Chapter 4: America’s Political Heritage

Social Science

A Voice in Government

The values and experiences that the settlers developed is all a part of our heritage, or tradition passed down from generation to generation

In the beginning, the English government set up each colony with a charter, or a document giving permission to create a government Each colony had a governor, who would report to the

king, who had final say over the business of the colony

Colonists elected representatives to the legislature, a group of people chosen to make the laws Representatives were called burgesses

Rights of the colonists

Even though each colony had representation, they had little say back in England, and the governor of each state did as the king told him to do, so the rights of the people weren’t realized

Citizens rights were different back in the 18th century than they are today White men with land could vote and

run for office African Americans were slaves

Even though the American colonists had little rights, they were one of the only colonies to have any rights

Roots of our Freedoms

The religious freedom we have today came from our first settlers, the Pilgrims and Quakers Both fled England to escape religious

persecution, and allowed all religions to be practiced in their colonies

The other settlers, the Puritans, did what the British did to them and condemned those who did not practice their religion

Freedom of speech came from a simple trial in New York Publisher John Peter Zenger criticized the

government for accepting bribes and interfering with elections, so he was arrested

His lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued that Zenger was allowed to speak if his accusations were true

Roots for a change in government

By the mid-1700’s, England increased their control on the American colonies The concept of tyranny, or the abuse of

power, began circulating through the colonies

Many political advocates began searching for a new type of government for the colonies Researched the concept of direct

democracy, or a form of government in which laws were made directly by the citizens, from the ancient Greeks

Also researched the concept of a republic, or a form of government in which representatives were elected to make laws, from ancient Rome

English law

During the Middle Ages, the English land was ruled by kings, who treated their citizens like subjects, and who sometimes abused their powers

In the early 1200’s, nobles were strong enough to go against the king, and forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, which cited the rights that all men should have, and no monarch should take away

As time went on, the English created a Parliament that represented the people, and the English Bill of Rights was passed, further limiting the power of the monarch Cited that all men should obey the law,

and that all men should have a fair trial

Philosophy and Reason

In the early 1700’s, many scholars wrote about people using reason to recognize their natural rights, or rights they are born with and that no government can take away John Locke of England wrote that the

government works for the people, and that their main job is to protect the peoples’ natural rights of life, liberty, and property

Montesquieu of France proposed the idea of separation of powers, or dividing government power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches

A Clash of Views

Different views from the English colonists and the English government on certain issues would eventually lead to conflict The English believed that

Parliament represented everyone, and the colonist believed that they were represented by their legislature, which they had little of

England had exclusive rights to trade with the colonists, while the colonists wanted to trade with other countries also

No Taxation without Representation

Facing debts from the French and Indian War, England decided to gain money from the colonists through taxes Colonists disagreed, saying that without representation in

Parliament, they should not have to pay taxes In order for the colonists to pay taxes, England gave the

governors power to arrest those who didn’t pay their taxes

Colonists began organizing Committees of Correspondence to pass news of England’s violation of colonists’ rights to the other colonies

In 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress, trying to persuade the English to respect the colonists’ rights Met a year later, in 1775, to discuss breaking away from England

The Declaration of Independence

Inspired by Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” pamphlet, The delegates voted to become independent from England and set up a committee to write a declaration Included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,

and Benjamin Franklin

In his declaration, Jefferson described the rights that all men have, that people give power to the government if those rights are protected, and listed the ways in which England had ignored these rights

With the signers pledging to support it, it was finalized on July 4th, 1776, in Philadelphia

Organizing a New Government

Because people were so used to being governed by a written plan, each state had to create a constitution in order to limit the government’s powers and the power of the governor

While in conflict with England, delegates from the colonies tried to unite to create a national government. Proved difficult because of how to structure the government in

order to protect the people and serve the interests of each state

In 1777, the colonies united as one, and approved the Articles of Confederation, which called for representatives from each state forming a national legislature, which would have the power to wage war, make treaties, and work out trade agreements It took 4 years for all the states to ratify, or approve, the articles

The U.S. after the war

After the United States won the American Revolution, they had to face another challenge: forming a new government

Its first issues were trying to get money to pay off the war debts while also trying to trade with England in order to make profits Farmers suffered because they

could not sell their crops to other colonies and the government had to tax them in order to keep the economy flowing Resulted in several rebellions,

which resulted in a call for a stronger national government