This document provides an overview of the origins of American government from English political influences to the establishment of self-government in the colonies. It discusses how the English traditions of limited government and representative democracy were brought over by early settlers. Key events that established these principles in England, like the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights, influenced the colonies. Tensions grew between Britain and its colonies over taxation and control, leading the colonies to unite and declare independence through the Continental Congresses and the Declaration of Independence.

1. Origins of American Government
Chapter Two

2. Key Words
• limited government
• representative government
• separation of powers
• revenue
• embargo
• ratify
• unicameral
• cede
• Ordinance
• interstate commerce
• extralegal
• anarchy

3. An English Political Heritage
• Even though North
America was populated
by people from
numerous countries,
people from England
made up the bulk
• They came with their
culture, traditions, and
their ideas about
government
Two Key Principles
1.Limited
Government
2.Representative
government

4. Limited Government
• Government was not all-
powerful
• First appeared in the
Magna Carta. (1215)
• Protection against unjust
punishment and the lost
of life, liberty, and
property according to law.

5. Petition of Right
• While Parliament
maintained some influence,
strong monarchs dominated
England.
• That changed with Charles I
• After dissolving Parliament,
placing soldiers in private
homes, and placing area
under martial law. Charles
was forced to sign the
Petition of Rights

6. English Bill of Rights
• English Bill of Rights, a
document that would
later be very important
the American colonies,
was created.
1. No Absolute Authority
2. Parliament consent on
major issues.
3. No interference with
parliament
proceedings.
4. Right to Petition
5. Right to unusual
punishment.

7. Representative Government
• People elected delegates
to make laws and conduct
government.
• The upper chamber, the
House of Lords
• The lower chamber, The
House of Commons.
• Mix of noblemen and
commoners

8. The Zeitgeist of the Times
• The Enlightenment
– An intellectual and
philosophical movement
dominated the world of ideas
in Europe during the 18th
century
• The French Revolution
– French citizens razed and
redesigned their country’s
political landscape, uprooting
centuries-old institutions
such as absolute monarchy
and the feudal system.

9. John Locke
• English writer of Two
Treatises on Government
• Says that people are the
source of power
• Government must protect
our natural rights
– “All people have the
natural rights,
including life, liberty,
and property.

10. Thomas Hobbs
• English writer of
Leviathan
• Said government must
protect people from
themselves
– “Without government
our lives would be
nasty, brutish, and
short!”.

11. Other Enlightenment Figures
Montesquieu
Separation of Powers
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Government is an agree
or contract between
ruler and people
Mary Wollstonecraft
Strengthen the female
mind

12. Government in the Colonies
• The Thirteen Colonies
(1607-1733)
• Each colony had its own
government with three
branches of government
• For years, citizens loved
being British colonies!

13. The Mayflower Compact
• On September 16, 1620
the Mayflower, a British
ship, with 102
passengers, who called
themselves Pilgrims,
aboard sailed from
Plymouth, England. They
were bound for the New
World.
• The first example of many
colonial’s plan for self
government.

14. Colonial Legislatures
• The Virginia House of
Burgesses was the first
legislature in the
Americans in 1619.
• In England, the king
appointed the Church
of England as the new
religion, but the mainly
Puritan colonist did not
agree.

15. Separations of Power
• Colonial charters
divided the power of
government.
• Executive- Enforce
• Legislative- Make
• Judicial- Interpret
• Training ground for the
“founding fathers”

16. Uniting for Independence
Section Two

17. The Colonies on Their Own
• To the British, the
American colonies
existed for the
economic benefit for
England.
• The “Americans”
provide raw materials in
exchange for protection
from the French and
Native Americans.

18. Britain Tightens Control
• Two events changed the
relationship between the
colonist and the British.
• First, was the French and
Indian War (1754-1763)
• Second, was the crowning
of George III, who had
radical ideas of governing.

19. The Seven Years War
• The French and Indian
War comprised the North
American theater of the
worldwide Seven Years'
War of 1754–63. It pitted
the colonies of British
America against those of
New France.
• Britain would win the war,
but accumulated a
massive amount of debt.

20. Taxing the Colonies
• The Stamp Act of 1765-
imposed the first direct
tax on paper, newspapers,
and even playing cards.
• Britain's revenue
increased, resentment did
as well.
• The Intolerable Act were
the last straw.

21. The First Continental Congress
• When: September 5, 1774
• Where: Philadelphia
• How: All the colonies
except Georgia
• What: debate what to do
about their poor
relationship with Britain.
The Solution
An embargo- an agreement
prohibiting trade with
Britain and agreeing not to
use British goods.
“The Shoot Heard Around
the World”

22. The Second Continental Congress
• Three weeks after the
first, the delegates meet
again and agreed that
John Hancock would be
the president of the
new “Congress”
• Made a military force
and asked George
Washington to be its
leader.

23. The Declaration of Independence
• John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, and Tomas Jefferson,
Robert Livingston, and Roger
Sherman were asked by a
committee to draft a list of
demands that would be sent
to King Charles.
• 1. Describes a violation of
colonists political, civil and
economic liberties.
• 2. Efforts to reach a peaceful
solution to their problems and
how to separate from England.