Unit 3 – Foundations of American Government

Unit 3 – Lesson 1 – Part 1 - What basic ideas and principles did the founders of this country have about government? What philosophies and earlier documents influenced them? What did they consider to be the purpose of government? SS.7.C.1.1– Recognize how Enlightenment ideas including Montesquieu’s view of separation of power and John Locke’s theories related to natural law and how Locke’s social contract influenced the Founding Fathers. SS.7.C.1.2– Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had on colonists’ view s of government. SS.7.C.1.3 – Describe how English policies and responses to colonial concerns led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. SS.7.C.1.4 – Analyze the idea (natural rights, role of the government) and complaints set forth in the Declaration of Independence .

Student Objectives: *Students will understand the roots of our American government. * Students will learn how the American colonies were governed. * Students will identify how the colonies moved towards independence. * Students will discover how our nation’s early governments worked.

Essential Questions: 1) Where does government come from, and what is government’s purpose?

Unit 3 – Lesson1 – Part 1 – Passport Vocabulary Direct Democracy – A type of government where every citizen votes for the laws that they follow. Republic – A representative form of government where citizens elect representatives to make rules and laws for them. Legislature - The body, or group of representatives when they meet to discuss or pass laws. Magna Carta- A historical document that was signed in 1215 by King John that said he would respect certain basic rights. Due Process – The process by which a person cannot be jailed or executed without a proper trial. Parliament - The English legislature.

Unit 3 – Lesson1 – Part 1 – Passport Vocabulary Common Law – The tradition of laws created from the history of court cases and law related customs that developed over the centuries in England. Mayflower Compact – A document written in 1620 that is considered to be America’s first written constitution. It was a pan for governing the new colony of Massachusetts. House of Burgesses – A group of representatives that met to discuss and debate issues, make laws, and pass taxes for the Virginia colony. Charter – A document from the English king that set up a colony. Governor - An official that represented the English king in the colony. All laws made by the legislature had to be approved by the Governor.

Unit 3– Lesson1 – Part 1 – Heritage of Greece and Rome/Direct Democracy The Ancient Greeks were the first people to develop a democracy. In some of their city states, such as Athens, all the adult male citizens formed the government. We call this kind of government a direct democracy, because every citizen voted for the laws they followed. Women and slaves were not citizens so they had to voice in government. Democracy worked well for the Greeks because their city states were small and citizens could meet and discuss issues face to face. The Heritage of Ancient Greece and Rome Direct Democracy

Unit 3– Lesson1 – Part 1 - Heritage of Greece and Rome/Republic Like the Greeks the Ancient Romans believed that citizens should run their own government. The Romans didn’t want a rule by kings. But the Roman Empire stretched over thousands of miles. Direct democracy was not possible. Rome developed a republic, a representative form of government. In a republic citizens elect representatives to make the rules and laws for them. When the representatives meet in a group to discuss and pass laws, that body or group, is called a legislature. In the Roman Republic the legislature was the Roman Senate. The Heritage of Ancient Greece and Rome Republic

Unit 3 – Lesson1 – Part 1 – Background History – England/Great Britain England had a history of freedom for its citizens and limits on the power of its monarchs. Four important developments in English history shaped the way that England was ruled and governed. They were: 1) The signing of the Magna Carta. 2) The development of the English Bill of Rights. 3) The development of England’s unwritten constitution. 4) The use of common law.

Unit 3– Lesson 1 – Part I – Magna Carta In 1215 a group of powerful nobles forced England’s King John to sign the Magna Carta. The document stated that the king would respect certain basic rights, including a trial by jury and due process of law, which meant that the king could not have someone jailed or executed without a proper trial. At first these rights applied only to the nobles but over time all people were covered. The Magna Carta

Unit 3 – Lesson 1 – Part I – English Bill of Rights The English Bill of Rights In 1689, after years of wars and bitter power struggles between the English kings and their subjects, Parliament, the English legislature – invited William the III to become king and agree to a Bill of Rights.

Unit 3– Lesson1 – Part 1 – Common Law Governments and laws have traditions. These rules and customs aren’t written down. In most countries, they have been created over many years. Like family traditions, people know them and follow them. British common law is the tradition of laws created from the history of court cases and law related customs that developed over the centuries in England. British common law guides Great Britain’s legal system and influenced the American system. Common Law

Unit 3– Lesson1 – Part 1 – Background History continued…. * English colonists began to arrive in North America in the early 1600s. They came here for many reasons, though most hoped to become richer than they were in Europe. * Some colonists came to escape certain laws and rulers. For example, one group, the Pilgrims, came to have religious freedom. * The English colonists created the colonies which were small settlements that in time became large areas like the states we know today. The 13 original colonies were; New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. *The colonists brought the Common Law tradition to the colonies. Even after the colonies become independent, British common law remained part of American law. Background history continued...

The 13 Colonies…. Brain Pop – 13 Colonies

The Mayflower Compact

Unit 3– Lesson 1 – Part 1 – Mayflower Compact Some people consider the Mayflower Compact to be America’s first written constitution. The Mayflower left England in 1620, full of settlers heading for Virginia, but the ship strayed off course and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. There were no colonial laws or colonial charters in Massachusetts to provide law and government for them. So the men on board decided to write a plan for governing the new colony. The result was the Mayflower Compact which was guided by the Greek ideas of: 1) Direct Democracy 2) Using majority agreement at public town meetings to make laws. The Mayflower Compact

Unit 3– Lesson 1 – Part 1 – The House of Burgesses The governor was the representative of the British King in the colony. He approved any and all laws that were passed by the colonists . One governor of the Virginia colony, Sir George Yeardly, didn’t want to travel to every village in the colony to approve laws passed by local assemblies. Instead he asked each of the assemblies to select someone who would speak for them. He invited those representatives to meetings in Williamsburg. The group, now called the House of Burgesses, met to discuss and debate issues, make laws, and pass taxes for the Virginia colony. The representative system became widely used in other American colonies before the independence. The House of Burgesses Passport Question: Does the House of Burgesses sound like anything we have today?

Unit 3– Lesson 1 – Part 1 - English Colonial Governments By the time of the Revolution, the colonies had certain elements of government. *A charter was a document from the English king that setup the colony. *The legislature was an elected branch of government that made laws and controlled the money. *The Governor was an official who represented the English king in the colony. All laws made by the legislature had to be approved by the governor. Many of the colonies provided three basic rights to their citizens: The Right to Vote Freedom of Religion Freedom of the Press English Colonial Governments

Unit 3 – Lesson 1 – Part 1 - Three Basic Rights… The Right to Vote: Usually, only landowners could vote and only male adults could vote. Three Basic Rights… The Right to Freedom of Religion: Some of the colonies were setup by people seeking a place to live out their religious beliefs. The Puritans founded a colony in Massachusetts and ruled their colony by their religious ideas. The Right of Freedom of the Press: In 1735 a publisher named John Peter Zenger wrote nasty comments about the governor of New York. The governor arrested him and charged him with libel – the crime of publishing statements intended to harm someone else’s reputation. Andrew Hamilton defended Zenger as his lawyer and he argued that as long as the comments were not false libel had not occurred. The jury agreed and overruled the decision and established the right of freedom of the press.

Unit 3 – Foundations of American Government