English Government

Who made the laws?

• Legislature – lawmaking body of a government• Parliament –

legislative body in Britain

Magna Carta• In 1215, nobles forced King John to sign this

document giving nobles certain rights, especially over land ownership• Showed the king would now have limits to power

by guaranteeing no one was above the law• Rule of Law• Viewed as the most important document in the

history of government• Established the concept of limited government• Page 768

Magna Carta

Parliament

• King Henry III met with nobles regularly• Developed into Parliament or the

legislative body for England• Britain moved from an Authoritarian

Absolute Monarchy to a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy by the late 1300s

Other Key Events in English Gov’t History• 1688 – Parliament removed King James from his

position• Showed parliament was the true power of England

• 1689 – English Bill of Rights• Gave parliament power to raise taxes, make laws and

control the army• Monarch could not suspend Parliamentary laws• Parliament is the TRUE power

• Parliament would be elected freely• Free speech & a right to trial were established• Banned cruel & unusual punishment

Common Law

• Based on precedents (an earlier ruling in a similar situation)• Rests on Court decisions rather than

lawmakers

The Enlightenment

• Greatest influence on American government• Philosophy in which reason or ability to think

was used as the basis for authority• Examples• Documents: Declaration of Independence, Bill

of Rights• People: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine,

Thomas Jefferson

Principals of American Democracy

• Rule of Law – Magna Carta – no one is above the law• Limited Government – Magna Carta & John

Locke– government is not all powerful, it may only do what people have given it to do• Consent of the Governed – John Locke – citizens

source of power• Individual rights – John Locke – seen in the

Declaration of Independence – protected by the government

Principals of American Democracy cont.

• Representative Government – government represents the wants & needs of citizens• Majority Rule – When differences arise, we will

abide by what most people want• Minority Rights – at the same time as going with

the majority, we will respect the rights of the minority

John Locke• English philosopher – believed in limited government• Wrote the Second Treatise of

Government • Natural Rights• People have certain rights that

cannot be taken away• Life, Liberty & Property

• His ideas led to the rebirth of democracy• “Whenever Law ends, Tyranny begins.”

– Second Treatise of Government• Class Discussion: What do you think he

means by this quote?

• Helped develop the Social Contract Theory with Jean Jacques Rousseau• Government is bound by contract with its

people but people give up absolute freedom• In exchange, the government protects the rights

of citizens• The role of government is protect citizens’ rights• If the government is not doing this, the people can

redefine their government (EX: vote them out of office)

• If the government itself infringes on the rights of people or seriously undermines the people, the people have a right to revolution