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democracy in the 17th century
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History of the American Government More than 200 years ago, the 13 original states approved the first constitution that united them into the United States of America. However, many things have happened before and after that which have combined to make the United States what it is today. As the New World was being settled, the original colonists who came over were mainly Englishmen. Coming in great numbers and for many different reasons, 435,000 colonists occupied the coastline of America. Up until the Revolution, the "colonists thought of themselves as Englishmen, loyal to the crown"1. They held English ideas ranging from politics to law to human rights. Holding these ideas kept the colonies loyal to their mother country for a time, and with experiencing the English government, it allowed the colonies to form the framework for the new political system. However, "once the war had ended and independence had been achieved the Revolution seemed a happy event"2. The colonists brought many new ideas with them, and along with their newly found freedom and knowledge, they created a system that belonged only to them. At first, each colony was controlled by a charter granted by the king. Among the colonies were three types, proprietary, charter, and royal. Out of the three, "charter colonies offered colonists the greatest voice in their own government"3. Furthermore, in a charter colony, the people elected their own governors, and although this was the most democratic in allowing direct representation, the colonies were still not completely autonomous. By the second half of the eighteenth century, the king was afraid of the colonies increasing independence and not wanting to lose his governmental and financial control of the ... ... middle of paper ... ...t- Comparing Political Experience (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1979), 44. 2. Arthur H. Shaffer, The Politics of History (Chicago: Precedent Publishing, 1975), 103. 3. Walter E. Volkomer, American Government (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1975), 44. 4. Gillespie, 176. 5. Gillespie, 178. 6. Gillespie, 178. 7. Gillespie, 185. 8. Gillespie, 187. 9. Gillespie, 196. Bibliography - Gillespie, Judith. American Government-Comparing Political Experience. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1979. - Hellfach, Judith C. The Future of the Government. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1977. - Sayre, Wallacem S. American Government. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1966. - Shaffer, Arthur H. The Politics of History. Chicago: Precedent Publishing, 1975. - Volkomer, Walter E. American Government. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1975.
The thirteen American colonies were under the British control until they declared their independence from British in 1776. A year after the declaration of independence, the continental congress established the Article Of Confederation, which was the first constitution in the United States. According to manythings.org, “During that war, the colonies were united by an agreement called the Articles of Confederation”. It was later ratified in 1781, but it had many negatives because it was very weak. According to manythings.org, the Articles Of Confederation did not: organize a central government, create courts or decide laws, nor provide an executive to carry out the laws, and all it did was just create a Congress. This congress was very useless
The American Revolution is without a question one of the, if not the most, important period in the beginning of American history. Between 1765 and 1783, the colonists rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy after a series of taxes and tariffs were forced upon them, finally the colonists then ultimately overthrew their authority and founded the United States of America. Many historians and authors have debated over the exact reason and overall effects of the War for Independence, however, all agree of the significance and importance of this event. The colonies, which were created as a resource for raw materials and a means for generating profits for Parliament and the Crown, began to desire managing their own affairs and worked towards
The American Revolution holds a very prominent place in the history of this country, as it was the longest and the most painful war Americans ever encountered. It took many years and numerous conflicts to finally gain independence in 1776 from British domination, which had been subjugating its colonies with laws of an unwritten constitution. It must be understood that though Americans were fighting for the right of democracy and each state wanted self-government, later that same issue turned into a big problem. Soon after America became independent, the former British colonies decided to form their own governments. It was then that the real battle began. The task of forming separate constitutions for each state, along with the formation of governmental institutions, turned in to a huge task -- a task so gigantic that it forced some states to rethink the matter and soon the rumors of a central government started circulating.
The American Revolution has great importance on the way the United States views itself. Contrary to popular belief, Americans were not separate people subject to British tyranny. A large portion of American colonialists thought of themselves as British. There are many ideas and causes as to why the American Revolution began. Differing political traditions, both parties economic interest, trading interest of those involved in transatlantic commerce, Britain’s large debt that accumulated during the Seven Years War, mutual misunderstandings, and the Great Awakening are many of the reasons that the colonist began to revolt against England.
When settlers from England came to America, they envisioned a Utopia, where they would have a say in what the government can and cannot do. Before they could live in such a society they would have to take many small steps to break the hold England had on them. The settlers of America had to end a monarchy and start their own, unique, form of government. They also had to find a way that they would have some kind of decision making power. The most important change that the colonies in America had to make was to become a society quite different from that in England.
After the colonials won their independence from Great Britain, they were finally able to stand up for themselves. The newly formed United States of America needed a new national government to have the ability to structure a new country. A government free from tyranny, where the voice of the people mattered. The Continental Congress, a convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies, adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777. The Articles generated a problem due to the fact that it gave most of the power to the states and it formed a weak central government. Some disputed that the states needed this power, others argued that more power should be in the hands of the national government in order to run a solid and stable country.
