I N F LU E N C E S O N T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S O F A M E R I C A’ S

F O U N D I N G D O C U M E N T S

M R S . L E O N A R D5 T H G R A D E S O C I A L S T U D I E S

Teaching American History

Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks

 

5.14 Explain the development of colonial governments and describe how these developments contributed to the Revolution. (H, G, E, C)

  A. legislative bodies B. town meetings C. charters on individual freedom and rights

    5.19 Identify the Constitution of the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts , including its date, its primary author (John Adams), and the basic rights it gives to citizens of the Commonwealth. (C)

The Magna Carta (1215)

The Magna Carta is an English charter created by a group of Barons in order to limit the king’s power and to protect their own liberties

Accessible to all people for all to know and to protect their own rights

SECTION 12: No tax may be levied without the general consent of the people “No taxation without representation”

Unlike their relatives living in Great Britain, English colonists could not vote on representatives in Parliament.

SECTION 20: Punishments should be just according to the crime Trial by jury

Under the Sugar Act of 1764, smugglers could be tried in Halifax by three British officers who would receive one third of the confiscated vessel in a guilty charge. Colonists became afraid that their right to a trial by jury, given to them by the Magna Carta, was being taken away.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

A group of men and women seeking religious freedom came to North America, as English colonists, aboard a ship called the Mayflower

Their ship was blown off course and they landed in present-day Plymouoth, MA rather than the established Virginia territory

The new colonists, now known as the Pilgrims, created the Mayflower Compact as a social contract in which all settlers would follow agreed upon rules and regulations for the good of all in the colony

One major difference between this contract and former English social contracts is that justification of authority is given in the name of God (opposed to the king’s name)

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1638)

The Fundamental Orders of CT may be considered the first written Constitution

They were passed by the local colonial legislative of CT and describe the structure and powers of the government in CT

Notably, the orders give more men voting rights (as compared to the already established colony of MA) and the opportunity to take part in local government

Justification of authority is given in the name of “we the people”

English Bill of Rights (1689)

The English Bill of Rights was passed by the Parliament of England

It states the certain rights of subjects and permanent residents of a constitutional monarchy

For example, English subjects have the right to bear arms in their own defense

This document inspired the United States’ Bill of Rights (1791)

The Two Treatises of Government by John Locke (1690)

In the First Treatise, Locke argues against the divine right of kings and declares this is no justification for a king’s actions

In the Second Treatise, Locke argues that all men are created equal by God and that a government must have the consent of the governed or it can be overthrown Locke believed that the king and his subjects were in a

contract together and that the subjects gave up certain freedoms in exchange for the order and protection provided by the government

The government forfeits its side of the contract if it exercises tyrannical and arbitrary power on the people; then, it is the people’s right and duty to revolt and replace the government

Cato (1713)

The play Cato, written by Joseph Addison, was an immediate success and one of the most popular English plays of the time period

It is based on the last days of the life of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, a politician in the late Roman Republic who was known for his moral integrity and his disgust with the corruption in the Roman government

George Washington went to see Cato dozens of times – even having the play performed for his troops at Valley Forge - and he viewed this Roman republican as his hero

Washington included lines from the play in his letters

Cato inspried numerous quotes, such as Patrick Henry’s cry “Give me liberty or give me death!”

Cato’s Letters (1720 - 1723) by John Trenchard & Thomas Gordon

Essays, first printed between 1720-1723, were published under the fake name Cato and came to be known as Cato’s Letters

The essays condemn tyranny and encourage free speech They state that only people themselves have rights and the

government has powers given to them by the people. The issue is that power corrupts and those who have it, want more of it. So, people can not trust the government.

The essays outline peoples’ inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property and reinforce how the British constitution protects the rights of people from the power of rulers

144 essays, or letters, were collected from the London Journal and re-printed as Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious

Cato’s Letters were very well known in the colonies, with about half of all private libraries having copies, and their ideas greatly influenced the American Revolution

The Growth of Colonial Newspapers

TIME FRAME NEWSPAPER’S NAME PLACE OF PUBLICATION

1720s New England Courant Boston , MA

1730s New York Weekly Journal New York, NY 1740s South Caroline Gazette Charleston, SC 1740s Independent Advertiser Boston, MA 1750s Pennsylvania Journal Philadelphia, PA 1756 New Hampshire Gazette Portsmouth, NH

The Print Culture Created by the Colonial Press

Colonial newspapers give critiques of the government’s power as nothing in its own right and as subject to the people

The writers of the newspaper were oppositional and not necessarily obedient to the government; they cried out tyranny where they saw it

The newspapers were influential and brought ideas to common people

In taverns, racks of newspapers would line one wall and a library would be set up in a corner

Massachusetts Charter (1761)

The MA Charter, passed by the colonial legislature, asserts that people can govern themselves

It puts forth the idea of a republic with laws passed by representatives of the people

There is a statement in the MA Charter that British citizens won’t lose their rights by coming to America

The US Declaration of Independence (1776)

The Declaration of Independence, passed by the Continental Congress, formally announced the separation of the United States of America from the mother country, Great Britain

Justification for separation is given by listing all of the grievances against King George III and by declaring their own natural rights – including a right to overthrown a tyrannical, unjust government

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA

The US Declaration of Independence (1776)

Thomas Jefferson, the main drafter of the declaration, knew the writings of John Locke and thought very highly of him

Besides Locke, the Constitution of Virginia and the Virginia Declaration of Rights greatly influenced the ideas and phrases found in the declaration

Jefferson and other Americans also used the English Declaration of Rights (1689) as a model of how to end the reign of a king

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1780)

The Massachusetts Constitution is the oldest continuously used constitution in the world

It was drafted during a MA Constitutional Convention by Sam Adams and John Adams and approved at town meetings

This constitution has four parts (a preamble, a declaration of rights, a description of the framework of government, and articles of amendment); it is also broken up into chapters, sections, and articles

The structure of the MA Constitution was copied by the US Constitution and had great influence on the revisions of other states’ constitutions

Sam Adams & John Adams

The US Constitution (1787)

After Americans found they needed a stronger plan of government than the one outlined in the Articles of Confederation, representatives from each state met in Philadelphia to revise the articles

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention ended up re-writing a whole new constitution that clearly separates the powers of the national government into three branches and outlines the responsibilities and limits of each; it also establishes a relationship between the federal, local, and state governments

Each US state ratified the constitution in the name of “the people” with the agreement that a Bill of Rights would be added to the constitution in the near future

The US Bill of Rights (1791) contains ten amendments that protect the rights of citizens

Many of the liberties protected in the Bill of Rights were inspired by the English Bill of Rights and the Virginia Declaration of Rights