Am. Govt. Home Page
Home


 Chapter 2
 Origins of American Government
 Links for Study

Ch. 2  Powerpoint
Ch. 2 Study Guide
Ch. 2 PH@School

1 - Our Political Beginnings
2-1 Guided Reading
2-1 Quiz
2-1 Summary
2 - The Coming of Independence
2-2 Guided Reading
2-2 Quiz
2-2 Summary
3 - The Critical Period
2-3 Guided Reading
2-3 Quiz
2-3 Summary

4 - Creating the Constitution
2-4 Guided Reading
2-4 Quiz
2-4 Summary

5 - Ratifying the Constitution
2-5 Guided Reading
2-5 Quiz
2-5 Summary


PASD Home Page









































Declaration of Independence

and

About the Declaration
of Independence































Aticles of Confederation
Chapter 2 - Origins of American Government - Notes
- Scroll down for notes on each section  
Philadelphia Convention Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy.

    Constitutional Timeline     (Broadband connection only!)

 Ch. 2 - Sec. 1 Notes -  Our Political Beginnings
The colonists brought with them to North America three key ideas about government.
1st -  Ordered government.
A government’s rules should help people get along.
2nd -  Limited government
Government has restricted powers.
3rd - Representative government
Government should serve the people.

The English tradition of government grew from three landmark documents.
The Magna Carta (1215)
The king did not have total power, and it protected the rights of trial by jury and due process of law.
The Petition of Right (1628)
The king could not use the military to rule during peacetime or let soldiers live in people’s homes.
Forbade keeping an army during peacetime, guaranteed a fair and speedy trial, and ensured that all parliamentary elections were free.

There were three types of English colonies.
Each colony was based on a charter, a written grant of authority from the king.
Royal colonies: were ruled directly by the Crown.
Proprietary colonies: were organized by an owner to whom the king had granted land.
Charter colonies: were based on charters granted directly to the colonists.

Most colonies had bicameral (two-house) legislatures, although Pennsylvania’s was unicameral (one-house).

Landmark English Documents:
English Documents


Ch. 2 – Sec. 2 Notes – The Coming of Independence
Great Britain became more involved in ruling its colonies in the 1760s.
It created new taxes and laws that caused the colonists to object to “taxation without representation.”

The New England States formed a confederation, or union for a common purpose, in the 1600s.

In 1754, Benjamin Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union proposed a congress of delegates from all colonies, but both the colonies and the king rejected it.

Twelve of the thirteen colonies joined at the First Continental Congress in 1774.
They met to plan opposition to harsh British policies and punishment of colonists who resisted.
One form of opposition was to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods.
The colonists hoped to force the British to repeal, or recall, their hated policies.
Boston tea Party Boston Tea Party
Colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians throwing a cargo of tea into Boston Harbor
Library of Congres

Finally, the colonists were ready to fight.

On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress began.
It became the first government of the new United States and produced the Declaration of Independence.
The newly formed States wrote separate state constitutions.
A constitution is the basic set of laws that creates a government.
The State constitutions all shared the principle of popular sovereignty
meaning that government can exist only with the consent of the people governed.

Creating the United States, 1770-1790:
timeline

Ch. 2 – Sec. 3 Notes – The Critical Period
The 1780s were problem-filled years for the United States.
The States wanted a permanent government, but did not want to give it much power.

The 13 States ratified—or formally approved—the Articles of Confederation in 1781.
The Articles set up a government that tied the States together in a loose union.
They created a central government with little more power than to set up an army and a navy, make war and peace, and settle State disputes.
This government consisted of only one branch, the Congress, which was unicameral. Each State had one vote.
Each year, Congress was to choose one of its members as its presiding officer, or chairperson.
The National Government had no power to make the States obey the Articles or the laws passed by the legislature.
The States had the power to tax and printed their own money.

  Shay's Rebellion

When a rebellion broke out in Massachusetts, many leaders were convinced that Americans had to strengthen the government.
Delegates from Maryland and Virginia met at Mount Vernon, Virginia, to solve their trade problems.
Their success led them to call a meeting at Annapolis, Maryland, to try to solve some of the nation’s problems. Only five States sent delegates.
They set up another meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which became the Constitutional Convention.

Weaknesses of the Government under the Articles of Confederation:
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation


Ch. 2 – Sec. 4 Notes – Creating the Constitution
In 1787, 55 delegates from 12 States met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.
Later known as the Framers, these delegates soon decided to write a new constitution instead.
The delegates from Virginia were the first to offer a plan.
 
The Virginia Plan called for three branches of government: an executive, a bicameral legislature, and courts.
The number of representatives a State sent to the legislature was linked to its wealth and population. Small States opposed this plan.

The New Jersey Plan called for a government without strong and separate branches.
It also proposed a unicameral legislature with an equal number of representatives from each State.

The Connecticut Compromise, or Great Compromise, combined the basic features of the Virginia and New Jersey plans.
It called for two houses in Congress.
In the smaller Senate, the States would have equal representation.
In the larger House, each State would be represented based on its population.

The Constitution became a document of compromises.
The Three- Fifths Compromise determined that States could count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations, which increased their representation in the House.
The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise forbade Congress from taxing exports from any State as well as from acting against the slave trade for 20 years.

Compromises Made in Framing the Constitution:
Compromises

Ch. 2 – Sec. 5 Notes – Ratifying the Constitution
The Framers had provided that at least nine of the 13 States had to ratify it.
Two groups formed during the ratification process:
the Federalists, who favored ratifying the Constitution,
and the Anti-Federalists, who strongly opposed it.

The Federalists stressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Anti-Federalists attacked almost every part of the Constitution, but two of its features drew the strongest criticism:
(1) the greatly increased powers of the central government and
(2) the lack of a bill of rights that would provide for basic liberties such as freedom of speech and religion.

The struggle for ratification was intense in several States, especially Virginia and New York.
The Federalists finally won in both States.
After eleven States had ratified the Constitution in 1788, the States held elections for a new President.

The first Congress of the new National Government met in March, 1789.
Because there was not a quorum, or majority of its members, the electoral votes could not be counted until April 6. At that point, it declared George Washington President.

The Debate over Ratification:
Debate over Ratification
Home   [Chapter 1]  [Chapter 2]  [Chapter 3]  [Chapter 4]  [Chapter 5]  [Chapter 6]

© 2006 by S. Norgan, Pinconning Area Schools. All rights reserved.