1. Life in the Colonies

2. Governing the Colonies: English Parliamentary Tradition
In 1215, English nobles got together and forced King John to sign the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is the first document to put restrictions on the powers of the English ruler
Limited the monarch’s right to levy taxes without permission
Protected private property
Guaranteed trial by jury
These rights soon extended to English citizens

3. Parliament
A parliament is a two-house legislature, or a group of people who make laws
Consisted of the House of Lords and the House of Commons
The House of Commons was elected
Parliament had the “power of the purse”

4. English Bill of Rights Parliament levied, or imposed, taxes
The king couldn’t raise a standing army
Election of Parliament was free
Freedom of Speech and debates in Parliament
The right of habeas corpus
The idea that a person cannot be held in prison without being charged with a crime

5. Colonial Self Government
Each English colony in America had a colonial governor who was appointed by the king
They also did have their own legislative body
These colonial legislatures and the colonial governors would often class
The only people who could vote at this time are white males who owned property

6. Freedom of the Press
The right of journalists to publish the truth without restriction or penalty
John Peter Zenger printed articles that were critical of the government
He was arrested for libel
He argued that what he printed were facts and not considered libel
The Zenger case established that a democracy depends on a well-informed citizen
To have this, the press needs to be able to print the truth

10. Regulating Trade What is mercantilism?
Parliament passed the Navigation Acts
Shipments from Europe to English colonies had to go through England first
All imports from the colonies to England had to come in on English built ships
The colonies could sell key products like sugar and tobacco only to England
The Acts first helped the colonies, but they quickly began to resent them
Why?

11. Colonial Society

12. Roles of Women Women would marry men who were chosen by their parents
Everything that belonged to the woman now belonged to her husband
Women were in charge of childcare and all domestic duties
Cooking, cleaning, laundry, spinning yarn, sewing, working on the farm
Women had little to no role in public life
They could not vote or hold office

13. Social Classes Gentry: Upper class people in colonial society
They were few in number, but the most powerful people in society

14. Social Class cont. Middle class: Indentured Servants
Made up of small planters, independent farmers, and artisans
Indentured Servants
People who signed a contract to work from 4 to 10 years in the colonies for anyone who would pay for his or her ocean passage to the Americas
Indentured servants had few if any rights
Free African Americans
Only about 1 percent of African Americans in the colonies were free
Some even owned their own slaves

16. Spreading of New Ideas

17. Education
The first schools in America were started by the local church
Massachusetts was the first colony to have public schools
Puritans financed Harvard College, which was the first college in the colonies

18. Great Awakening
During the 1730s and 1740s, there was a huge Christian movement throughout the colonies
This led to people becoming even more religious and many new churches were started
Read Jonathan Edwards, pg 121
The growth of these new churches eventually did lead to a better religious tolerance between them

19. The Enlightment
A new intellectual movement in Europe that focused on “natural laws”
John Locke:
He believed that all people have certain natural rights, or rights that everyone has from birth
Life, liberty, and property
These cannot be taken away
He challenged the idea of divine rights, or the idea that monarchs get their power to rule from God
Governments were created to protect these rights

20. Divine Rights vs. Natural Rights
The right to govern comes from God to the ruler
People’s rights come from the ruler
People must obey ruler, even if the ruler violates people’s rights
The right to govern comes from the people
People’s rights come from God to the people
The people can change the government if the government violates their rights

21. Montesquieu
He came up with the idea of a separation of powers in government
The power of the government is divided up into separate branches
This protects the rights of the people by making sure not one branch gets too powerful
Three Branches:
Legislative – Makes the laws
Executive – enforces the laws
Judicial – make judgments based on the laws and interprets the laws