When the constitution of the United States was formed, the framers specifically designed the American Government structure to have checks and balances and democracy. To avoid autocracy the President was give power to preside over the executive branch of the government and as commander –in –chief, in which a clause was put into place to give the president the power to appeal any sudden attacks against America, without waiting for a vote from congress. While the president presides over the executive branch there has been ongoing debate over the role of the president in regards to foreign policy. Should foreign policy issues be an executive function by the president or should congress play a much greater role? With the sluggishness of our democracy, foreign policy issues most times need quicker response compared to how domestic policy is decided in the United States. Many believe to maintain openness and democracy both the president and congress need to agree on how the United States handles issue abroad. Although the president has been given much power, his or her power and decisions are sometimes limited based on decisions by congress and challenged and shaped by various bureaucracies throughout the government system. I shall discuss the Presidents role and the role of governmental bureaucracies (Department of Defense, Department of State and the National Security Council) that work together and sometimes not together to shape and implement American foreign Policy.
The topic(s) that will be discussed in this paper include Laws and Federal Policies during early American history. The material discussed in this paper comes exclusively from Exploring American Histories by Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson. This paper will cover documents within the text that pertain to the topic. The aim of this paper is to argue that from even the earliest points in American history, there was an opposing and supporting standpoint to each law and federal policy. Since its start, the United States has been a two-sided coin of support and opposition. Issues such as Independence, Slavery, and Succession are three of the many that show the United States to be a country that does not always come to a consensus.
The American Revolution was marked by the colonies’ independence from Britain. This separation pronounced a new age marked by a decisive political change in the colonies because of the implementation of the Enlightenment ideals and the continuation of English liberties. However, the American Revolution was considered a conservative movement because it “originated from an effort to preserve the existing liberties of the colonies rather than create new ones” (Strayer, 782). Furthermore, the revolution occurred not on the issue of taxation, but on the issue of representation. The colonists believed autonomy was part of their birthright and as Englishmen along with their economic rights and their “natural rights to life, liberty, and property” (Kramnick, Lockean Liberalism). These two sentiments can be seen in their famous slogan “No taxation without representation”. By challenging their economic interests, their established traditions of local autonomy, and their identity as true Englishmen, the colonists were truly infuriated. Thus the American Revolution didn’t grow out of the social tensions within the colonies but rather from an unexpected effort by the British government to tighten its control over the colonies and ex...
After gaining independence from Britain, the colonies created a constitution which is still the governing document of the United States. It was formed to allow the...
On the eve of the American Revolution, colonists have signified and ensured their newly discovered identity by coming together to rid the American colonies of the British monarchical influence. Throught means of newly developed legislatures, both passive and aggressive protests, and formation of propaganda were the American colonists able to engrave their identity on the future of America forever.
Unlike the other two popular systems of government during the time, the Charter Colonies in which charters were granted to the colonists instead of the proprietors, and the Royal colonies which were directly ruled under English monarchy, the Proprietary Colonies stood somewhere in between. The Proprietary Colonies were originally founded in order to repay certain debts and favors and give leadership to those who were most trustworthy. Other Proprietary Colonies include colonial New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Carolinas. Proprietors, the governors of the lands, were given immense powers in order to create profitable enterprises in their given land. Some of these powers include the establishment of churches, towns, ports, and other public buildings, the creation of courts and laws, the ability to collect yearly land fees from those who had settled and purchased land in the colony, and much
After American colonialists had succeeded in over throwing British rule, the thirteen states were troubled by a complicated dilemma, an economic crisis with some calling for tax relief while others demanded stringent fiscal enforcement. Some believed that the revolution had not gone far enough, while others believed it had gone too far. The Framers who created the American Constitution took on the task of appeasing these two seemingly incongruous views. Woody Holton, in Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution, attempts to reveal how the Framers acted in favour of those who believed the Revolution had gone too far, while trying to appease the majority – American farmers – were in favour of more democracy.
The American Revolution was a war in which the colonists achieved political independence from their former rulers Great Britain. It was "the formulation of new principles of the relation of men to government, and of the relation of colonies to mother country. It was the inauguration of effective self-government and of social and economic equality."1 The colonists, in effect, achieved full autonomy from Great Britain through the American Revolution. The colonists felt (for the betterment of all Americans) that it was their duty and responsibility to rise up against their oppressors to form their own government. John Adams even states, "[that] the real American Revolution was a radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people. Above all, [the Revolution] was in the minds and hearts of the peopl...
After winning the Revolutionary War and sovereign control of their home country from the British, Americans now had to deal with a new authoritative issue: who was to rule at home? In the wake of this massive authoritative usurpation, there were two primary views of how the new American government should function. Whereas part of the nation believed that a strong, central government would be the most beneficial for the preservation of the Union, others saw a Confederation of sovereign state governments as an option more supportive of the liberties American’s fought so hard for in the Revolution. Those in favor of a central government, the Federalists, thought this form of government was necessary to ensure national stability, unity and influence concerning foreign perception. Contrastingly, Anti-Federalists saw this stronger form of government as potentially oppressive and eerily similar to the authority’s tendencies of the British government they had just fought to remove. However, through the final ratification of the Constitution, new laws favoring state’s rights and the election at the turn of the century, one can say that the Anti-Federalist view of America prevails despite making some concessions in an effort to preserve the Union.