Government_Ch2_info

=**Ch. 2 Origins of American Government Background Information**=

**The Colonial Period:**
America has an English heritage since the colonies were British colonies. The English established and governed the 13 colonies and brought many traditions and ideas of government that were developing for centuries. One idea the developed through the colonies was limited government, which had first appeared in the English Magna Carta, or Great charter, in 1215 that King John was forced to sign. The Magna Carta first limited the king's power and it defined power of the government as something that was limited, or not absolute. Another important English document was the Petition of Right, which limited the king's power even more when Charles I called back the Parliament in 1628. The limits include Parliament approval to collect taxes, couldn't imprison people without just cause, couldn't force people to house soldiers, and couldn't declare martial law (military control of the country) unless the nation was at war. A third important English document that established more of a limited government is the English Bill of Rights. In 1688, Parliament put William and Mary on the throne in what was called the "Glorious Revolution" since it was peaceful. They had to sign this new document. It set clear limits on the monarch and established that the monarchy was not absolute. Representative government was also an idea that developed in the colonies. This was a belief in the colonies, which is a government that people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government on their behalf. A lot of political ideas were written by John Locke including what he wrote about natural rights and that people could change a government that didn't protect natural rights - life, liberty, and property.

In terms of colonial governments, each colony had its own government with a royal governor and elected colonial legislature. This was approved by the British monarch as a system of rule in the colonies. Each colonies over time developed their own written constitutions that guaranteed basic liberties and limited power of leaders, elected legislatures, and had a separation of powers. The idea of written constitutions came from colonial times. The Mayflower Compact in 1620 was written by the Pilgrims and was a written agreement to stay together and was the first example of self-government in the colonies. In 1636, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first basic system of written laws and was the first constitution in the colonies, an idea that would be done in other colonies as each set up systems of limited government and rule of law. In Pennsylvania, William Penn would develop the Charter of Privileges in 1701 that provided religious tolerance and was the basic foundation in Pennsylvania. Penn established a colony that allowed all Christians to practice their faith as they chose. There was a stipulation in the charter that stated that in order to be in the PA colonial government, one had to be a Christian. PA was the first colony to grant religious freedom as other colonies had established (official colonial) churches. No only were written constitutions developed in the colonies, but the idea of legislatures were too. Representative assemblies would be set up with the first being the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown. It became an established tradition in the colonies before independence. This was a clear example of government ruling with the consent of the governed. Separation of powers also developed in the colonies. Colonial charters divided power. The governor was the king's agent in the colonies. Legislatures made laws and courts heard cases. This principle of separation of powers had been something popularized by Charles-Louis Montesquieu in //The Spirit of Laws//.

**Uniting for Independence:**
The colonies were to serve as a source of raw materials and market for british goods, but the colonists were accustomed to governing themselves through representatives due to the distance from Britain. They remained loyal for protection from France and Spain. However, Britain began to tighten their control over the colonies. Two major events changed the easy relationship between the colonies and Britain. One was the French and Indian War, which started as a struggle between Britain and France for land in western PA into Ohio. Britain won and protection from the French was no longer needed. Britain had a war debt and expected the colonists to help pay the debt. Two was King George III taking the throne of England. King George III had a different view on governing the colonies.

The British have a constitution and did during colonial times as well. However, their constitution isn't a written constitution, but is rather the customs and traditions of the British government. In the 1620s in Virginia the colonial legislature was the authority to levy taxes on the colonists, which was approved by the royal governor who was the king's official in the colonies. Other colonies did the same. This meant that by tradition and past practice a.k.a. the British constitution the king, through the royal governor, gave the colonial legislatures the permission to levy taxes on the colonists. This was the way it worked clear until the end of the French and Indian War. King George III was determined to deal firmly with the colonies and put taxes on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products to help pay for the war. The Stamp Act (1765) was the first direct tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers, dice, and playing cards, which led to resentment and protesting since this was a violation of the British constitution since it was taxation without representation. One major protest took place in 1773 with the Boston Tea Party. As a result, the British passed the Intolerable Acts punishing Massachusetts closing the harbor and taking away self-government.

The idea of colonial unity was developing in 1754 after Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union leading into the French and Indian War. It was rejected by the colonies since they saw it as giving up too much power. Ideas for unity were developing again in the 1760s. In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress of 9 colonies met in New York and sent a petition to the king arguing that only colonial legislatures could levy direct taxes, which was correct based on the British constitution. In 1773, Committees of Correspondence were urging resistance to the British. Samuel Adams was a major leader in Boston. On September 5, 1774 the First Continental Congress was held. It was a meeting of all colonies (except Georgia). They imposed an embargo (agreement prohibiting trade) on Britain and agreed not to use British goods. King George III sent troops who clashed with colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord in 1775. The "shot heard 'round the world" began the American Revolution. Within three weeks of shots being fired, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and assumed powers of a working government. John Hancock was chosen as the Congress's president. The Continental Army was formed and would be led by George Washington.

A movement for independence had been growing when Thomas Paine wrote //Common Sense//, which was a pamphlet that pushed for independence. Samuel Adams suggested independence and is often called the Father of the American Revolution for his active role. Richard Henry Lee proposed independence. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, which was approved July 4, 1776. It was a statement of purpose and basic human rights. It also lists specific complaints about King George III. This document officially broke the colonies away from Britain. The colonies became states (nations). Two months before declaring independence, the Continental Congress instructed each colony to form governments to best lead their constituents (people). Most contained a bill of rights granting personal liberties and limited governments.

