Unit 3: The US independence and the limits of liberty

Class Objectives

1. Patriotism & the rule of law

2. Events leading to the US independence
3. The limits of liberty
4. Notes on the US constitution

British Patriotism
1. Greatest naval & commercial power
2. Between 1607-1700, 500 000 left England, created bridges between continental
Europe and the colonies/ties
3. Primogeniture only the first male heir inherits the land
4. 180 000 to Ireland
5. 180 000 to the West Indies
a. Sugar cultivation promised riches if you could obtain land

6. 120 000 to Chesapeake area (Maryland and Virginia)

a. Tobacco production

7. Home of complex government (the parliament representing interests of aristocrats

& merchants but also used by the king) allegiance
8. Creating the feeling of patriotism is The long war with France led to:
9. Large military
10. High taxes
11. Creation of the Bank of England
12. British colonists had a shared sense of Identity. The british emerged as FREE with
a sense of security through the RULE Of LAW as a result of t he enlightenment
philosophy.

The British constitution

 The British Constitution in the eighteenth century was not a single written
document, but rather a mixture of English laws, customs, and precedents.
 In particular, the Glorious Revolution of 16881 and subsequent Revolution
Settlement established the constitution's fundamental character:
 the rule of law and
 the sovereignty of the people over the monarch through their elected
representatives. But determining which body of representatives, (Parliament in
London or the colonial assemblies), would have the last word in governing its
peoples became the basis of the dispute that we call the American Revolution.

George II Accessed the throne in 1760

Britain was dealing with serious debt due to:

1
The Glorious Revolution, also called “The Revolution of 1688” and “The Bloodless Revolution,” took place
from 1688 to 1689 in England. It involved the overthrow of the Catholic king James II, who was
replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange.
  Problems Immediately After the War a debt of more than (120 million pounds)
 Between 1763-1765 increased insecurity due to the “Pontiac uprising” an
unprecedented pan-Indian resistance to European colonization in North
America.
 Dozens of tribes challenged attempts by the British to impose their will and
abrogate the native’s sovereignty.
 Proclamation of 1763 King’s response to Natives attacking the frontiers
Becoming too expensive to protect colonists (320,000 pounds a year)
 Colonists unhappy about the order to remain to the east of the mountains.
 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act to help raise money to pay for the war.
This act taxed the sugar and molasses brought into the colonies, this made
colonists angry

 Stamp Act Passed on March 22, 1765 by Parliament.

Imposed on all American colonists.
 Required colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper (legal documents,
newspapers, playing cards).
 Colonists were used to paying taxes to regulate commerce (make people buy
certain goods) but not to raise money for the government.
 It was not approved by colonial legislatures because Parliament does not have
representatives for the colonies.
 Colonists opposed these taxes, so they held boycotts, this led to the repeal of the
Stamp Act

 The repeal of the stamp act was followed by a bundle of acts called the
Townshend act or Townshend Duties, 1767-1768 (to fund administration of the
British colonies in America.) Named after the Chancellor of the Exchequer who
proposed the program.

 Then in 1767, Parliament passed new tax laws called the Townshend Acts to tax
glass, tea, paint, and paper that was brought into the colonies. England even hired
more tax collectors!
The Boston tea party
 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act giving all control of the trade and delivery of
tea to the East India Tea Company. This meant that colonists could only buy tea
from England

 The Sons of Liberty decided to dress up as Mohawk Indians and sneak onto the
boats
 Sons of Liberty-group of colonists who were mad about the new laws and wanted
action!
 They dumped 300 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor

 But despite the lack of violence, the Boston Tea Party didn't go unanswered by
King George III and British Parliament.
  In retribution, they passed the Coercive Acts (later known as the Intolerable
Acts) which: closed Boston Harbor until the 340 chests of British East India
Company tea were paid for

The Boston Massacre:

 These new tax collectors were like British soldiers all over the colonies, their
presence in the streets annoyed the colonists. They got so angry that fights would
break out in the streets
 On March 5,1770, a large crowd of colonists gathered around the soldiers and
threw rocks and snowballs at them. In response the soldiers fired their guns, three
colonists were killed on the spot and two others died later.

 The Boston event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the
colonists. It showed Great Britain that Americans wouldn't accept taxation &
tyranny, they rallied American patriots across the 13 colonies to fight for
independence.

 At the beginning of 1776 most colonists were not patriots or loyalists. Most were
conflicted and didn’t know what course of action they should take.

• Common Sense is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776

advocating independence addressed to people in the Thirteen Colonies
Written in clear and persuasive prose, using moral & political arguments to encourage
common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government.
It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places Sold 500,000
copies in six months.
It was very influential, persuaded many Americans to become patriots.

• Before voting on the resolution a committee

Was formed to draw up a statement stating the reasons for independence.
Members of the committee were Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger
Sherman, and Phillip Livingston. Jefferson was the primary author.

• The Declaration has a preamble and three main parts.

• The preamble is another word for introduction.
• It starts “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands that connected them with another….”

