Chapter 2: Origins of American Government

Section 1: Our Political Beginnings

Key Terms: limited government; representative government; Magna Carta; Petition of Right;
English Bill of Rights; charter; bicameral; unicameral
A.
Basic Concepts of Government. The shape of American government is based on the
following English political ideas:

1. Ordered (Structured) Government -- Colonists from England saw the need for orderly
regulation of their relationships with one another.

2. Limited Government -- The idea that government is not all-powerful. Limited
government is that basic principle of the American system of government; that
government is limited in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that a
government cannot take away.

3. Representative Government -- The idea that government should serve the will of the
people. Representative government is that system of government in which public policies
are made by officials who are selected by the voters and held accountable to them in
periodic elections

B. Landmark English Documents

1. The Magna Carta -- Magna Carta established the principle of limited government and
fundamental rights of English citizens. This 1215 document introduced such fundamental
rights as trial by jury and due process of law.

2. The Petition of Rights -- The Petition of Rights limited the monarch's authority and
elevated the power of Parliament while extending the rights of the individual. Challenged
the idea of the divine right of kinds, declaring that even a monarch must obey the law of
the land.

3. The English Bill of Rights -- The Bill of Rights redefined the rights of Parliament and the
rights of individuals. No standing army, required parliamentary elections.

C. Government in the Colonies

Each colony was established on the basis of a charter, a written grant of authority from the
king.

1. Royal Colonies -- Royal Colonies were subject to the direct control of the crown and run
by appointed governors, who were advised by council.

2. Proprietary Colonies -- Proprietary Colonies were owned by wealthy individuals who
appointed governors, who were advised by councils. Unicameral (one house).

Pattern of government: King named governor. Council also named by king, who was
advisory. In time, council became the upper house of the colonial legislature. Bicameral
(two-houses) It also was the highest court in the colony. The lower house was elected by
those property owners qualified to vote. In Royal colonies, the governors and their councils
shared the power of the purse. J udges were appointed by governor, with advice of council.
Laws passed required approval of governor and king.

3. The Charter Colonies -- Charter Colonies were governed by the colonists themselves
through elected governors, who were advised by councils. Charters granted to the
colonists themselves. Bicameral legislature whose laws were not subject to the approval of
the crown or governor. J udges appointed by legislature, but appeals to the king.

Chapter 2: Origins of American Government
Section 2: The Coming of Independence
Key Terms: Albany Plan of Union, boycott, constitution, popular sovereignty
-Britains Colonial Policies
-British management of the colonies: Trade was important, but Parliament & the King left
more and more of the colonial administration to the colonial governments.

-Officially the colonies were controlled by Britain, but in reality they were largely self-
controlled. The colonial legislatures assumed broad powers that they had not in reality
been given. In theory, all acts of the colonial government must be approved by the Crown,
but by the mid-1700s they would simply ignore the answer when the King said no to their
acts.

-By the mid-1700s, the relationship between the colonies & Britain was federal. The King
and Parliament retained certain powers, but the colonial legislatures exercised a broad
spectrum of powers that the King did not control.

-Changes after 1760: King George III became King in 1760. He began to deal more strictly
with the colonies. He passed restrictive trading acts and passed new taxes on the
colonies. The colonists resented these new laws and taxes. They felt they were loyal
subjects, but they refused to accept the idea that the King and Parliament could meddle in
local affairs.

-Growing Colonial Unity
-New England Confederation (1643): A league of friendship between several colonies to
fight Indian attacks. When the Indian attacks began to subside, the confederation faded
away.

-Albany Plan (1754): At a colonial trade meeting, Ben Franklyn proposed an annual
Congress of the 13 colonies that would have the power to raise military forces, regulate
trade with Native Americans, tax, and collect customs duties. This plan was ahead of its
time and not accepted, but was later remembered.

-Stamp Act Congress (1765): Harsh British tax policies met a great deal of resistance
from the colonies. Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, which required the purchase
of stamp on all documents and newspapers in the colonies. 9 colonies met in New York in
Oct 1765, to protest the new taxes. They sent a strong protest to the King called the
Declaration of Rights and Grievances. This is the first time colonists talked about taxation
without representation
-Boston Massacre (1770): Colonial resentment of the taxes grew. Although the Stamp Act
was repealed new, and stronger, taxes were passed. A boycott of British goods was
declared. On March 5, British soldiers fired on an unruly mob of protestors, killing 5.

