1 / 9

Influence on American Colonial Government

Influence on American Colonial Government. The Foundations of Democracy. What ancient principles, traditions, and events have shaped the system of government we have today? 1. Democracy = rule by the people 2. Ancient Democracies: * Jewish Religion taught that every person has worth

smithkevin
Télécharger la présentation

Influence on American Colonial Government

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Influence on American Colonial Government

  2. The Foundations of Democracy • What ancient principles, traditions, and events have shaped the system of government we have today? • 1. Democracy= rule by the people • 2. Ancient Democracies: • * Jewish Religion taught that every person has worth • * Athens, Greece- first direct democracy- council of 500 members made the decisions but all citizens had the right to speak • 3. Direct democracy v. Representative democracy

  3. The Foundations of Democracy • 4. Republic- a government based on representative democracy Romans created republics by developing the idea putting gov’t in the hands of the senate • Patricians- Rome’s wealthy who made up the senate • Consuls-elected by the senators to lead the gov’t • Plebians- Rome’s common citizens (gained political equality in 287 B.C.)

  4. Early English Influence • 5. Magna Carta- “Great Charter”- limited the king’s power and established the principle of limited gov’t • 1. Could not tax nobles without their consent • 2. Gave rights to free men • 3. Included equal treatment under law and trial by one’s peers • 4. Gave nobles the right to rebel if king broke his part of the agreement • 6. Originally the Magna Carta rights only applied to nobles but eventually they applied to all English people • 7. Nobles/church officials would advise all subsequent kings became known as legislature called parliament • 8. Mid 1600’s involved power struggle between King Charles I and parliament produced the English Bill of Rights and transfer of power to Mary and William

  5. English Bill of Rights • 9. English Bill of Rights: • No imprisonment without trial by jury (due process) • No loss of property without due process of law • No cruel punishment • No standing army in time of peace without parliament’s consent • No taxation without parliament’s consent • People have the right to bear arms • People have the right to petition the king • Freedom of speech in parliament

  6. Influence of Enlightenment • 10. Enlightenment- new ideas about gov’t that applied the laws that ruled nature to people and society • 11. Machiavelli- Italian renaissance writer who argued that it was safer for a ruler to be feared than loved but believed republics to be the best form of gov’t • 12. Thomas Hobbes- believed an agreement, known as a social contract, existed between people and the gov’t • Social Contract was the people agreed to give up some freedom and be ruled by gov’t but in return they would be protected by the gov’t

  7. Influence of Enlightenment • 12. John Locke- published “Two treaties of Government”- believed that all people were born with God-given rights, natural rights, the rights to life, freedom, and ability to own property. • 13. Locke believed in the social contract also but he believed that people agreed to give up freedom and in return the gov’t protects them however, if the ruler failed to protect the rights of the people, the contract is broken and the people could then choose another leader

  8. Influence of Enlightenment • 14. Jean-Jacques Rousseau-”The Social Contract”- believed people had the right to decide how they should be governed • 15. Baron de Montesquieu- believed the power of gov’t should be divided into branches but that the branches should adhere to a separation of powers • 16. Francois-Marie Arouet- known as Voltaire- believed people should have liberty- freedom of religion and trade • 17. All of these enlightenment thinkers influenced the way people viewed gov’t , also influenced the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

  9. The First Colonial Governments Jamestown Mayflower compact Went looking for religious freedom in Virginia Settled in present day Massachusetts Compact- agreement signed by all pilgrims pledging to choose leaders and work together to form their own laws Established direct democracy • 1st English settlement located in Virginia • Set up by the Virginia Company • Originally governed by a governor and council • To attract people the colony was allowed to make it’s own laws • House of Burgesses was elected legislative body

More Related