Major Historical Influences on American Government

The government of the 13 colonies and later the United States reflected ideas that came from the heritage of Western civilization.

Ideas from Ancient Greece

The concept of DEMOCRACY, or a government by the people, began in the city-state of Athens, Greece between 750 BC and 550 BC. Athens had a direct democracy where all eligible citizens participated in government decision making.

Ideas from Ancient Rome

The concept of a REPUBLICAN government was established in Ancient Rome. In a republic, voters elect government representatives who speak and act for other citizens on their behalf. These representatives are supposed to work for the common good. This form of government is sometimes called a representative democracy.

British Influence

Other basic concepts of government and common law were established in England before or during the colonial period in America. The common-law system developed in England from customs and traditions enforced by court decisions. It became the basis of the legal system in nations that England colonized.

In 1215, English nobleman forced King John of England to agree to the Magna Carta,or Great Charter, a document that placed limits on his power to rule. For example, the document established the right to trial by jury- but only for the nobles.

In 1628, King Charles I signed the Petition of Right. It put in writing certain basic rights and legal traditions, such as a writ of habeas corpus, a court order requiring that a person brought before a court and the court show evidence why the person should be held for trial. It prevents arrest and imprisonment without a trial.

In 1689, the Glorious Revolution ended a decades long power struggle between the English Parliament and the monarchy. Parliament overthrew James II and replaced him with William and Mary. They were required to agree to sign and approve the English Bill of Rights. This established tat representative government and the rule of law outweighed the power of the monarchy.

The Enlightenment

This intellectual movement held that reliance on reason and experience would lead to social progress. The philosophers of this period greatly influenced how American government would be structured.

John Locke's ideas influenced the Declaration of Independence, state constitutions, and the U.S. Constitution. He believed that people were born free with certain natural or unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and property. Locke believed that these rights supersede any government. He stated that a social contract was formed between people and their government in which people agree to form a state and grant it's government the powers necessary to protect their natural rights. Therefore, it was his belief that governments exist only with the consent of the governed. When a government fails to protect these rights, the contract is broken, and people are free to change or even overthrow the government.

The French philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu believed that the British political system was successful because the power to govern was divided among the monarch and the two houses of Parliament. This division helped balanced political power among the branches, so that no one branch can become too powerful. He came up with the idea of separation of powers where power is divided into three branches: legislative to make laws, executive to enforce laws, and the judicial branch to decide what the law means.

Voltaire, another French philosopher, spoke out against religious intolerance and persecution.

To learn more about the influence of the Enlightenment, view this Google Slides Presentation.

The Articles of Confederation

The first Constitution, or framework of government, of the United States was the Articles of Confederation. It was proposed at the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and went into effect in 1781 after all 13 states ratified or approved it. The Articles of Confederation reflected the colonists' fear of a strong national government and the desire of the individual states to protect their powers. As a result, the Articles created a very weak central government. This graphic summarizes some of the achievements as well as the drawbacks to the Articles of Confederation. You can use this interactive to see if you can tell whether it is considered a strength or a weakness.

Achievements of the first Constitution: The Articles of Confederation

• Won the American Revolutionary War
• Negotiated the Treaty of Paris. It ended the war and set the U.S. boundaries at Canada, Mississippi River, and Florida.
• Passed the LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785 and the NORTHWEST ORDINANCE of 1787. These two laws set up a pattern of development in the Northwest Territory, it provided guidelines to allow new states to join the original 13, and prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory.

The Weaknesses of the First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation

Although the Articles of Confederation did set up an emergency government so there was not anarchy in the newly independent United States, it was too weak to last long. This short interactive video from Glencoe will explain more about the issues with the Articles of Confederation and how to solve those weaknesses.

Writing a New Constitution

Everyone agreed that the Articles of Confederation were not working. However, they had differing views on how to fix them. It took much debate and compromise to write the Constitution that we have today. As a matter of fact, the Constitution is often called a bundle of compromises.

