Found
Founding Documents in American
Democracy
Influential Documents from
England and Early American
Colonists
Background of English Rule
●The Enlightenment
●Monarch rule in
England
●Nobles
England’s Impact on American Democracy
●Magna Carta-latin for
“Great Charter”
●Petition of Right
●English Bill of Rights
How Did the Magna Carta Protect the
Elite?
●Protected Nobles’
privileges
●Upheld Noble Authority
●Gave Rights To
Landholders
How Did the Magna Carta Protect the
Common Man?
●Equal Treatment Under
The Law
●Trial by one’s peers
●Rule of Law
Petition of Right
●1628
●Presented by
Parliament member
Sir Edward Coke
●Cited the Magna
Carta
Parliament
●Nobles and Church
officials
●Evolved into a
legislature
●Power struggles
English Bill of Rights
●Guaranteed free
elections to
Parliament
●Right to a fair
trial
●Elimination of
cruel and unusual
punishments
Cato’s Letters
●A series of
newspaper editorials
in Britain
●Argued against the
King’s heavy handed
rule
●Also published in
colonial American
newspapers
The English Common Law
●Also referred to as
Case law
●System of law is
based on court
decisions
●Judges decided
cases based on
precedent
Influence of American Colonists:
Background
●England established
colonies in America
●Jamestown
●Charter
The Influence of American Colonists
●Mayflower Compact
●Fundamental Orders
of Connecticut
Mayflower Compact
●First governing document
of Plymouth Colony
●Direct Democracy
●Town Meetings
FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS OF
CONNECTICUT
●First written
Constitution in
America
●Preamble and 11
orders/laws
●Popular election of
governors and judges
Early Legislatures
●Growth of colonies
in America
●Increased
responsibility of
colonial
governments
Moving Toward Independence
●Growing tensions
between
American
colonists and
British rule
●Taxation without
representation
The First Continental Congress
●Meeting took place
in Philadelphia
●Colonists demanded
that their rights be
restored
●King George III’s
response of war
The Second Continental Congress
●May 1775
●Debates on the
best course of
action for
Independence
●Thomas Paine,
Common Sense
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
●January 1776
●Common Sense called
for complete
independence from
Britain
●“common sense to
stop following a royal
brute”
The Declaration of Independence
●July 4, 1776
●Complaints against
King George III
●Democratic Ideals
Complaints against King George III
●Taxation without
Representation
●Forced colonists
to quarter British
soldiers
The Declaration of Independence and
Democratic Ideals
●The purpose of
government is to
protect the rights of
the people
●Government is based
on the consent of the
people
●The people are
entitled to change
the government
Citations (Images and references)
Slide 6: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8gws6GnYX_qZCYSbaREikZ9IKuL979MthNqqZvvgmEsh_FSZu>.
Slide 7: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTDJfbrbMZ9nOq5Q6X5e5alTwVAjXlah2EEZU46DPTlO5WnzCh>.
Slide 8: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQr7sRIwGGivpC1h0ISHlehpqKFDyIhxRnSahZwynTtmRC46NLI>.
Slide 9: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_YESZeJMb6sZcBBrB7fETKnxNE-hzCf1blCJI0ER618SzOW0>.
Slide 10:N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQpL2MBJFtyYuhHMKepW0ukCUmghOinY3NphF3vPVytNCWmevH0>.
Slide 11: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVlrGFdwJ6ybr9Yg_XvdTz0WYHEFxxAOS2ue43-TlEOORxoV7J>.
Slide 12: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQaYkUkhLnTmbniWDqE5T9J-urSZLeEpFJO8A5e7pr50xSvEGMUg>.
Slide 13: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbYSQj7POzc8nRDar7KzBqHcHzF8tc16yIukl_U1sQxZZCEY6>.
Slide 14: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTTavF0tic9esTVt1ESGxawBYkV9oAtFdyP7DjtzSHEUoojaMAm3Q>.
Slide 15: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tBqi5jadgs/SaIYvP8hfqI/AAAAAAAAASo/uF4gw4o7xn8/s320/firstcontinentalcongress9-5-1774.jpg>.
Slide 16: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/images/demise_of_stamp_act.jpg>.
Citations (Images and references)
Slide 17:N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://www.nps.gov/feha/historyculture/images/continentalcongress.jpg>.
Slide 18: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Congress_voting_independence.jpg>.
Slide 19:N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://www.punkerslut.com/pictures/paine.jpg>.
Slide 20:N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014. <http://www.theblaze.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/07/20071018_declaration1-526x620.jpg>.
Slide 21:N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/George_III_As_Prince_of_Wales.jpg>.
Slide 22: N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Oct 2014.
<http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d55089/newell_convers_wyeth_drafting_the_declaration_of_independence-1776_d5508990h.jpg>.