Question | Answer |
Parliament | the legislative body of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) |
The Magna Carta (Great Charter) | a document that King John of England was forced by his barons to sign in 1215. The king agreed to give the barons trial by jury and due process of law. There were laws that even the king must obey. |
due process of law | protection against the arbitrary taking of life, liberty, or property. |
In the English Bill of Rights: | William & Mary of the Netherlands agreed to give more rights to more Englishmen if Parliament made them king and queen. It required the approval of Parliament for the monarchs to spend money or change the laws. |
English colonies brought: | English ideas about government to America. |
Royal Colonies- | run directly by the Crown |
Proprietary colonies- | run by a person who was given a land grant by the king |
charter colonies- | run by the colonists themselves |
All the colonies had- | some degree of self government |
Some colonies had _____ legislatures and some had ______ legislatures | unicameral, bicameral |
Jean Jacque Rousseau (1712-1778) | Frenchman, wrote Social Contract, believed that natural law gave all men rights that no other man could take away, believed all men are equal, wrote about social contract theory of government |
George III | became King of England in 1760. He encouraged Parliament to pass restrictive trading acts that favored England at the colonies expense from other European countries and the Indians. |
John Locke (1632-1704) | Englishman, wrote First & Second Treatise of Government, believed that people have the right to overthrow an unjust government, wrote about social contract theory |
King George and Parliament angered the colonists because | they wanted to control their local affairs and elect representatives to Parliament, but Parliament refused |
The First Continental Congress: | all colonies except Georgia met to protest taxes and plan what to do, but all they did was agree to meet again |
The Second Continental Congress | 1775 Revolution had already begun when all 13 colonies met. John Hancock was chosen as president of the Congress. They created an army and made George Washington the commander in chief. This served as our first government. |
A year after the fighting began, Congress named a committee to write a proclamation of independence: | Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson "Father of the Declaration" |
The Declaration of Independence | (July 4, 1776) was signed by delegates from all 13 colonies and we became a "free and independent nation" |
Soon, each colony: | adopted a written constitution and became a state. These constitutions differed, but all contained the idea of popular sovereignty |
The Articles of Confederation: | The Second Continental Congress created this to be our official government. All 13 colonies had to ratify to make it legal. It had a unicameral Congress and no president. Congress elected a member to be the presiding officer |
The congress could | make war and peace, make treaties, send and receive ambassadors, borrow money, establish post offices, build a navy and army, fix uniform standards of weights and measures, and settle disputes among the states. |
Weaknesses of the Articles: | 1. Congress could not tax, regulate trade between states, or enforce any of its laws. 2. States would not chip in to pay Congress's debts 3. the Articles required all 13 colonies to agree if they were changed |