-Committees of Correspondence (1772) Committees throughout the colonies, set up by
Samuel Adams, whose job it was to coordinate resistance throughout the colonies.

-Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773)

-The First Continental Congress
-The Intolerable Acts: In 1774, Parliament passed a new series of acts designed to punish
the colonies for the resistance in Boston and other areas. These were called the
Intolerable Acts. There was a widespread call for a meeting of all colonies to discuss the
acts. The meeting was set for Sept 1774 in Philadelphia.

-Meeting in Philadelphia (Sept 1774)
-Delegates from every state except Georgia attended the meeting.

-Declaration of Rights: The delegates sent a Declaration of Rights to the King to
protest these new policies. They urged all colonies to boycott trade with England
until the laws were repealed. The delegates called on each state to establish a
state committee to help enforce the boycott.

-When they adjourned, they called for a 2
nd
meeting in May. Over the next several
months, all 13 colonies voted to support the actions of the 1
st
Continental Congress.


-The Second Continental Congress
-Overview
-The British reacted to the Declaration of Rights as they had before: by issuing more
and stricter laws to control the colonies.

-Philadelphia (May 1775): The 2
nd
Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May
10, 1775. By this time, the shot heard round the world had already been fired at
Lexington & Concord (April 19, 1775).

-Representatives
-Reps from 13 colonies attended the 2
nd
Congress. Most of the delegates to the 1
st

Congress were present, as well as Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania & J ohn Hancock
of Massachusetts, who had not attended the earlier conference. Hancock was
elected the President of the Congress. One of its first acts was to create the
Continental Army, with George Washington as its Commander.

-Our First National Government
-By default, the 2
nd
Continental Congress became our first national government. It
served as our only government from J uly 1176 (Declaration of Independence) to
March 1781 (Articles of Confederation).

-During that time, the Congress fought a war, raised an army and a navy, borrowed
money to fight the war, made treaties with foreign governments, and did all the
things necessary to keep the new country together.
-It was set up with a unicameral Congress, with each colony receiving 1 vote. There
was no executive, whose functions were also handled by the Congress. There was
no judiciary.

-The Declaration of Independence
-J ohn Adams & Richard Henry Lee in 1776 proposed a separation from England A
committee, including J efferson & Franklin, was convened to draft a declaration of
independence. The resulting declaration, was written almost entirely by J efferson.

-The Declaration of Independence announced our intention to separate from England
because they had violated the principle of natural rights. Most of the Declaration is
a list of the grievances against the King. Once signed, the colonies became free
and independent states.

-The First State Constitutions
-Each former colony was directed to write a new constitution for its status as a state rather
than a royal colony. New Hampshire was the first to adopt its state constitution in J anuary
1776. The rest of the states soon followed.

-Massachusetts was the last state to adopt its new constitution, in 1780. It serves as an
example of how well these men did their job. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 is
still the constitution in use today. It is the oldest Constitution in use anywhere in the world.

-Although all of the constitutions were different, they shared several common ideas:
-Popular sovereignty: Government exists only with consent of the people.
-Limited government: Government only has the powers granted by the people.
-Civil rights & liberties: Each constitution contained a list of rights & liberties that
the government must respect at all times. 7 of the new constitutions contained a bill
of rights.
-Separation powers: Governmental power was divided among 3 branches to
prevent abuse of power by one branch.
-Checks & balances: Each branch would have powers that would control or check
powers of the other two branches.

