Our English Heritage

The Roots of American Democracy

Michael Quinones, NBCTwww.socialstudiesguy.com

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APK: Activation of Prior KnowledgeA single person ruling a country, however he/she sees fit, no matter how strict and mean is a convenient

and good thing [Explain why you agree or disagree].

Agree Disagree

Question of the DayWhy did English citizens seek freedom for themselves? [Use examples from what you learn in your answer]

Key Vocabulary Terms• Using the Cornell Note style explain in your own words what each of the following

terms means and why they were important

• Monarchy• Magna Carta [The Great Charter]• Colony• Mercantilism• Mayflower Compact• Social Contract

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Cornell Style Vocabulary Notes Term/Word Meaning/Explanation

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English cultureEnglish culture For centuries before For centuries before

England colonized the England colonized the new world she was new world she was ruled by a ruled by a MonarchyMonarchy..

Many of these monarchs Many of these monarchs held held absoluteabsolute power. power.

Power over everyone and Power over everyone and every thingevery thing..

[Click on link------------ for School House Rock video on British Colonial Government]

From where did this power come?• Source of power was

land and money.

• Kings and Queens secured loyalty from nobles by sharing this wealth.

• The greed of the monarchy eventually led to abuse.

• Taking back land, jailing and overtaxing nobles.

Magna Carta• Royal greed and

harsh treatment led to rebellion.

• The English gentry [nobles and knights] forced King John into concessions [giving rights and freedoms].

The Magna Carta: The Great Charter

• The concessions by the king were listed in the Magna Carta in 1215.

• What were they?

• Freedom of religion, right to justice, freedom of safe travel and others.

Making England Bigger

• England wanted to expand and get larger.

• England felt pressure to compete against France and Spain.

• France and Spain had colonies England wanted to take away.

• England paid for settlers to go to North America which later become the 13 colonies.

• These colonies became extensions of and controlled by England.

Jamestown, Virginia• The first permanent English

colony in America was Jamestown.

• A settlement founded in 1607 by people seeking to succeed and get rich.

• After Jamestown colonies spread throughout the east coast of America from New Hampshire to Georgia.

Financial Control of the Colonies

• Maintaining colonies was very expensive.

• Settlers wanted to keep the hard earned money they made.

• England wanted to exploit the colonies and its settlers for the good of the mother country.

• England “got tough” and began a system called mercantilism.

• Forced colonies to do business only with England [this concept helped England make a profit by making more money than they spent].

• This idea was made popular by the English economist Adam Smith

Englishmen with new ideas

• In 1620 a boatload of Englishmen left the oppression of England for America.

• They hoped for more religious and financial freedom.

• Before the Pilgrims exited the ship they drafted a document filled with rules called the Mayflower Compact.

• The rules and regulations were agreed to and signed by all men aboard.

• This was an example of direct democracy in America.

• The people were directly involved in deciding the rules without representatives.

The Social Contract

• Many smart and powerful English spoke out against the tyranny of the King.

• One of the most famous of all was John Locke.

• Based on his personal experience Locke believed the only legal government was one with the consent of the people.

• This concept was called the Social Contract which was written in the late 1600’s.

Common Law• This type of law was brought to

America from English courts.

• Different from other types of laws because they were not passed by legislatures.

• Judges’ decisions [rulings] became examples that acted as laws.

• When judges decided new cases they looked at past decisions, called precedents, for assistance in making rulings.

Incident-Something that happens.Precedent-Something that happened before. Pre-The past, before.

The Example

1995

Peter Smith’s dog escapes from his home and bites the neighbor. The attack caused a gash that required medical treatment including stitches. The incident resulted in a court case with a judge ruling $500 in favor of the dog bite victim.

2005

While walking his dog Steve Jones lost control of the leash and it bit a mailman. The bite sent the victim to the emergency room to receive expensive medical attention. There were no existing laws covering dog bites. The judge in this case researched past cases, precedents, and agreed with the 1995 ruling which he decided was fair and awarded the same $500.

Sources

• http://mal.sbo.hampton.k12.va.us/fourth/socstudies/imagesss/13colonies.jpg

• http://mysite.verizon.net/brewstersociety/MayflowerCompact.jpg

• http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/02016/images/C_celtic-crucifix~100.jpg

• http://www.biblehelp.org/images/stacks%20of%20money.jpg• http://fixedreference.org/2006-Wikipedia-CD-Selection/

images/50/5051.jpg• http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/

7/7d/220px-AdamSmith.jpg• http://www.apva.org/tour/vamap.jpg