Foundations of American Government for 7th grade Civics class

1. Foundations of American Government
Mr. Raymond – 7th Grade Civics

2. Life in Colonial America 1600s - 1776

3. Foundations of American Government
• The Road to Revolution – 1700s
– Colonists faced tax increases
after the French and Indian
War.
– Colonists lacked direct
representation in parliament.
– Colonial leaders formed the
Continental Congress to
address abuses of the English
Crown.

4. The Rise of Republicanism
The 1st & 2nd Continental Congress’
• The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together
from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United
States during the American Revolution.
• Colonists opposed to any strong central
government in the colonies
• Opposed to rule by the British
• Opposed to any permanent Union of the
States
• Each state was seen as the sovereign
authority and the only legitimate ruling force

5. Origins of the Constitution

6. The 1st & 2nd Continental Congress’
The Congress met from 1774 to 1789 in three incarnations. The first call for a convention
was made over issues of mounting taxation without representation in Parliament and
because of the British blockade. Though at first somewhat divided on issues concerning
independence and a break from Crown rule, the new Congress would come to issue a
Declaration of Independence and a Constitution, and proclaim the name United States of
America as the name of the new nation. It would establish a Continental Army and also
have to endure a war with Britain, before fruition of an independent Constitutional
government was fully realized among the American colonies.

7. The Declaration of Independence 1776
Part I – Natural Rights!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are Declaration’s author
Thomas Jefferson with
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
John Adams & Benjamin
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Franklin
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed.”
Thomas Jefferson

8. The Declaration – Part II - List of Grievances
Second part addressed to King George III “He has . . .”
Lawyer-like dissertation making the case against Great Britain
• Taxation without representation
• Unjust trials
• Quartering British soldiers
• Abolition of colonial assemblies
• Policy of mercantilism

9. Declaration – Part III: Separation
Last four paragraphs
• Announcing to the world that the colonists had no choice but to revolt
• Not only the colonists’ right, but their duty to change the government that
oppresses
• “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our
sacred honor.”
“Give me liberty or
give me death!”
Patrick Henry
1775
Boston Tea Party 1773 Boston Massacre 1770

10. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• What was the gathering of
delegates in Philadelphia, that
formed the first governing body
of the United States, called?
The Continental Congress

11. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
Who wrote the Declaration
of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson

12. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
What were the colonists mad @ the British about?
Paying taxes w/o
representation!

13. WE’RE A COUNTRY
NOW WHAT?!
“Be careful what you
wish for ‘cause you just
might get…”

14. Looking for inspiration to start a new government
The discovery of Democracy – Ancient Athens (Greece) 507 B.C.
In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader
Cleisthenes introduced a system of
political reforms that he called
demokratia, or “rule by the people.”
Although this Athenian democracy would
survive for only two centuries,
Cleisthenes’ invention was one of ancient
Greece’s most enduring contributions to
the modern world.

15. Looking for inspiration to start a new government
Ancient Rome – Classical Republic
• elect people to represent you.
• People practice “civic virtue”.
• Promotion of the common good. Moral education.
Hebrews - Ten Commandments Roman Senate
laws based on morals

16. Old English Influences
– Magna Carta
• (1215) first document to limit the King’s power
• Established Due Process, gave the nobles certain
rights
– Habeas Corpus Act
• (1678) government must tell you what you are
being held for and show evidence against you.
– English Bill of Rights
• (1689) Parliament replaced dominant
• power of King (legislative supremacy)
• Trial by jury
• No cruel and unusual punishment
• Right to bear arms

17. Mayflower Compact & Virginia House of Burgesses
The Mayflower Compact was signed by the Pilgrims on
November 11, 1620 by 41 of the ship's 101 passengers. It
was the first document signed in what would be the United
States establishing a government.
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of
elected representatives of English colonists in North
America. The House was established by the Virginia
Company to make conditions in the colony more
agreeable for its current inhabitants

18. Customs brought from England
– Common Law & English Legal System
– stare decisis
– English Tradition – John Locke
• Natural rights:
– rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on
government
• Consent of the governed:
– government derives its authority by sanction of the people
• Limited Government:
– certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect
natural rights of citizens
– English Religion (mix of Protestantism and Catholicism)

19. Philosophers & Popular Writers influence: John Locke – Natural Rights
John Locke:
“The state of nature has laws
to govern it”
“The purpose of government is
to protect life, liberty and
property

20. Montesquieu 1689 - 1755
• “To become truly great, one has to stand with
people, not above them.”- Montesquieu
Montesquieu was one of the great political
philosophers of the Enlightenment. He explained
how governments might be preserved from
corruption. He promoted a system in which
different bodies exercised
legislative, executive, and judicial power, and in
which all those bodies were bound by the rule of
law. This theory of the separation of powers had
an enormous impact on liberal political
theory, and on the framers of the constitution of
the United States of America.

21. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• Which ancient civilization
“invented” democracy?
Ancient Athens, Greece

22. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• What document signed in 1215
took away some of the King’s
power?
The Magna Carta

23. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• This act protects you from
unlawful imprisonment
Habeas Corpus

24. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• The Pilgrims signed this
establishing the first legal
system in America
The Mayflower Compact

25. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• This philosopher believed
government should protect
citizens natural rights including
life, liberty & property
John Locke

26. What problems did the new nation face?
To-Do List
– Win a war against the British.
• We don’t have a national army.
• We aren’t trained or ready
– Organize new state governments.
• Most states have their own constitution by now.
– Establish a national government.
• Most people felt a stronger loyalty to their state than
the entire nation.

27. So Let’s Start a Government!
Articles of Confederation – our 1st Constitution
The Articles of Confederation
• The first document to govern the United
States, it was adopted in 1777 and ratified in
1781.
• It established a confederation, a “league of
friendship and perpetual union” among 13
states and former colonies.
• Congress had few powers; there was no
president or national court system.
• All government power rested in the states.

28. Articles
• First functioning Government
of Confederation • Ratified in 1781
– While Revolution is in progress
• Most real power with the States
• Individual interests were very diff.
• Lots of quarrelling between the
states
• Just one Congress
– Unicameral (one house)
– each State had 1 representative
– it took 9/13 States to pass a law
– it took 13/13 States to approve a
treaty or amend the Articles
– No executive or judicial branch
– Could pass laws, make treaties,
declare war & pace, borrow money,
and create a postal system

29. Weaknesses of the Art. of Confederations
1. Congress couldn't require States to obey national laws (no
Judicial branch)
2. The central government has little power over foreign trade
3. The Confederation has no effective military force.
4. Each state issues its own coins and paper money
5. The Confederation must ask states for money to support the
federal Government
6. Changes in the Articles require a unanimous vote of the
thirteen, makes it impossible to change the constitution
7. At least nine states are required to decide major issues

30. We NEED a stronger Government!!!
• “Shays Rebellion” scares a lot of
people
– A Small Rebellion of Massachusetts farmers
– Series of attacks on courthouses by a small
band of farmers led by Revolutionary War
Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure
proceedings
• Can’t decide what to do with the
Northwest Territory
• Have a ‘Constitutional Convention,’
to rework the Articles
– Philadelphia in May 1787
• End up creating a new Constitution

31. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
• This agreement was really the 1st
Constitution of the United States
Articles of
Confederation

32. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
The two biggest weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation were?
1. The Confederation has no
effective military force.
2. The Confederation must ask
states for money to support
the federal Government

33. Brain Check – R U paying attention?!!
This uprising scared the nation and
spurred the need for a stronger
government
Shay’s Rebellion