2.5 Colonial Governments

Colonial Governments

Important Concepts from Last Week:

Capitalism

• One of the major economic
systems in which the means of production are privately owned

• Market economics, supply and
demand

Socialism

• An economic system where the means of production are publicly owned by the community or the government.

o Communism: philosophy about how society should function, ends private property so that everything is shared in a classless society. Attempted but never achieved

In reality, all economic systems are mixes of capitalist and socialist policies (mixed economies)

Important Concepts and Vocabulary so far

natural rights: Rights all people have simply because they are human

social contract: An agreement among members of a society to cooperate with government to gain social benefits

consent of the governed: Governments and leaders have power because people give them power and agree to follow them

Representative Government: A system of democratic government where citizens elect representatives and leaders to create and carry out policy on their behalf.

Rule of Law: All rules or laws apply to everyone equally, no matter their influence or how wealthy they are.

Match

Match the following

• Rights all people have simply because they're human

• Agreement among members of a society. Cooperate w/ gov. = social benefits

• Govs have power because people give them power

• Citizens elect representatives & leaders to create and carry out policy for them

• All rules apply to everyone equally, no matter their wealth and/or influence

Natural Rights

Social Contract

Consent of the Governed

Representative Government

Rule of Law

• Natural Rights

• Social Contract

• Consent of the Governed

• Representative Government

• Rule of Law

Lesson Overview

• Students will be able to:

• Identify characteristics of North American colonial governments

• Explain how the experiences of the colonies from 1607 to 1754 led the colonies toward unification and independence

• Vocabulary-
• Albany Plan of Union
• Charter
• Charter of Privileges
• Delegate
• Great Law
• Legislature
• Mayflower Compact
• Proprietor

Essential Question-
How did the experiences of
the British colonies in North
America lead toward a
unified, independent United
States government?

Types of Colonies

• Great Britain (England) established the 13 Colonies
along the Eastern seaboard of the United States

• Each colony was either:
• Royal
• Charter
• Proprietary
• Charter- written document in which a government gives specific rights and powers to an organization

• Example- William Penn got a charter to form Pennsylvania

• These colonies sometimes had the following-
• Legislature- an assembly of officials who represent the population

• Proprietor- Someone who owns property

The Mayflower Compact

Importance of the Mayflower Compact

Multiple Choice

Why was the Mayflower Compact significant in the development of American government?

• It established the principle that women had the right to be involved in government.

• It was the first document that directly declared a colony as an independent state.

• It represented the first time English settlers in North American governed themselves.

• It brought the concept of checks and balances to America.

Importance of the Mayflower Compact

Early Pennsylvania Government

Pennsylvania was a proprietary colony - proprietor's name was William Penn

Penn was a member of a Christian group called the Religious Society of Friends, commonly called the Quakers
• Quakers’ practices and rules went against authorities in England and the American colonies.
• authorities sometimes imprisoned or executed Quakers.
• Religious freedom was a major motivation for Penn’s establishment of a new colony.

Quakers’ beliefs and experiences influenced how they set up Pennsylvania's
colonial government.
• Great Law 1682 – protected religious freedom but required officeholders
to be landowning Christians
• 1701 Charter of Privileges – primary document outlining PA laws, granted legislature new powers
o formation of laws through an elected legislature representing the people would
become an important characteristic of the United States government.

Colonial Governments-
Early PA Government

• PA was a proprietary colony, the proprietor was William Penn
• Pennsylvania (Penns-Woods) named after him

• As a Quakers William Penn and others influenced how PA setup its early government
• Pennsylvania Charter of 1681- formally gave
PA to William Penn, had to come from the
King of England
• Great Law of 1682- a series of laws for PA,
written by the Quakers but allowing freedom
of religion
• Charter of Privileges-written in 1701, become
the primary document for PA Law

• These are PA examples and the other 12 Colonies governed separately from one another but had similarities

Colonial Government Similarities

• Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania
were all separate but still connected...

• All of them answered to the monarch (King ofEngland)
• Shared a common English heritage
• All were influenced by the Enlightenment writers from Europe

• Many of the colonies were also operating
under a system of self-governance
• As the Revolution drew nearer Colonists
began to identify more with the colony they
lived in as opposed to England

Colonial Government Similarities

​By 1752, which characteristics were true of all 13 British colonies?

Draw

By 1752, which characteristics were true of all 13 British colonies? Place a check or 'x' in the box that applies to each one.

By 1752, which characteristics were
true of all 13 British colonies?

A

They had been formed by charters.

B

They guaranteed equality among all people.

C

They had representative
governments.

D

They had declared
independence.

Self-
Governance

Regardless of the type of colony, Britain was limited in how much it
could control the day-to-day function of colonies

• Why? Atlantic Ocean physically separated Britain and the colonies (6-8 week journey)
o authorities in Britain could not keep a close eye on the colonies- had to rely on the governors and councils they appointed
o Govt in Britain could not quickly learn about or respond to situations in the colonies.
• Due to these conditions, Britain needed to allow the colonies to have a high degree of self-governance.

Colonies increasingly saw themselves as separate from Britain
• settlers of the 1600s had left their homes in England and moved to North America

• by the mid-1700s, many colonials had been born in the colonies

• Colonists felt little connection to a monarch in a faraway place
they had never seen

The Albany Plan of Union

1754 the British ordered the colonial governments to come
to Albany, New York to meet - Albany Congress
• purpose was to discuss how to unite the colonies and the
Iroquois Confederacy to fight the French
• This was on the eve of the French and Indian War

Benjamin Franklin suggested the Albany Plan of Union- an
annual assembly (meeting) of delegates from the 13
Colonies
• assembly would govern the 13 colonies and have the power
to raise taxes, manage a military, pass laws, and negotiate
with other groups.

Point to Ponder- What does this possibly foreshadow?

How did the Albany Plan propose a departure
from existing conditions in the colonies?

Draw

How did the Albany Plan propose a departure from existing conditions in the colonies? Circle the correct answer.

How did the Albany Plan propose a departure from existing conditions in the colonies?

What events or trends from 1607 to 1754 (the period covered
in this lesson) predicted the formation of a unified, independent United States?

Draw

What events or trends from 1607-1754 predicted the formulation of a unified, independent United States? Place an 'x' or check mark next to what you think are the 3 correct answers.

Essential Question: How did the experiences of the British colonies in North America lead toward a unified, independent United States government?

• Royal colonies, charter colonies, and proprietary colonies
varied in the level of control the British government had in
their governments.
• The Mayflower Compact is an early example of self-governance in the American colonies.
• Pennsylvania’s founding documents reflected values of Christian beliefs, religious freedom, and representative
government.
• The colonies governed with a high degree of independence
due to their physical distance from Britain.
• The Albany Plan of Union proposed a unified government for
the colonies, but it was rejected.