Essay preview
Study Unit
The Origins of
American
Government
By
Robert G. Turner Jr., Ph.D.
About the Author
Robert G. Turner Jr. holds a B.S. in business and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in sociology. He has more than 20 years of teaching
experience, mainly at the college level, and is currently serving as an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. Dr. Turner is primarily employed as a professional freelance writer. His literary credits include two stage plays, two novels, and two nonfiction works, along with an array of publications in academic and
educational venues.
All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
Copyright © 2003 by Education Direct, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. EDUCATION DIRECT is a registered trademark used herein under license. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to Copyright Permissions, Education Direct, 925 Oak Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18515.
Printed in the United States of America
In the final part of this unit, you’ll learn that Americans thought of themselves as British subjects for a long time.
When America was born in 1776, British settlers had been
here since 1607. That’s 169 years. Over that period, the
colonists had developed their own customs and ways of
thinking about things. For example, think of the way that
the British and the Americans use the English language.
They both speak English, but there’s a difference. In a way, the colonists were developing their identity as Americans
long before 1776. Then, in the years leading up to 1776,
Americans began to feel hemmed in by Parliament and the
English king. People began to whisper to each other about
independence. When the British made the colonies pay unfair
taxes, that whispering became shouting. American patriots
formed a Continental Congress and openly challenged King
George III of England.
Preview
Preview
You’ll begin this unit by thinking
about the nature of government
in general. Although this course
is about American government,
you’ll first look at ideas about
government across time. You’ll
see how governments began.
You’ll see what the basic purposes of government are now and what they’ve always been. You’ll see how modern governments differ from one another. With all of these things in mind,
you’ll then begin the study of American government. Well,
almost. You see, America’s form of government owes much
to English history. You’ll come to understand how English
ideas of representative government were brought to
American shores. You’ll see that England and America
were—and still are—political cousins.
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When you complete this study unit, you’ll be able to
•
•
Describe the different types of government and give
examples of each
•
Outline the way in which English government affected the
government in America
•
Identify and explain the different types of government in
the early American colonies
•
Describe the events that caused unrest in the
American colonies
•
Explain the events of the First and Second
Continental Congress
•
Summarize the provisions of the Articles of Confederation
•
iv
Define government and explain its purpose
Briefly outline the major events and battles of the
American Revolution
Preview
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What Is Government?
The Purpose of Government
Types of Governments
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3
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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
BEFORE INDEPENDENCE
The Early Colonists
Magna Carta: Challenges to the King
Parliament: A Check on the Power of Monarchy
The Prime Minister
Government in the Early American Colonies
Types of Colonies
THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
Unrest in the American Colonies
First Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
Articles of Confederation
American Revolution
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39
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SELF-CHECK ANSWERS
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APPENDIX:
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
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Contents
Contents
THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT
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The Origins of American Government
THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT
What Is Government?
Simply put, government is one or more people who exercise
control over a society. A society is a group of people who live and work in a particular area, such as a state or nation. The people in the society may or may not have a say in how the
government operates.
Human societies have existed for many thousands of years.
The earliest societies were small bands, or groups. They
had no government as we know it today. Even so, a form of
governing did exist. Groups of elders would gather to consider the needs of the band and make decisions on important
matters. For example, the elders would decide where the
people should travel next in search of food.
Later, in tribal societies, government became more formal.
Most often, councils of elders gathered under the guidance
of chiefs. Before Europeans arrived in America, tribal chiefs usually served different purposes. Some would act as
authorities on settling disputes. Others would plan for
war or organize religious ceremonies.
As societies became larger and more complex, so did their
governments. About 7,000 years ago, people in the Middle
East and Africa began systematic farming. This type of
development is called an agricultural revolution. Before this, people simply raised vegetables in local gardens. Now, this
new kind of farming produced surpluses of grains like wheat, rice, and oats, which could be stored for future use. That’s important. Before the agricultural revolution, people were
always in danger of running out of food if a crop failed or if game was scarce.
An agricultural
revolution occurs
whenever there are
significant
discoveries,
technologies, or
inventions that
change agricultural
production.
A surplus is the
amount left over
after a need is
satisfied.
1
With organized farming, however, came the need for organized government. In fact, most historians agree that the agricultural revolution brought about organized governments and civilizations.
A social class is a
group of people
with similar positions in society.
Artisans are people
who make things
that people need,
like pots, weapons,
and bricks for
building.
As civilizations rose and fell, societies changed. Harvest surpluses allowed for larger populations. As populations grew, people were divided into social classes (Figure 1). Farmers
made up the largest social class. But there were also rulers and priests, who were usually the only people who could read and write. Other social classes included traders, soldiers,
and artisans. As societies became larger and more complex,
they began to need written laws. The first written laws were developed in Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq.
