Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 Constructing a Government The...

Chapter 2: Constructing a Government: The Founding and the Constitution
No Taxation without Representation
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People of every nation tend to glorify their own history
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Governments encourage a heroic view of the nation’s past as a way of promoting national
pride/unity
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1 st principle of politics is that all political behavior has a purpose
First Founding: Interests and Conflicts
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American revolution and the constitution were expressions of a struggle among economic
and political forces within the colonies
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There were 5 sectors that were imp in colonial politics
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New England merchants (elite)
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Southern planters (elite)
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Royalists—holders of royal land, offices, & patents (elite)
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Shopkeepers, artisans, laborers
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Small farmers
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Groups were in conflict over issues of taxation, trade, and commerce
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After 1750 british tax/trade policies split the colonial elite
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Permitted radicals to expand their political influence
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set motion that culminated to the US revolution
British Taxes and Colonial Interests
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beg in 1750s debts/problems faced the british gov
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needed to find new revenue sources  Colonies
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1760s they imposed new most taxes
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stamp/sugar act greatly affected merchants and southern planters
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sought to organize opposition to the new taxes
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“No taxation w/o representation”
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Organized demonstration
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Boycotted
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Forced the crown to abolish most taxes
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Despite efforts to amend it was hard to end the political strife
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radicals asserted that the British were unjust
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began to advocate end of British rule
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Collective Action  colonists required strong leaders to resolve differences and organize
resistance to British authority
Political Strife and the Radicalizing of the Colonists
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Boston Tea Party 1773
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Decisive importance in American history
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Merchants wanted British to rescind the tea act
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They still didn’t seek independence
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Radicals wanted to provoke British to alienate colonists to pave way for rebellion
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Purpose of the Boston tea party  succeeded
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Set into motion cycle of provocations that led to the first continental congress
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Colonists began to consider the possibility of independence from British rule
The Declaration of Independence
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Written by Jefferson
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Adopted by the second continental congress
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Asserted that the “unalienable rights” could not be abridged by governments
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Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
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Despite differences of interest it identified and focused on problems, grievances, and
principals that might unify colonial groups

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An attempt to forge national unity
The Articles of Confederation
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America’s first written constitution
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Adopted by the continental congress in 1777 & lasted till 1789
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Concerned with limiting the powers of the central gov—Congress
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No executive branch
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States had the only right to execute laws
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Congress had very little power
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Each state had one vote
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Powers of Congress
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Declare war and make peace
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