Early American
History Review Unit
Who invented democracy??
We associate democracy with the early Greek
and Roman civilizations, but these earlier
experiments were relatively temporary.
Theories were developed by 17th and 18th C.
European thinkers during the Enlightenment.
Two documents had a profound impact on
the relationship between the government and
the people of England. These would later
influence the plan for the U.S. government.
The Magna Carta-1215
Limited the power of the king by giving
certain rights to nobles (later all citizens)
Protection from cruel and unusual punishment
Protection of life, liberty and property
The right to a fair and speedy trial by jury
Protection from taxation without consent
Placed the power of government beneath
that of the written law.
The English Bill of Rights-1689
British royalty agreed to accept this Bill of Rights
establishing the supremacy of Parliament and
guaranteeing:
-freedom of speech in Parliament
-rights to those accused of crimes
The people would elect representatives to make
laws and govern. It was divided into a House of
Lords and a House of Commons.
Democracy travels to America
The Virginia House of Burgesses-1619
The first representative legislature in
the English colonies. Representatives
began to enact laws and protect rights.
The Mayflower Compact-1620. Signed
by the men on the Mayflower, agreeing
to form a political body that would pass
laws for the good of the colony.
(Fast forward to late 1700s)
In the 1760s and 1770s, conflict arose
between Parliament and the colonists
when they came to believe that their
basic rights were being denied.
The Stamp Act placed the first direct
tax on the colonists, leading to the cry,
“No taxation without representation.”
After a decade of growing tension, the
2nd Continental Congress decided to
take drastic steps . . . .
What are “unalienable rights?”