Chapter 2: Origins of American Government
Section 3: The Critical Period
Key Terms: ratification, Articles of Confederation
A. The First National Constitution
1. The Articles of Confederation formed a confederation among the States. Formal
approval, i.e., ratification was needed. Articles established "firm league of friendship" among
the States who came together "for their common defense and security of their liberties and
their mutual and general welfare."
Ratification defined: The process of securing formal approval.
2. Government Structure Government under the Articles was a unicameral legislature
with no executive or judiciary. Delegates were chosen annually, as determined by the
States. No executive or judiciary (functions handled by committee of Congress). Congress
chose one of its members as "president," but not President of the United States.
3. Powers of Congress Most powers related to common defense and foreign affairs.
4. State Obligations The States agreed to accept several obligations to the central
government, but retained many powers of government for themselves. Required to give full
faith and credit, and generally accept horizontal federalism. States retained powers not
given to the Congress.
5. Weaknesses The government lacked the power to tax, or to regulate trade between
the States, and had no power to make the States obey the Articles. Congress had no power
to regulate trade between the States. Could exercise powers only with the consent of 9 of
11 State delegations. The main reason that no amendments were ever added to the Articles
of Confederation was that amendments needed the consent of all 13 State legislatures.
B. The Critical Periods, the 1780s
1. Revolutionary War ended with Treaty of Paris in 1783.
2. Disputes among the States highlighted the need for a stronger, more effective National
Government. Bickering, distrust and jealously. Several entered treaties with foreign
governments, although prohibited.
3. Economic chaos also resulted from a weak central government. Minted their own
money, taxed each other's goods. Debts went unpaid. Violence broke out in several places,
including Shay's Rebellion which was a protest against the loss of their property to tax
collectors.
4. Demands grew for stronger government. Movement grew in 1785.
C. The Meetings at Mount Vernon and Annapolis
1. Maryland and Virginia, plagued by trade problems, agreed to a trade conference for the
purpose of recommending a federal plan for regulating commerce. First met at Alexandria,
VA in March, 1785. Moved to Mount Vernon at Washington's invitation. Virginia Assembly
called to a "joint meeting of all the States to recommend a federal plan for regulating
commerce." J oint meeting set for Annapolis, MD to discuss trade, but only 5 of 13 States
attended. Another meeting called for Philadelphia.
2. A majority of States convened in Philadelphia to improve the Articles of Confederation.
This meeting became the Constitutional Convention.
Chapter 2: Origins of American Government
Section 4: Creating the Constitution
Key Words: Framers; Virginia Plan; New J ersey Plan; Connecticut Compromise; Three-Fifths
Compromise; Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

Chapter 2 Origins of American Government
Section 4 Creating the Constitution

-Constitutional Convention convened on May 25, 1787

-The Framers
-12 of 13 of the states sent representatives (all except Rhode Island)
-Only 55 of the 74 state representatives actually showed up in Philadelphia
-These 55 delegates who actually showed up are called The Framers
-Many of those who attended were very well known
-Many had taken part in the Revolution
-39 had been members of either the Continental Congress or the Congress of the
Confederation
-8 had served in state constitutional conventions
-7 had been state governors
-8 had signed the Declaration of Independence
-31 had attended college
-2 were college presidents
-3 were college professors
-2 would later become President of the US, 1 would become Vice President, 17
would later serve in the Senate, and 11 would serve in the House of
Representatives

-Perhaps even more surprising were those who didnt attend:
-Patrick Henry refused to attend because he smelt a rat
-Samuel Adams, J ohn Hancock, & Richard Henry Lee were not selected as delegates
-Thomas Paine was in Paris
-Thomas J efferson was the American Minister to France
-J ohn Adams was the American envoy to Great Britain

-Organization & Procedure
-Overview
-The Framers met in Independence Hall in Philadelphia
-George Washington was elected to be President of the convention

-One of the first things the Framers decided to do was to work in secrecy
-They hoped this would protect them from outside pressure during the Convention

-Momentous Decision
-The purpose of the Convention was to somehow fix the Articles of Confederation
-It soon became obvious that they were too broken to fix
-On May 30
th
, the convention proposed that they build a completely new form of
government based on a legislative, executive, and judicial branch

-Virginia Plan
-On May 29, Virginia put forth a plan for a government based on the 3 branches
-They proposed a bicameral (2 houses) legislature
-Representation in each house would be determined by population or the amount of money
contributed to the national government
-This plan was favored by the states with large populations, since it would give them more
power in the legislature
-This plan was completely different than the government set up under the Articles