5. The limits of liberty

 Notes on the US constitution
The Declaration of independence states natural rights
• This section states some general ideas about society. It was based on the work of
John Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher.
• The idea is that all men were created with rights given to them by the creator,
not by a king.
• States that rights are unalienable- which means they cannot be taken away.
• It states that all men are equal.
• It states that the government’s responsibility is to protect these unalienable rights.

Listing grievances
• States all of the reasons why the colonies want to be free. It states all the ways
that the king mistreated the colonists.
• This is the longest part of the Declaration.
• Ask students to highlight it
Dissolving the bonds
• Declares that the colonies are free and independent states.
• The document ends with a solemn pledge:
• “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually
pledge our Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor.”
The impact of the Declaration of Independence
• The Declaration changed the nature of the war. Colonists were now fighting for
the independence of their country and no longer for better treatment.
• Ideas from the Declaration still inspires us today. i.e. All men are created equal,
and the idea of natural rights.

The US constitution

This document was drafted in 1787. This was several years before the end of the
Revolutionary War and Britain's recognition of the United States as an
independent country.

Why Does the Constitution Matter?

 The Constitution matters for these reasons:

 It is the law of the land
 Stable government for 220+ years with only minor changes
required
There are (3) parts to the Constitution

1. The Preamble – lays out the purpose and introduces the Constitution
2. The 7 Articles – the substance of governmental law
3. 27 Amendments
The structure of the constitution:

 The Preamble--An introductory statement which sets forth the general

purposes of the American government:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.”
The seven articles

 I. The Legislative Branch

 II. The Executive Branch
 III. The Judicial Branch
 IV. Relations Among States
 V. The Amendment Process
 VI. National Debts, National Supremacy, Oaths of Office
 VII. Requirements for Ratification

Popular Sovereignty

 The ___People______ hold the ultimate authority

 The People have the POWER
 We elect leaders to do the will of the people
 The first 3 words of the Preamble to the Constitution are:
____We_____ _the___ ____People_______
 asserted as a founding principle of the USA, PS is government based on
consent of the people. The government’s source of authority is the people, and
its power is not legitimate if it disregards the will of the people.

The supremacy clause

Article VI of the Constitution states that the 'Constitution, and the Laws of the
United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof...shall be the Supreme
Law of the Land.' This is known as the Supremacy Clause. 

Limited government
 Framers wanted to guard against tyranny
 Government is limited to the power it is given by the Constitution.
(The national gov. CAN ONLY do what the Constitution says it can
do.)
 Aka as the RULE OF LAW
For Example: The Constitution tells how leaders who overstep their power can be
removed

Separation of Powers
  No one holds “too much” power
 3 branches of government
 Each branch has specific role

Checks and Balances

 Prevents the abuse of power in government by one branch

 Each branch has the power to check or override another branch
 Each branch is not totally independent of the others

An example of checks and balances

 Legislative Branch Makes a law.

 Executive Branch Sign or veto the law
 Judicial Branch Can declare law
unconstitutional

 Judicial review

 Courts may determine whether or not what the President or

Congress does is Constitutional
 5. Judicial Review
 If the court declares an act unconstitutional, the act is not a law
Federalism

 The division of power between the National Government and the

states. (10th amendment)
 The states and the national government are like partners in governing.
 The National Government has the “supreme power”- (Supremacy
Clause)
 The national government is given certain powers by the Constitution…
whatever is left is power for the states to use
Individual rights

 The Bill of Rights specifically is written to protect the individual rights of the
U.S. citizen against the government.

The Amendment Process (2 Steps)

. Proposition
2 Ways to Propose an Amendment
 2/3 vote in both houses of
Congress
- All 27 Amendments were proposed
this way
  2. Constitutional Convention
requested by 2/3 of the states
-Has not ever been used
Amendment #1: 5 rights mentioned
it was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that
constitute the Bill of Rights.
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution  make up the Bill of
Rights. James Madison  wrote the amendments, which list specific
prohibitions on governmental power, in response to calls from several
states for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties. For
example, the Founders saw the ability to speak and worship freely as a
natural right protected by the First Amendment. Congress is prohibited
from making laws establishing religion or abridging freedom of speech.
The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens’ right to be free from
unreasonable government intrusion in their homes through the
requirement of a warrant.

 Freedom of __Religion_____
 Freedom of ___Assembly____
 Freedom of __press_____
 Right to ____protection_____
 Freedom of ____speech___

Freedom of religion
 There are two parts or ________. The _____________ clause and the
free ________
clause.
 “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
or prohibiting the free exercise there of”

Establishment clause-Government
Can
 Teach about religions in
school
 Allow voluntary prayer in
many examples
 Transport students to a
religious school
Read Bible for culture or literacy
content
Can’t
 Set a state religion
 Government cannot order a
prayer
 Teach religious doctrine in the
school
 Pay seminary teachers
Teach creationism

Establishment and Free Exercise clause often conflict with each other
  In schools, the religion issue is most prevalent
 If a student raises his hand and says “teacher, can we say an
opening prayer before this test”

If the teacher says:

 “Yes”, It looks like establishment of religion
 “No”, Is it then denying a student free exercise?