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Our Political Beginnings

Our Political Beginnings. The English Constitution. English Constitution: Basically Unwritten. Rule of Law had come down from Babylonians (Hammurabi’s Code), the Bible and the Romans. English Colonists Brought Three Concepts that Shaped U.S. Govt.

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Our Political Beginnings

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  1. Our Political Beginnings The English Constitution

  2. English Constitution: BasicallyUnwritten • Rule of Law had come down from Babylonians (Hammurabi’s Code), the Bible and the Romans

  3. English Colonists Brought Three Concepts that Shaped U.S. Govt. • Ordered government: predictable & regulated relationships with one another • Limited government: government restricted in what it may do. Individual has rights • Representative government: people should have a voice in deciding what the government should and should not do

  4. English Government Traced to Landmark Documents: Magna Carta • In 1215 CE King John was waging unsuccessful wars and heavily taxing his subjects. • Barons sick of it and at Runnymede force him to sign the Magna Carta • Guaranteed barons the right to trial by jury, the due process of law, & arbitrary taking of their property. • Originally applied only to them, but gradually became the rights of all English people • Importance: King’s power limited

  5. More Landmark Documents: Petition of Rights (1628) • Some English kings observed Magna Carta; some did not. • Charles I did not; fervent believer in divine right of kings; did not want to listen to Parliament • Charles I did want more money for taxes in order to wage war • Parliament refused until he signed the Petition of Rights • This document guaranteed that even a king must obey the laws of the land

  6. Petition of Rights: The King is Not Above the Law • Reaffirmed the Right to a trial by jury of his peers or by the law of the land • King could not declare martial law in peacetime or force citizens to keep soldiers in their homes (quarter troops) without the consent of the owner • No man can be forced to pay or loan money to the government or pay taxes without an Act of Parliament

  7. The Glorious Revolution & the Bill of Rights • Charles I went on to ignore the Petition of Rights • Eventually the fight between himself and Parliament ended in civil war • Charles I ended up losing his head • A dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell was set up & was unpopular • The monarchy was restored but James II was unpopular • People asked William and Mary of Orange to rule instead: Glorious Revolution • They signed Bill of Rights

  8. English Bill of Rights Guarantees: • Trial by jury • Due process of law • Right of private property • No cruel or unusual punishment • No excessive bail or fines • The right to bear arms • The right to petition the monarch….and not be punished for petitioning

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