-New J ersey Plan
-The states with small populations feared that they would be dominated in the legislature by
the large states, so they put forward an alternate plan
-The legislature in the New J ersey plan would be unicameral (1 house) where there
would be an equal number of representatives from each state
-This plan was favored by the states with small populations, since they would have
the same voting power in the legislature as the large states
-This plan would essentially take the Articles and make a few changes

-Connecticut Compromise
-The issue of representation was very contentious and almost ended the convention
-Several states threatened to walk out of the convention over this issue
-Connecticut Compromise
-Connecticut came up with a compromise plan
-Under this plan, the legislature would be bicameral
-One house would have representation based on population, while the other would
have equal representation for each state
-This representation plan for both houses satisfied both the large and the small states
-This compromise is so important that it is called The Great compromise

-3/5 Compromise
-Once the representation plan was worked out for the 2 houses, another problem arose
-If representation in one house was to be based on population, it was important to agree on
how population would be counted
-This was an important questions for the slave-holding states, who wanted to have slaves
counted for representation
-The non-slave states did not want slaves counted when determining representation
-Another compromise settled this problem: For representation, you would count all free
persons and 3/5 of all others.
-This provision became Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, but went away with
the 13
th
Amendment

-Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise
-The southern agricultural states feared that they would be dominated by the northern states
by controlling the two things they needed to be successful agriculturally:
-The ability to export their goods
-Slaves to work their plantations
-Another compromise settled this problem also:
-The Convention agreed that Congress should never be able to tax exports
-They also agreed that Congress could not do anything to control the slave trade for
20 years from the date of the ratification of the Constitution

-A Bundle of Compromises
-As Franklin said, the convention spent much of its time sawing boards to make them fit.
-The Framers had very different opinions on how the government should be formed
-Compromise was necessary to form a government that would be acceptable to all of the
states
-Although there were many differences, there were also some common points among the
delegates:
-All agreed that a new national government was needed
-The national government needed the powers necessary to deal with national issues
-All agreed on the concepts of popular sovereignty & limited government
-All agreed on the idea of a representative government
-Separation of powers and checks and balances were also a common idea

-The Convention Completes Its Work
-The Constitution was written in its final form and approved by the Convention on Sept 17,
1787
-Franklin, in his final speech at the Convention, said in part I agree with Constitution to all
its faults, if they are such



Chapter 2: Origins of American Government
Section 5: Ratifying the Constitution
Key Terms: Federalist; Anti-Federalists

A. Ratification
1. Remember that under the Articles of Confederation, unanimity of the states was required
for changes. That is what led to the drafting to a new constitution. Under the new
constitution, nine of the states had to ratify. Not a simple majority of the states.
2. Federalists favored ratification, stressing the weaknesses of the Articles. Included J ames
Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Wanted more federal power.
3. Anti-Federalists opposed it, attacking ratification process, absence of mention of God, to
the denial to the States of a power to print money. Included such notables as Patrick Henry,
J ohn Hancock and Samuel Adams. Included two future Presidents, J efferson and Monroe.
The Anti-Federalists were so powerful during the ratification process largely because many
of their leaders had also led during the Revolutionary War.
4. Debate about ratification involved the follow objections, among others:
(a) the increased power of the central government (MAJ OR OBJ ECTION);
(b) the Constitution lacked bill of rights (MAJ OR OBJ ECTION);
(c) God was not mentioned in the document
(d) the Constitution did not allow States to print money.
5. Free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, all later contained in the Bill
of Rights, were not explicitly guaranteed during the ratification process.
6. Success was achieved when Virginia and New York ratified the document in the summer
of 1788. The Federalist Papers was a collection of letters to newspaper editors used by the
Federalists to convince citizens in New York to support the Constitution. Ratification of the
Constitution in those states was crucial because they were two of the largest, most
populous states. Didn't give ratification a simple majority.
B. Inauguration of the New Government
1. The ratification process in New York gave rise to The Federalist, a collection of 85 essays
written in support of the Constitution. Said to be the most convincing commentary on the
meaning of the Constitution.
2. The new government assembled in its temporary capital, New York City, in March 1789.
3. In April 1789, George Washington was elected President of the United States.