1. CHAPTER 2
ORIGINS OF AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT

2. SECTION 1: OUR POLITICAL BEGINNING
EQ: How
does the
Constitution
reflect the
times in
which it was
written?

3. BASIC CONCEPTS OF NEW
GOVERNMENT
•Ordered
Government
•Limited
Government
•Representative
Government

4. LANDMARK ENGLISH DOCUMENTS
The Magna Carta The Petition of Right
The English Bill of Rights

5. IN THE
BEGINNING
Each colony could
govern itself but the
KING still had authority

6. SECTION 2 – THE COMING
OF INDEPENDENCE
EQ: What events and ideas led
to American Independence?

7. AMERICAN’S CONCERNS
Large
increase
in taxes to
support the
British army
leads to
increased
resentment

8. COLONIAL UNITY
New England Confederation,
1643
The Albany Plan, 1754

9. THE STAMP ACT
“Taxation
without
representation”
–

10. ORGANIZED
RESISTANCE
Boston Massacre leaves five
colonists dead

11. BOSTON
TEA PARTY
Major protest against the
British which outrages them

12. FIRST CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS
Sent a Declaration of Rights to the king
in protest of Britain’s colonial policies

13. SECOND CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS
British
condemned
the delegates
as traitors

14. Officially
creates a
new nation

15. SECTION 3 – THE CRITICAL
PERIOD
EQ: What weaknesses in the Articles
of Confederation made a lasting
government impossible?

16. Established
“a firm
league of
friendship”
among the
States
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

17. OUTLINES OF THE ARTICLES
Government Structure
Powers of Congress
State Obligations

18. WEAKNESSES
No power to:
•Tax
•Regulate trade
•Force to obey
•Adjust the
Articles

19. Post war era showcases the
weaknesses of the Articles
THE CRITICAL PERIOD

20. States meet in
Philadelphia
for the
Constitutional
Convention
to discuss a
stronger
government

21. Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan =
THE GREAT COMPROMISE

22. September 17, 1787 –approved and
signed by 39 delegates

23. Constitution Preamble –
Schoolhouse Rock

24. 5 Additional Resources
• Independence Hall National Park
• Slideshare – Origins of American Government
• Teaching American History – The Constitutiona
• Declaration of Independence text
• Constitution text

25. IMAGES USED

26. Resource Used
McClenaghan, W. A. (2010). Magruder’s American
Government. Pearson Prentice Hall, Boston.