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Set Question:

Learn how English political traditions influenced the 13 colonies and the responsibilities of early colonial governments. Explore the role of John Peter Zenger in establishing freedom of the press and understand how the Navigation Acts affected the colonies' economy.

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Set Question:

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  1. Set Question: If you started your own colony what would be three laws you would want in place to protect the rights of the people in your colony?

  2. Objectives • Explain how English political traditions influenced the 13 colonies. • Describe the responsibilities of early colonial governments. • Identify John Peter Zenger’s role in establishing freedom of the press. • Understand how the Navigation Acts affected the colonies’ economy.

  3. Terms and People • legislature – a group of people who have the power to make laws • bill of rights – a written list of freedoms that a government promises to protect • habeas corpus – the principle that a person cannot be held in prison without being charged with a specific crime

  4. How did English ideas about government and trade affect the colonies? All English colonies shared a common English heritage, and that heritage included the idea that citizens had political rights. England also promoted the theory of mercantilism—that colonies existed to benefit their parent country—but some colonists began to question that theory.

  5. In 1215, English nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, which was the first document to place restrictions on an English ruler’s power. The rights listed in the Magna Carta were at first limited to nobles. Over time, the rights were extended to all English citizens.

  6. Magna Carta - the first document to place restrictions on an English ruler’s power.

  7. The Magna Carta: • limited the monarch’s right to levy taxes without consulting the nobles. • protected the right to property. • guaranteed the right to trial by jury.

  8. In the 1640s, power struggles between King Charles I and Parliament led to the English Civil War. King Charles I Parliament Parliamentary forces eventually won the war, executed the king, and briefly ruled England.

  9. In 1660, the monarchy was restored, but Parliament retained its traditional rights. In 1688’s Glorious Revolution, Parliament removed King James II from the throne and invited his daughter Mary and her husband William to rule. A condition of their rule, however, was that they sign the EnglishBill of Rights.

  10. The English Bill of Rights: • restated many of the rights granted by the Magna Carta. • upheld habeas corpus. • required that Parliament meet regularly.

  11. Habeas Corpus - the right of every prisoner to challenge the terms of his or her incarceration in court before a judge.

  12. The legal rights that Englishmen had won over the centuries led the colonists to expect a voice in their government. By 1760, every British colony in North America had a legislature of some kind, although the legislatures sometimes clashed with the colonial governors appointed by the king. Colonial Governors Appointed by the King Colonial Legislatures Most were elected

  13. The British government gave William Penn outright ownership of Pennsylvania. But in 1701, the colonists forced Penn to agree that: • only the General Assembly—not Penn or his council—could make laws. • only the king could overturn laws passed by the General Assembly.

  14. British and colonial governments were similar in some ways, but they had important differences.

  15. In the colonies, 50 to 75 percent of white men could vote, which was a far greater percentage than in England. But the following groups could not vote: • English women, even those who owned property. • Native Americans. • Africans, whether free or enslaved.

  16. Another important right for American colonists was the freedom of the press. In England, writers who criticized the government were punished, even if what they said was true. However, a trial in the colonies granted writers new freedom to publish the truth.

  17. John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, was charged with libelfor printing articles that criticized the governor. Jurors found Zenger not guilty because the articles he published were based on facts. FACTS

  18. The Zenger case helped establish the principle that a democracy depends on well-informed citizens. Therefore, the press has a right and a responsibility to keep the public informed of the truth. Freedom of the Press Today, freedom of the press is recognized as a basic American liberty.

  19. While colonists maintained some important rights, they felt burdened by Britain’s economic policies. Under the theory of mercantilism, colonies existed in order to enrich their parent country. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ In 1651, the English Parliament passed the first of several Navigation Acts, laws designed to funnel the colonies’ wealth to England.

  20. The Navigation Acts • Shipments of goods going from Europe to the Thirteen Colonies had to go through England first. • Imports going to England from the colonies had to be transported by English built and owned ships. • Colonists could only sell certain products to England, this included tobacco, sugar and lumber.

  21. Section Review QuickTake Quiz Know It, Show It Quiz

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