The earliest roots of modern European government came
from two great civilizations—Greece and Rome. At first,
Greece was the dominant civilization of Europe and the
Mediterranean area. During this time, something extraordinary happened. We call it democracy. About 350 B.C., Athens was the greatest city in a region called Attica. It was in
Athens that democracy was invented, and that’s why our
word democracy comes from Greek. The first part of the
word, demos, means “the people.” Democracy is government that draws its power from the people. Of course, in Athens,
rule wasn’t by all the people. Only male citizens who owned property could gather to make public policy and pass laws.
Slaves, women, and children weren’t considered citizens.
FIGURE 1—As populations grew, people were
divided into social classes. This diagram illustrates the approximate size and rank of some of
these classes.
High Priest
Military Leader
Priests and Scribes
Officers
Artisans
Soldiers
Rulers
Farmers
Slaves
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The Origins of American Government
All of the major Greek philosophers thought democracy was a bad form of government. Two of these philosophers were Aristotle and Plato.
Aristotle claimed that the com-
Plato, in his critique of democracy,
peting interests in a democracy
called The Republic, claimed that
made for chaos rather than
democracy allowed people to
purposive and deliberated
follow all their passions and
action.
drives without order or control.
As the power of Rome grew stronger, the power of Greece
grew weaker. Yet, the Greek and Roman ideas about government were mixed. In fact, historians speak of this early period as the Greco-Roman period. They do so to remind us that both societies shared ideas about citizenship and government. The Roman Empire in the western part of Europe ended
around 476 A.D. In the eastern part of Europe, it lasted until about 1100 A.D. But, to this day, the foundations of Roman
roads exist in England and all over Europe. Some modern
roads have been built over them. Those old roads serve as
reminders that European civilization was built on Roman
foundations. European and American ideas about law,
citizenship, and representative government came from
Roman times.
The Purpose of Government
All governments have three basic purposes:
1. To decide how food and other resources are to
be distributed
2. To settle disputes among people in an effort to
maintain order
3. To organize the work of the people to meet
common goals
The Origins of American Government
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Let’s look more closely at each of these purposes.
Distributing Resources
In tribal societies, harvested food was
often brought to a chief. The chief
would then see that the food was distributed. Everyone received a share of the maize (a kind of corn), fish, and
other kinds of food.
Today, our way of getting the things
we need is much more complicated.
People are paid for their work in money, which they use to
buy what they need. Distributing resources in our society
requires many laws and regulations—laws for printing and
distributing money to banks, laws and regulations for all the kinds of businesses and occupations, and so on.
All types of governments are based on two factors: first, who has power to make decisions and second, the way in which
people make a living. When people think of government, they
often think of the power factor. But the main way in which
people make a living is what determines the way that power
is used. The main way people make a living indicates what
kind of economy a society has. The economy and the use of
power go together.
For example, in ancient Egypt most people were farmers. The
pharaoh (supreme ruler) appointed ministers to take a portion of the farmers’ harvests. You can think of these portions as “harvest taxes.” Other officials had to keep track of who owned parcels of land. To do this, they had to develop a form of writing. So, as you can see, Egyptian pharaohs had to use their power to regulate harvests and the storage of food surpluses.
In modern societies, people have many different kinds of
jobs. Only a few people are farmers. Others work in factories. Others mine coal or run power plants to supply electricity.
Lots of people work to provide telephone service. Still others work in banks or grocery stores. Some people are dentists,
doctors, and lawyers. You could add many more occupations
to this list.
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The Origins of American Government
Because of the great variety of jobs, modern society is said to have a complex division of labor. That is, people make their living in all kinds of different ways. But, most important, all of the jobs you can think of are connected to other people’s jobs. Mechanics are needed because other people make automobiles. Banks are needed to lend money to people who want to buy new automobiles. You can probably think of
many more examples of this sort of thing. Because our economy is complicated, government must serve many purposes. It must regulate buying and selling. It must make sure that
banks have enough money to make loans. It must pass laws
about how people use automobiles. You’re probably getting
a good idea now of why the economy and the use of power
go together.
Settling Disputes
Tribal societies had customs but no
written laws. After the agricultural
revolution, some civilizations needed
written laws to organize work and settle disputes. Where there are laws, there must be government. And
where there’s government, there must
be people who make laws and enforce
laws. Because people often disagree
about many different things, government must have ways to
manage conflict. As you might guess, this means that governments must establish courts of law and police forces. Later in this course, you’ll learn how laws and the courts are set up in America.
Organizing Work to Meet Common Goals
In tribal societies, elders or chiefs
organized people for hunting buffalo
or for defending the tribe against an
enemy. In modern societies, life isn’t
quite so simple. Most work that people do is regulated by organizations like corporations and small businesses and like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which collects taxes.
