Ordered Government Organized regulation of the state

Limited Government Government is not all-powerful Individuals have certain rights the govt cannot

take away Representative Government

Government should serve the will of the people

1. Magna Carta (1215) Barons were tired

of King John’s unfair treatment (wars, taxes)

Established principle that the power of the monarchy is NOT absolute

King John signing the Magna Carta

Petition of Right (1628) King Charles I asked

Parliament for more $$ in taxes

Parliament refused until he signed the Petition of Right

Challenged the idea of the Divine Right of Kings and declared the monarch MUST follow the law of the land

English Bill of Rights (1689) After Glorious

Revolution, Parliament wanted to prevent abuse of power by monarchs

List of conditions that the king and queen HAD to agree to before taking the crown

King William and Mary of Orange

The 13 North American colonies formed separately over 125 years

1st – Virginia in 1607 Last – Georgia in 1733 Each colony was unique, and formed out

of different sets of circumstances Each had a charter – written grant of

authority (permission to govern) from the king

1. Royal Colonies2. Proprietary

Colonies3. Charter Colonies

Controlled by the British crown (King) King appointed a governor to run the

colony A council appointed by the king served as

advisors to the governor Had a bicameral legislature = 2 houses

Upper house = the governor’s advisors. Lower house = elected by property owners

who could vote Most of the colonies were royal colonies

Organized by a proprietor (business owner) who had been given a grant by the king

Proprietor appointed the governor to run the colony

3 colonies were proprietary: Maryland: Lord Baltimore Pennsylvania and Delaware: William Penn

charter: a written document given to a colony granting it the right to govern.

The charter colonies had more freedom to govern than others

Governor elected by male landowners 2 colonies: Rhode Island and Connecticut

The pilgrims landed with no charter with rules or instructions on how to govern

So they drew up a social contract Mayflower Compact (1620)

Pilgrims agreed to follow the rules in order to survive

Laid out rules of the colony Signed by 41 of the original 101 passengers

Virginia House of Burgesses (1619)First representative assembly (legislature) in the North American colonies

Met at a church in Jamestown, 1x per year Governor was appointed by officials in London Governor appointed his own 6-man council Other 15 members of the legislature were

elected by landowners

Britain = 3,000 mi (2 month boat ride) away

Before 1760, Britain did not concern itself much with the colonies

Colonies got used to self-government Very few taxes collected from the colonies

by the king They could even control the royal

governors – Colonial legislatures had the “power of the

purse”

1760: King George III takes the throne

England is at war over foreign territories (French and Indian War)

Many colonists fought for Britain in this war

French-Indian War (aka 7 Years War) cost Britain lots of $$$

To pay its debts, Britain turned to the colonies Enforced existing policies Imposed new taxes

Colonists objected: “no taxation without representation”

Required that all legal documents and public documents (ex. Contracts, newspapers) have a stamp on it.

The stamp cost money, which went directly to the British government

9 colonies sent delegates (representatives) to the Stamp Act Congress in New York

Wrote a “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” to King George

*1st time colonies joined forces and opposed the British government**

Result: Stamp Act was repealed, but… Parliament continued to impose new laws and

taxes on the colonies Colonists began to boycott British products

Rising Conflict: The Boston Tea Party (1773)

Rising Conflict:

The Boston Massacre (1770)

Samuel Adams formed the Committees of Correspondence in 1772

Provided information network among anti-British groups

Organized protests, militias, boycotts