Chapter 2:2: Declaring Independence

Chapter 2:2: Declaring Independence

Objectives: 2:2 Our Political Beginnings o Students will explain how the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain changed during the pre- Revolutionary War Period. o Students will analyze why the Declaration of Independence is considered a Revolutionary document. o Students will analyze what government was like in the newly created United States.

Psa_119:45 And I shall walk at liberty; For I have sought thy precepts.

Rising Tensions o The 13 colonies were established separately but controlled under the king, and parliament had little say on how it ran. o London was 3,000 miles away, and it took nearly two months to sail the distance across a peril-filled Atlantic. o So in practice the colonists practice a lot of self-government. o Each colonial legislature assumed broad decision making powers.

Rising Tensions o By the mid-1700s, the relationship between Britain and the colonies had become federal. o This means that the central government in London was responsible for colonial defense and for foreign affairs. o It also provided a uniform system of money and credit and a common market for colonial trade. o There was little direct taxes to pay for the central government and a few regulations pertaining to trade were largely ignored.

Rising Tensions: o When George III assumed the throne in 1760, Britain began to deal more firmly with the colonies. o Restrictive trading acts were expanded and enforced. o New taxes were imposed. o Mostly to support British troops in North America.

Rising Tensions: o The cry was taxation without representation. o They saw little need for the costly presence of British troops since the French had been defeated and their power broken in the French Indian War (1754-1763). o The colonists considered themselves British subjects but refused to accept Parliament s claim that it had a right to control their own local affairs. o King s ministers were poorly informed.

THE ALBANY PLAN: o Ben Franklin proposed a plan in order to address the problem of colonial trade and attacks from the French and Indians. o Called the Albany Plan of Union. o Franklin proposed the formation of an annual congress of delegates from each of the 13 colonies.

THE ALBANY PLAN: o This body would have the power to raise military and naval forces, make war and peace with Native Americans, regulate trade with them, levy taxes, and collect customs and duties. o It was ahead of its time. o It was agreed at the Albany meeting but turned down by the colonies and by the crown.

Stamp Act Congress: o Britain s harsh tax and trade policies of the 1760s fanned resentment in the colonies. o Parliament had passed a number of new laws among them the stamp act of 1765. o The law required the use of tax stamps on all legal documents on certain business agreements, and on newspapers.

Stamp Act Congress: o The new taxes were widely denounced. o On October 1765, nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York.

Stamp Act Congress: o They prepared a strong protest, called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances against the new British policies and sent it to the king. o Action marked the first time a significant portion of the colonies opposed the crown.

Stamp Act Congress: o Parliament repealed the stamp act but passed new laws and new policies to tie the colonies more closely to London. o This resentment and anger led to the boycott or refusal to buy British goods. o British troops in Boston shot at a jeering crowd on 3 March 1770 called the Boston Massacre.

Stamp Act Congress: o Widespread protests and in 16 December 1773, the Boston Tea Party commenced with colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped British made tea to Boston harbor.

First Continental Congress: o Spring of 1774, parliament passed another set of laws, this time to punish the colonists for the troubles in Boston. o These new laws called the Intolerable Acts caused Massachusetts and VA to assemble and call a meeting of all the colonies.

First Continental Congress: o They sent a Declaration of Rights to George III and encouraged the colonies to refuse all trade with England until the hated taxes and trade regulations were repealed. o All the colonies supported the measure. o And agreed to meet at a Second Continental Congress.

Second Continental Congress: o Gathered in the winter of 1774-1775, and the British refused to compromise to the colonists. o Britain reacted with even more stricter measures. o On 10 May 1775, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, three weeks after 19 April when the first battles of the Revolution in Lexington and Concord began. o Each of the 13 colonies sent representatives.

Second Continental Congress: o And by necessity became the first national government. o The Second Continental Congress served for five fateful years, from the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 to the formation of the Articles of Confederation on 1 March 1781.

Second Continental Congress: o During that time, it fought a war, raised armies, and navy, borrowed money, bought supplies, created a monetary system, made treaties with foreign powers. o It was a unicameral congress where it exercised both legislative and executive powers. o Each colony had one vote for legislative matters.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: o Adopted on 4 July 1776, written by Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. o The 13 colonies became independent states. o The declaration stated that the people should rule instead of being ruled. o That all men were created equal with certain inalienable rights. o That the people consented to be governed, and not by divine right or tradition as the basis for the exercise of power.

THE FIRST STATE GOVERNMENTS: o January 1775, New Hampshire adopted a constitution that replaced its royal charter. o In 1776-1777, most of the states adopted a written constitution, bodies of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of their governments.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: o Assemblies or conventions were commonly used to draft and adopt these new documents. o Massachusetts set a lasting precedent in the constitution-making process. o There, a convention submitted its work to the voters for ratification. o The Massachusetts constitution of 1780 is the oldest of the present-day State constitutions.

COMMON FEATURES OF NEW STATES: o Popular Sovereignty: Principle insists that government can exist and function only with the consent of the governed. o It is the people who hold power; it is the people who are sovereign.

COMMON FEATURES OF NEW STATES: o Limited Government: The concept of the limited government was a major feature of each document. o The powers delegated to government were at best reluctantly granted and hedged with many restrictions.

COMMON FEATURES OF NEW STATES: o Civil Rights and Liberties: Seven of the new documents contained a bill of rights, setting out the unalienable rights held by the people. o In every state, it was made clear that the sovereign people held certain rights that government must respect at all times.

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: o The power granted to the new state governments were purposely divided among three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. o Each branch was given powers with which to check the other branches of government.

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: o The new state governments were rather short documents and declared limited powers to the government with most vested to the legislature with short elections. o The right to vote was limited to adult males who could meet property ownership and other rigid qualifications.