Early America on the road to self-government Looking at our
Founding Fathers English Heritage through documents
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Democracy was not created in a heartbeat. In a world where
people were ruled by monarchs from above, the idea of
self-government is entirely alien
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The American founders were well versed in the writings of their
English heritage Magna Carta (1215) Mayflower Compact (1620)
Petition of Right (1628) Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641)
English Bill of Rights (1688) Declaration of Independence
(1776)
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Time for a Treasure Hunt Grab an Ipad Get into Groups of up to
5 Each Group has a Founding Documents Treasure Hunt sheet Take a
look at the Directions
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Most of the early Americans came from England Brought with them
2 Principles Limited Government RepresentativeGovernment
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Limited Government def: Govt on which strict limits are placed,
usually by a constitution Early English History Absolute Monarchy
claimed supreme autocratic power by divine right, and that their
subjects had no rights to limit their power Makes me a happy man!
BUTEnglish monarchy began to be limited in their power By the 19th
century, the Divine Right (a monarch is subject to no earthly
authority, deriving the right to rule directly from the will of
God) was regarded as an obsolete reason why someone should rule
NOOOO!
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Where does the Parliament fit in? First glimpse In 1066 William
of Normandy introduced a feudal system Sought the advice of a
council of tenants-in-chief (a person who held land) and
ecclesiastics (member of the clergy or other person in religious
orders) before making laws.
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Documents that limited power 1215Magna Carta (The Great
Charter) King John was not a good King. He liked to fight wars kept
raising taxes but then he kept losing wars, and losing territory.
Barons FORCED (threat of rebellion) John to sign (limit his power)
** Increased role of the royal council (consent) NPR radio segment
radio Englands National Treasure Gradually became Parliament
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Documents that limited power Mayflower Compact The passengers
declared their intention to start the first colony in the northern
parts of Virginia. - Stated that they had now covenanted and
combined themselves into a society for their better Ordering and
Preservation of the colony
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Documents that limited power 1628 Petition of Right Throughout
reign, King Charles I collected customs duties (TAXES) by the royal
prerogative. - This continued even though Parliament had voted in
1625, against long-standing custom and set a precedent that the
king could collect this only for one year. ALSO Charles was helping
King of France fight civil war (needed money) HOWEVER under the
terms of the Magna Carta taxes could not be collectedhowever he
did. **imposed without the agreement of Parliament. (Parliament
against this) ALSO tried to raise money without Parliament through
a Forced Loan in 1626, and imprisoned without trial a number of
those who refused to pay it. 1628 Parliament forced the King to
assent to the Petition of Right. (focused on his violations of the
law) *The king accepted the Petition of Right, but soon broke his
word and resumed the violations. 1629 King dissolved Parliament He
did not call another one for 11 years - Made it known his distaste
for dealing with Parliament and his belief that the royal
prerogative allowed him to rule and to raise money without
[parliament] In 1648 Charles was forced to appear before a high
court (controlled by his enemies) where he was convicted of treason
and sentenced to death. Early in the next year, he was
beheaded.
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Documents that limited power Massachusetts Body of Liberties
(1641) Internal Strife within colony - Theocratic Oligarchy
(Puritans) or Representative Government *Was one of the first
written governing documents in New England civil and criminal laws
that governed specific behavior and punishment Written by a Puritan
leader Nathaniel Ward (Minister and Lawyer), intended to assist the
General Court. - Many of the limits on governmental power listed
were included in the Magna Carta or came out of British common law
but also included Mosaic Principles (Bible)
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Documents that limited power 1689 English Bill of Rights As
part of what is called the Glorious Revolution (Locke and Two
Treatise Government) *a blood-less coup which led to the overthrow
of King James II In order to limit the powers of King William III
and Mary of Orange who ascended to the throne in 1689 (Conditions
they had to agree to) - to prevent abuse of powers in future
monarchs Parliament issued a declaration, later enacted as the Bill
of Rights **Changed the role and powers of the Kings of England
from those of an Absolute monarch to a Constitutional monarch. An
'Absolute Monarchy' meant the king had the power to do anything
without any constraint by law or parliament A 'Constitutional
Monarchy' meant the king acted as a figurehead whose power was
limited by parliament British colonists in North American British
Citizens familiar with
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Representative Government People choose a limited number of
individuals to make governmental decisions for all citizens England
- Parliament Upper Chamber - House of Lords (hereditary or
appointed for life) Lower Chamber House of Commons (elected from
districts)
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Iroquois Confederacy The Great Law Path from the Iroquois to
Constitution