1. Beginnings of an American Identity
5-2: Roots of Representative Government
Beginnings of an American Identity

2. The Rights of Englishmen
The Magna Carta
1st step toward guaranteeing rights
Limited powers of the King
…Over time, rights originally granted only to nobles were extended to all Englishmen

3. Parliament and Colonial Government
Most important right of Englishmen … ?
To elect representatives to Parliament
Parliament:
Bicameral Legislature
Elected – House of Commons
Appointed – House of Lords

4. Parliament and Colonial Government
Colonists used the same model
Governor oversaw laws made by:
Bicameral Legislature
Elected – Colonial Assembly
Appointed – Governor’s Council

5. Parliament and Colonial Government
The highest authority to govern the colonies was …
PARLIAMENT

6. A Royal Governor’s Rule
Still … many colonists believed the King and Parliament had no right to rule them. Because…
Parliament had NO representatives from the Colonies
So … Who could rule the Colonies?
Their own Colonial Assemblies

7. A Royal Governor’s Rule
To assert control over the colonies, King James II Created the Dominion of New England
America was in Turmoil
Smugglers were avoiding taxes established in the Navigation Acts
King Philip’s War in New England
Threat of the French in Canada
Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia
Sir Edmond Andros, Governor the Dominion of New England

8. England’s Glorious Revolution
Parliament asserts control
Removed Catholic James II from throne
Invited Protestant William and Mary to rule England
William III & Mary II
James II

9. England’s Glorious Revolution
William and Mary forced to sign the English Bill of Rights
Establishes principle that: Government was to be based on laws made by Parliament, not on the desires of a ruler!

10. England’s Glorious Revolution
Meanwhile, back in the American colonies…
Colonists detest the Dominion!!
They use the opportunity of England’s political turmoil to:
Arrest and jail Andros
Dissolve the Dominion of New England
Re-establish Colonial Assemblies 
Sir Edmund Andros!

11. Shared Power in the Colonies
Biggest power of Colonial Assemblies was that they paid the Governor’s salary
Idea for the structure of colonial governments originated in the …
Magna Carta

12. Shared Power in the Colonies
Because Governors’ salaries were controlled by Colonial Assemblies, they frequently chose not to enforce unpopular laws passed by Parliament. This is called …
Salutary Neglect
As a result …
Colonists became used to acting on their own

13. The Zenger Trial
“The question before the Court and you, Gentlemen of the Jury, is not of small nor private concern nor is it the cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone. No, it may affect every Freeman to deny the liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth.”
- Andrew Hamilton, Zenger’s attorney
Newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger criticized New York’s governor
Accused him of removing a judge and fixing an election
Jury decided the truth was a defense against libel and released Zenger
Case helped to establish Freedom of the Press in America

14. 5-2: Roots of Representative Government
El Fin