Origins of the Constitution

1. Origins of the Constitution Do Now: 1.What do you think the word origin means? 2. What form of government do we have in the United States???? 3. Where do you think the framers of the Constitution got ideas from for the new government?

2. Our Founding Fathers looked far and wide to establish the best working government for our new nation. Our Constitution is comprised of aspects from many different countries, governments, and eras. Because we are a 'baby' nation, we were able to learn from the mistakes of others. Our founding fathers were able to pick and choose those aspects of government that would work best for us. Romans Greek Philosophers Native Americans Colonial Influences English Influences.

3. Ancient Rome *Republic: a form of government dedicated to promoting the public good, where political authority is shared amongst the citizens, and which used chosen representatives to exercise this authority. *Democratic: a government based on the will of the majority of people Side Note: because of the founding fathers fondness for the Romans, the architecture of many buildings in Washington D.C. reflects the classical style.

4. Ancient Greece "Cradle of Democracy" *Direct Democracy: All male citizens would gather, and discuss the issues, and then vote on them. This was possible because Athens was small, about 40,000 men. Impractical for large nations.

5. Philosophers *John Locke (1632-1704): Government is a social contract and the belief in natural rights *Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755): Separate the government's powers into divisions; so no one group could dominate government. *Rousseau (1712-1778): Government's role was to ensure that the common good, or general welfare, was protected. To achieve this, the people give up some rights to the government. Give an example of one right might be asked to give up to ensure the common good was protected????

6. Possible Native American Influences ** This topic is being studied. Whereas no concrete evidence that the Great Law of Peace directly influenced the framers many argue that the connection is valid. Here is a short quotation from James Mann, one of the leading writers on this topic: "So vivid were these examples of democratic self-government [from colonial Indian history] that some historians and activists have argued that the [Indians'] Great Law of Peace directly inspired the American Constitution. Taken literally, this assertion seems implausible. With its grant of authority to the federal government to supersede state law, its dependence on rule by the majority rather than consensus and its denial of suffrage to women, the Constitution as originally enacted was not at all like the Great Law. But in a larger sense the claim is correct. The framers of the Constitution, like most colonists in what would become the United States, were pervaded by Indian images of liberty"

7. Colonial Influences ** Let's discuss each of the following incidents and figure out how it influenced our Constitution... 1. Mayflower Compact (1620) 2. Articles of Confederation (1781) 3. Shays' Rebellion (1786)

8. English Influences ** How are each of these evident in our Constitution? English Heritage and Law Magna Carta Petition of Right Habeus Corpus Act English Bill of Rights