The Origins of American Government
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On the other hand, the government in America regulates the
economy. For example, it tries to make sure food is safe for people to eat. It also regulates the economy by controlling
the money supply. But individuals themselves decide how to
make their living. The government doesn’t establish private work organizations. The people are basically free to farm the land, start businesses, go to school to learn to fix computers, or do whatever else they would like.
So how do modern governments organize the work of the
people to meet common goals? They do so in a variety of
ways. Let’s look at just two of them.
The common defense. One of the main goals of governments is to provide for the common defense. This means that the government is responsible for protecting and defending
the people who live within the area controlled by that government. In the United States, the federal government is responsible for maintaining the armed forces, which in turn provide for the common defense. The army, navy, marines, air force,
and coast guard are under the control of the United States
government. National Guard units, on the other hand, are
maintained by the state governments. However, in time of
need, the National Guard can be federalized—that is,
brought under the control of the federal government. When
that happens, National Guard units become part of the overall armed forces as long as they’re needed. Gathering intelligence about other countries is also vital to modern defense. For that reason, the U.S. government has established intelligence agencies. The largest and best known of these is the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Police and emergency services. The federal government
maintains several organizations dedicated to police and emergency services. Policing agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service. The Secret Service is part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Figure 2). Federal emergency service agencies include the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National
Red Cross. According to its Web site, the purpose of FEMA is “responding to, planning for, recovering from, and mitigating against disasters.” The National Red Cross offers disaster services, biomedical services, health and safety services,
community services, youth services, volunteer services,
and others.
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The Origins of American Government
FIGURE 2—The Department
of the Treasury is housed in
this building in Washington,
D.C.
Under the United States Constitution, police powers are
reserved mainly to the states. Local and state police organizations are maintained within the states and localities. The same is true for fire departments and emergency medical
services. Nearly all localities maintain volunteer fire departments and lifesaving squads (Figure 3). FIGURE 3—Most towns have
a volunteer fire department
manned by residents of that
town.
The Origins of American Government
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Types of Governments
In the world today are hundreds of sovereign states. A state or nation is called sovereign because it has the right to its own form of government. Although there are many different
kinds of national governments, most can be grouped into two
categories: authoritarian governments and democratic governments. An authoritarian government rules without the consent of the people. By contrast, a democratic government is based on the will of the people.
Authoritarian Governments
There are three basic kinds of authoritarian governments:
absolute monarchies, dictatorships, and totalitarian states. Absolute monarchies. Absolute
monarchies are governments ruled
by emperors, kings, or queens who
have absolute power. In 44 B.C.,
Augustus Caesar became the first
Roman emperor. At that time, a
senate advised the king. But the senate had lost its real power. Augustus actually held absolute power.
Much later, around 1643 A.D., Louis XIV held absolute power
as king of France. He called himself le Roi Soliel (the Sun
King). He used that name to show the French people that he
was the center and the source of power in France. Louis XIV
also said, “L’état, c’est moi,” which means “I am the state.” Statements such as these illustrate the power these monarchs held during that period of history.
Louis XIV became king
of France in 1643 A.D.,
when he was only 5
years old. However, he
wasn’t allowed to rule
until 1651 A.D., when he
was 13.
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Some absolute monarchs, like King Solomon in ancient
Israel, have ruled in a just and wise manner. On the other
hand, many absolute monarchs were cruel and unjust.
In Europe, absolute monarchy was justified by a religious
idea called the divine right of kings. In other words, kings ruled by God’s will. Today, that idea is no longer accepted, and few absolute monarchies exist. Present-day monarchs
like Queen Elizabeth of England don’t actually rule.
The Origins of American Government
The British Parliament and the prime minister govern the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Queen Elizabeth is honored as a symbol of the nation, but
she has little real power. (Later in this study unit, you’ll learn more about Parliament and the prime minister of England.)
Note: Another type of monarchy is called a constitutional
monarchy. In such a government, the powers of the ruler are
limited to those granted under the constitution and laws of
the nation. Some nations with this type of government have a written constitution (for example, Denmark and Norway);
others, like Great Britain, have an unwritten constitution.
Dictatorships. Dictatorships take
different forms. There are pure dictatorships in which one person holds all power. For example, the brutal
military leader Idi Amin was the dictator of the African state of Uganda. He ruled by gathering wealth for
himself and his associates. He did so
by using force and fear to control the
people of Uganda. Juan Perón, another military leader, was
the dictator of Argentina in South America from 1946 to
1974. Perón wasn’t as cruel as Idi Amin. He did help the
industrial workers in the form of pay increases and fringe
benefits. But he ruled the country of Argentina with military power, and he eliminated the people’s constitutional rights. Sometimes, dictatorships exist as small groups called
oligarch...