U.S. Government and Civics / Unit 1: Foundations of Government
1.4 English and Colonial Roots
Notes
Colonists brought English ideas of limited government and representative government.
- Magna Carta (1215): English nobles forced King John to accept that the monarch is subject to the law; it protected rights such as trial by one's peers.
- Petition of Right (1628): limited the king's power to tax without Parliament's consent or jail people without cause.
- English Bill of Rights (1689): guaranteed free elections to Parliament, banned cruel and unusual punishment and limited the monarch.
- Virginia House of Burgesses (1619): the first elected representative assembly in the English colonies.
- Mayflower Compact (1620): Pilgrims agreed to make and obey just laws for the general good, an early example of self-government by consent.
- The rule of law means everyone, including leaders, must obey the law.
Practice
The Magna Carta was important because it established that:
The Magna Carta limited the king's power and laid the groundwork for the rule of law.
Which was the first elected representative assembly in the English colonies?
The House of Burgesses met in Jamestown in 1619.
The ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" in the U.S. Eighth Amendment can be traced to which English document?
The English Bill of Rights of 1689 contained a similar protection.
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