Roots of American Democracy Quiz

The ancient Romans adapted Athenian direct democracy to create a representative democracy, a republic. Roman citizens elected representatives rather personally voting on every issue themselves. The United States of America is both a democracy and a presidential republic.

The Magna Carta is a charter that established the rights of subjects after English nobles and church officials revolted against King John’s abuses. The document signed in 1215 only applied these rights to the nobility, but today its principles extend to all British citizens.

The Magna Carta was not successful initially, but it eventually became the foundation for the English system of common law. The Founding Fathers of the United States saw it as a historical precedent for asserting their liberty from the English crown. The rights that guaranteed by the Magna Carta influenced the US Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights, particularly the 5th and 6th Amendments.

During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, British Parliament removed King James II from the throne and bestowed the crown upon James’s daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange. The conditions of their coronation are called the English Bill of Rights, which includes such protections the right to a fair trial and to practice Protestantism.

The English Bill of Rights established substantial protections against tyranny. Many of these same rights were included in the United States Bill of Rights a century later.

The Enlightenment stemmed from the discoveries of the scientific revolution. Using logic and reason, thinkers broadened the scope of their study of nature to affect change — what we now call the social and applied sciences.

The Enlightenment thinker Thomas Hobbes first presented the concept of a “social contract” in Leviathan. He argued that because life in nature is “nasty, brutish, and short” people exchange their rights for the protection of a governments’ rule.

John Locke’s Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government was a foundational text for American revolutionaries, and Thomas Jefferson amended only slightly his list of natural rights in the Declaration of Independence

Montesquieu argued that a separation of the powers of government would help ensure no one branch could ever become powerful enough to threaten the rights of the citizens. The United States of America’s tripartite federal government structure adheres to this principle.

Voltaire’s writings promote liberty, including free speech, freedom of religion, free trade, freedom from censorship, and other civil liberties. Many of his ideas are echoed in the American Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

The House of Burgesses was established as the ruling assembly of the Jamestown colony in 1619. Colonists elected representatives to both make and enforce laws.

The Mayflower Compact was drafted and signed to establish a government for the Plymouth colony. The Pilgrims settled upon a form of direct democracy whereby decisions were discussed and decided upon at open town meetings. Although there were restrictions on who could vote, those with this right did so directly and not via elected representative.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was written in 1639. The colony of Connecticut was formed by European colonists forced out of Puritan-controlled Massachusetts. The Fundamental Orders established a representative democracy whereby colonists elected government officials to pass and enforce laws.

Many colonies had their own local governments, but British government kept many powers. This authority was enforced through laws, regulations, and official oversight.

“No taxation without representation!” may be the most famous phrase from the American Revolutionary era, but more than taxes were at stake. Without representation in Parliament, colonists were unable to participate in the legislative processes in London. Laws and regulations (not just taxes) were passed for the colonies without their consent.

The Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) spanned five continents and drained the British Empire of precious resources. Following the 1763 victory, the British government was left with little choice but to tax its subjects to refill the Empire’s coffers. In actuality, the residents of the English mainland faced far steeper taxes than anyone in North America.

By 1763, much of the coastal land in North America had been claimed by early settlers, companies, land speculators, and wealthy colonial families. As a result, newcomers to the colonies set out westward to stake their own claims. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 hampered their ability to realize the dream of setting up a new life on one’s own property.

Particularly in the northern colonies, American colonists actively rebelled against what they felt were tyrannical acts by the British government. New taxes, unfair regulations, and heightened military activity were all met with acts of protest.

About 20% of the American colonists probably identified as loyalists. In some places, they were targeted with acts of aggression and terror. In other places, like New York City, loyalists were in the majority and faced little persecution. Many loyalists remained British subjects after the American Revolutionary War by emigrating to Upper and Lower Canada or returning to Great Britain.

The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in September of 1774 to discuss how to respond to the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts passed by Parliament earlier that year. The focus of the colonial delegates remained on finding ways to repair the strained relationship between the colonies and Great Britain.

The Second Continental Congress began in May of 1775 and remained the de facto government of the Thirteen American colonies until 1781. The Congress was instrumental in creating the Continental Army, severing ties with Great Britain, and establishing the basis for the new United States government under the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government. Each of the thirteen states were given a large degree of autonomy to govern, tax, and establish laws as they saw fit.

The Federalists advocated for a strong federal system to govern the United States.

The United States Constitution was drafted and ratified in 1789 and replaced the Articles of Confederation. It established a stronger federal government with the power to tax, make and enforce laws, govern trade, and sign treaties.

The Anti-Federalists were worried about a strong national government. They wanted assurances that the rights of the people would be protected from all government tyranny, not just from the British monarch. The Bill of Rights was added as the first ten amendments to the Constitution to address their concerns.