration of Independence?

Section 4-1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. Objectives Explain the basic provisions of early state constitutions.  Terms to Know interpret, confederation, ratify, amend  The Nation’s First Governments Identify the major weaknesses of the confederation formed under the Articles of Confederation.  Discuss the significance of Shays’s Rebellion.

Second Continental Congress:  Debate on loyalty to Britain or Independence  Majority want independence

Declaration of Independence: 1. Thomas Jefferson was the major contributor 2. Announcement of the colonist right to be independent

3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau- all people are created equal 4. John Locke- people have certain natural rights “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”

5. Declaration states how Britain does not look after the interests of the colonist or protect their rights 6. Approved July 4, 1776

How did the attitudes of the delegates to the First Continental Congress differ from those of the Second Continental Congress?

Section 4 Assessment 1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Each state constitution set up a government similar to the colonial government that had come before it. Each state had a legislature, a governor, and a system of courts. What were the basic provisions of early state constitutions?

Section 4 Assessment 2 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The major weaknesses of the Articles were: –Congress could not pass a law without the approval of nine states –amending the Articles required a unanimous vote –Congress did not have the power to enforce its laws –Congress was unable to collect taxes What were the major weaknesses of the Confederation formed under the Articles?

Section 4 Assessment 3 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Shays’s Rebellion made it clear that the states needed to set up a stronger central government. What was the significance of Shays’s Rebellion?

Section Trans 4-1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to view the activities.

Section Trans 4-2 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Chapter 2, Section 4 Why did the government under the Articles of Confederation seldom have the funds it needed to pay its debts and cover the costs of normal operations? Under the Articles, Congress had no powers to gather money, specifically the power to levy and collect taxes.