The Great Compromise

The first issue was how to resolve representation in government, especially Congress. There were two different plans to do this. One, one was the New Jersey plan. This plan called for Congress to have one house and each state have equal number of representatives. States with larger numbers of people did not like this plan. They wanted a bicameral or two house legislature that would be based solely on population. A compromise was reached that was called the GREAT COMPROMISE. It set up a bicameral or two house legislature. The House of Representatives would be based on population (like Virginia Plan) and the Senate would be 2 per state or have equal representation (like the New Jersey Plan.) The graphic below shows this compromise as well.

The Three Fifths Compromise

This compromise solved how slaves should be counted within the population to determine representation. It was decided that slaves would count as three-fifths a person, both for to gain representation in the House of Representatives but also for taxation. This alluded to slavery being legal in the United States without specifically saying so.

Commerce Compromise

This compromise allowed Congress the power to tax and also forbid taxes on exported goods. In addition, it stated that in twenty years, action could be taken to stop the slave trade.

Compromise over the Presidency

People were very nervous about electing a President and him becoming too powerful. The president was given a 4 year term and would be elected by an Electoral College and not by popular election or by Congress selecting him.

Ratification or Passing the Constitution

After months of debate in Philadelphia, delegates finally approved the Constitution of the United States. It wasn't easy like this interactive map from Glencoe clearly shows. Many debates occurred between the Federalists and Anti-federalists took place because they did not agree that the new more powerful central government did enough to protect people's rights. In order to get the Constitution ratified, the Bill of Rights or the first ten amendments or changes to the Constitution were passed.

Basic Constitution Principles

The Constitution really includes some important but basic principles.

Popular Sovereignty

People are the source of government power. This is shown in the preamble to the Constitution when it begins, "We The People." The Constitution also creates a democracy where people vote for their representatives in Congress as well as the President.

Limited Government

Government powers are defined by the Constitution, this limits the federal government's power. In addition, it also places limits on government officials as well. Many of the limits on government officials come from checks and balances, others simply come by limiting the amount a time a government official can serve. Another way government power is limited is that power is divided between the national and state government.

Separation of Powers

One way we limit a the power of those that govern us in our representative democracy is by dividing government power into three branches. This is the idea of the Enlightenment thinker, Montesquieu. We have a legislative branch (CONGRESS) that writes laws. An executive branch (THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABINET) that enforce laws. And we have a judicial branch (THE SUPREME COURT) that explains and interprets laws.

Checks and Balances

In addition to separating the power of each branch of government. Each branch at the national level also has the ability to check or control the other branches. This is meant to prevent one branch from getting too powerful. For instance, the Supreme Court can declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional. The President can veto a law that they don't feel is lawful or necessary. Congress also has the power to impeach (charge with wrong doing) and vote to remove from office the President or a Justice in the Supreme Court. Try to see how many checks and balances you can get correct by trying this interactive from Pearson.

Flexibility

The Constitution has lasted because it can meet the changing conditions of our country. The elastic of necessary and proper clause allows Congress to carry out tasks by passing laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying out the tasks listed in the Constitution. Amendments or formal changes can be made to the Constitution as well.

Federalism

The Constitution divides power between the national and state government governments. This division is known as federalism. The National government has certain powers called DELEGATED POWERS and some power remains with the state, these are called RESERVED powers. Federalism creates a balance between the national and state government.

Protecting civil liberties

The Anti-Federalists wanted to ensure that people's individual rights were protected. This is done by the Constitution stating what rights individuals have as well as the Supreme Court interpreting what those listed rights mean.

Criminal Procedure

When a person is accused of a crime, a certain process must be used to take away a person's civil liberties. This is called criminal procedure.

Equality

Although what equality means and who it includes has certainly evolved to include more diverse groups of people, a sense of equality has always been a principle of the nation.

Property Rights

From protecting a person's right to be free of search and seizure of property to the passing of taxes, the Constitution protects the rights of people to their money and property. The Constitution also protects intellectual property with copyright and patents.