Our English Heritage

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Our English Heritage
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The Magna Carta

• King John in 1215 was forced to sign an agreement
  called the Magna Carta.
• This was an agreement that limited the power of
  the king.
• No one was above the law, not even the king.

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Parliment

• Parliament was a law making body.
• Over the years this group grew to include people
  who were not nobles.
• Parliament also established the English Bill of
  Rights.

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English Bill of Rights

• Monarch could not overrule Parliaments laws.
• The monarch can not
• Create special courts,
• Impose taxes,
• Or raise an army without permission from the
  parliament

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English Bill of Rights

• Parliament would be freely elected and guaranteed
  free speech.
• Every citizen would have a fair trial by jury
• Cruel and unusual punishment would be banned.

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Early English law

• Common Law
• Precedent
• Judge would look at similar cases before making a
  ruling

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Mayflower Compact

• Compact is an agreement among a group of people.
• MC- just and equal laws
• Everyone signed this and agreed to obey the laws.

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Colonial Governments

• Each colony had a governor, who was elected or
  appointed.
• Each colony had a legislature that was elected by
  all adult males.

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No Taxation without Representation

• Colonists were angry that they were being taxed
  so heavily by England.
• Many colonists boycotted British goods. This was
  the start of bad times to come.
• Boston Tea Party
• Intolerable acts

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The first Continental Congress

• Delegates from all the colonies met in Philly
• Sent a document to the King demanding that their
  rights be restored.
• King George responded with force and sparked the
  revolutionary war

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Democratic Ideals

• We hold these truths to be self-evident that all
  men are created equal, that they are endowed by
  their creator with certain unalienable rights,
  that among these are life, liberty, and the
  pursuit of happiness.

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Democratic Ideals

• That to secure these rights, governments are
  instituted among men, deriving their just powers
  from the consent of the governed, that whenever
  any form of government becomes destructive of
  these ends, it is the right of the people to
  alter or abolish it, and to institute new
  government

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Early U.S. Government

• Constitution- written plan of government
• New state constitutions were bicameral, or
  divided into 2 houses.
• Most state constitutions also had a bill of
  rights.

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Early U.S. Government

• The states soon realized that they could not due
  it on their own.
• They would need some sort of centralized
  government in case they had to go to war.

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Articles of Confederation

• This was our first attempt to unify the nation.
• Problem with the Articles
• Congress could not collect taxes
• Congress could not regulate trade
• Congress had no power to enforce laws

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Problems with the Articles con.

• Rules too rigid
• Congress could not pass laws without the approval
  of 9 states.
• The Articles could not be changed without the
  approval of all 13 states.
• Lack of Central Power
• No single leader or group directed government
  policy
• No national court system