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Our English Heritage. Chapter 2 Sec. 1. Section 1 vocabulary. Monarch Magna Carta Legislature Parliament Precedents Common Law Colony Charter. Compact Mayflower Compact. Influences from England’s early government.
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Our English Heritage Chapter 2 Sec. 1
Section 1 vocabulary • Monarch • Magna Carta • Legislature • Parliament • Precedents • Common Law • Colony • Charter • Compact • Mayflower Compact
Influences from England’s early government • When the English arrived in America, they brought with them limited and representative government • England was ruled by a monarch, a king or queen. Nobles held much power • The nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, which means “Great Charter” • This document upheld rights of landowners including equal treatment under the law and a trial by one’s peers. It limited the power of the king or queen
Influences from England’s early government • Nobles and church officials who advised Henry III developed into a legislature, or lawmaking body. This would eventually become known as Parliament • Years later parliament removed James II from the throne, known as the glorious revolution. From then on, no ruler would have more power than the legislature. • Parliament would eventually set up a Bill of Rights. It granted certain rights to all citizens • Rights such as free election, free speech, a fair jury, and no cruel and unusual punishment. • For a long time England had no written laws. Judges made rulings based on precedents, rulings in earlier cases that were similar • The system of law based on precedent and custom is known as common law
Bringing the English heritage to America • A colony is group of people in one place who are ruled by a parent country elsewhere • English colonists remained loyal subjects of England for decades. They accepted common law and expected the same rights they enjoyed in England • A charter is a written document granting land and authority to set up colonial governments • The Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact, a written plan that set up a direct democracy in the Plymouth colony • A compact is a legal written contract or agreement
Early colonial governments • English colonies that were set up after Jamestown and Plymouth followed their examples and set up similar compacts • Each colony had a governor and elected legislature, often modeled after Parliament • As time passed colonial governments began to take on more power. The king and parliament were often preoccupied at home. So the colonists got used to making their own decisions