**Articles of Confederation:**
The 13 states formed a confederation or "league of friendship" and by March 1781 all 13 states had ratified, or approved of the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles of Confederation, there was a unicameral (one chamber) Congress from which executive positions were chosen. A committee of the states with one delegate from each had control when Congress wasn't in session. Congress only had the powers given in the Articles. All other powers, which was most of the powers, were with the independent states.

There were several weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles set up a weak central government with each state being sovereign. The Congress under the Articles didn't have the power to levy or collect taxes. Therefore, paying the war debt was impossible since each state argued over how much each state should pay. The Congress couldn't regulate trade, which was often a dispute among several states. For example, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania argued over which state controlled the Chesapeake Bay. The Congress couldn't force the state to obey laws. The Congress was only able to ask the states to comply to laws. All 13 states had to agree to change the Articles, which was never done. There was no executive branch to enforce laws. Also, there was no central court system to settle disputes between the states.

There were some notable achievements of America under the Articles of Confederation. The Congress established a fair policy for development of lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. Individual states ceded (yielded) claims to the territories to the central government. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the principle that the territories were to be developed for statehood on an equal basis with the other states. The peace treaty with Britain was accomplished in 1783 recognizing American independence. There were departments set up under the Articles, which were the departments of Foreign Affairs, War, Marine, and the Treasury, which set the precedent for the creation of cabinet departments under the Constitution. Each state must give full faith and credit to the legal acts of the other states and treat one another's citizens without discrimination (which was often ignored). This "Full Faith and Credit Clause" would be put into the Constitution when it would be written.

There was definitely a need for a stronger central government since state actions couldn't be coordinated when necessary under the Articles of Confederation. Problems were growing as the states were quarreling after the war, mostly about tariffs and boundary lines. The government owed money to France for aid and soldiers during the Revolution. An army and navy couldn't be maintained without money and there was no centralized taxing power. An economic depression in 1786 left farmers and merchants angry and in debt. In Massachusetts, after several farmers were prosecuted for debts and put in jail, an armed group of farmers forced several courts to close. Daniel Shays led a group to close the Massachusetts state supreme court and then took an arsenal to get the state to allow farmers to keep their farms in the depression. This would be Shays Rebellion. The Massachusetts state militia ended up putting down the rebellion, but it showed the weaknesses of the Articles.

George Washington invited representatives from Virginia and Maryland to talk about disputes over control of the Chesapeake Bay. He decided to hold a larger conference and invited more states to Annapolis, but only five were in attendance. At Annapolis, they asked the Congress to authorize a larger conference in Philadelphia and for each state to send delegates. This was approved by the Congress and would be held in May of 1787. Their goal would be to revise the Articles of Confederation.

**Constitutional Convention:**
The Philadelphia Conference would become known as the Constitutional Convention. The presence of George Washington ensured trust int he work at the convention. Benjamin Franklin provided wisdom and experience. James Madison came up with the basic plan and had many of the ideas. Madison would be called "Father of the Constitution." George Washington presided over the meetings. Delegates kept the public and press from the sessions that they could talk and debate freely. All delegates favored limited and representative government. Powers of the national government should be divided among legislative, executive, and judicial branches, or separation of powers, was also agreed to at the convention. There was agreement that revisions were needed to make the national government a little stronger.

There were major arguments that needed compromise. The biggest argument was over how each state would be represented in the legislature. The Virginia Plan was introduced by Edmund Randolph from resolutions drafted by James Madison, which called for a legislature with two chambers (one elected by the people and the other elected by the first chamber), a national executive chosen by the legislature, and a national judiciary appointed by the legislature. Smaller states saw more populous states having more control. Overall, the Virginia Plan would have the representation in the legislature be based on population in each state. The New Jersey Plan was the counterproposal led by William Paterson, which wanted a one chamber (unicameral) legislature with one vote from each state with representation being equal from each state. This central argument over whether to go on representation from each state or the same number from each state between big and small states almost led to the convention dissolving. However, the Great Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman (called the Connecticut Plan) to have a House of Representatives based on population (Virginia Plan) and a Senate with the same number from each state (New Jersey Plan).

There were other compromises at the convention was well. The Three-Fifths Compromise was needed when southern states demanded that slavery not be banned yet the South wanted to count the slaves in population for the House of Representatives, but didn't want the slaves counted in taxing. Every 50,000 slaves would earn a representative in the House instead of 30,000 as it was for free people. This was a mechanism that was meant to encourage the South to free their slaves. In terms of commerce (trade), the North wanted the government to have complete power of commerce while the South didn't since it depended on agricultural exports and feared the North may interfere with the slave trade. It was agreed that the slave trade wouldn't be banned till 1808 and Congress would have power to regulate only interstate commerce and trade with foreign nations. Other compromises included having the president elected by the Electoral College.

For the Constitution to go into effect, 9 of the 13 state ratifying conventions had to ratify, or approve of the new document. The Federalists were those who supported the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists were those against the new Constitution mostly since the meeting was in secret and it didn't have a bill of rights. The promise of a bill of rights brought support. New York was a key state that needed to be convinced. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the //Federalist Papers//, which were articles that explained the benefits of the new Constitution. The new government began with New York City as its temporary capital. George Washington was elected the first president and John Adams the first Vice President. James Madison introduced in Congress the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights.

Back to the Chapter 2 main page