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Origins of American Government

Origins of American Government. Chapter 2 Notes and Review. Our Political Beginnings (2.1). Our nation’s original English colonists brought with them a rich history of political experiences and ideas

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Origins of American Government

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  1. Origins of American Government Chapter 2 Notes and Review

  2. Our Political Beginnings (2.1) • Our nation’s original English colonists brought with them a rich history of political experiences and ideas • Those experiences and ideas would help to shape the political landscape of our nation, both then and now

  3. Three Big Ideas • 1. Ordered Government • An orderly regulation of the relationship between themselves and their government • 2. Limited Government • Govt. should not be all powerful • Protection of rights • 3. Representative Govt. • Govt. should “represent” the will of the people • People should have a voice in what their govt. does

  4. Landmark English Documents • Magna Carta (1215) • First documents outlining basic individual rights • Trial by jury • Due process of law • Protection of life, liberty and property

  5. Petition of Right • Freedom to criticize the king; could not be imprisoned without jury trial • No martial law during peacetime • No quartering of soldiers • English Bill of Rights • No army during peacetime • Free elections • Fair and speedy trial • Excessive bail / cruel punishment

  6. Unicameral and Bicameral • Unicameral – a one house legislature (law making body) • Bicameral – a two house legislature

  7. What was Accomplished at the First Continental Congress (1774) • Sent a declaration of rights to King George III • Urged all colonies to boycott English goods • Local committees to enforce the boycott

  8. What Was Accomplished at the Second Continental Congress (1775) • First real National Government • Continental army and navy was formed • Adopted the Declaration of Independence • Fought a war • Created a Monetary system • Made treaties with foreign powers

  9. The Articles of Confederation • Our Nation’s first constitution • Very weak document and was not effective • Had no strong central government to enforce policies between the states • A new constitution would be necessary

  10. A New Constitution Was Necessary! • Problem: How should the States be represented in Congress? • Some States were large with many people and some were small with few people • What about slaves?

  11. The Virginia Plan • States would be represented in Congress based upon their population or the amount of money sent in support of the Central Govt. (Taxes) • Virginia loves the plan, they are a big state • Small states hate the plan

  12. The New Jersey Plan • All States were to be equally represented without regard to population or availability of money • New Jersey was a small state & loved the plan • Large States like Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania hated the plan

  13. THE CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE(AKA “THE GREAT COMPROMISE”) • A bicameral legislature • The smaller Senate would be represented equally • The larger House of Representatives, representation would be based on population • Oh NO!!! What about slaves? Are they to be counted as population? Another major battle!

  14. The Three-Fifths Compromise • Southern slave states wanted slaves to be counted as population (even they had no rights) • Northern non-slave states objected • Compromise • “All free persons are to counted, and so should three-fifths of all other persons” • Reality: A slave only counted as 3/5 of a person • An ugly part of our history to be sure, but it settled the dispute • 3/5 Comp. was abolished along with slavery later on.

  15. The New Constitution was completed! Now it had to be sold to the people for approval!

  16. Federalists and Their Main Argument • Federalists – favored ratification (formal adoption) of the new constitution • Stressed the weakness of the Articles of Confed. • All of those problems could be fixed by the new constitution

  17. Anti-Federalists and Their Argument • Objected to the ratification (formal adoption) process • Objected to the absence of the word God • Denial of some previously held states rights

  18. Two Main Issues Being Argued Over the New Constitution • 1. The greatly increased powers of the central government • 2. The lack of a Bill of Rights • Solutions: • The “Federalist Papers” were distributed to help explain the limited power of the new central government • The adoption of the first ten amendments; the Bill of Rights

  19. Finally a New Constitution was Won and has lasted for over 200 years!!!

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