Civics 105: Documents That Formed America

© 2021 Roger L. Kemp. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/17/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-3523-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-3522-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021916926

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Preface

Lesson1: The Mayflower Compact

Mayflower Compact

The History*

The Document

Lesson2: The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

The History*

The Document

Lesson3: The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress

Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress

The History*

The Document

Lesson4: The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

The History*

The Document

Lesson5: The Virginia Declaration of Rights

Virginia Declaration of Rights

The History*

The Document

Lesson6: The Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

The History*

The Document

Lesson7: The Constitution of Massachusetts

Constitution of Massachusetts

The History*

The Document

Lesson8: The Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation

The History*

The Document

Lesson9: The Constitution of the United States

Constitution of the United States

The History*

The Document*

Lesson10: The Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

The History*

The Document

Lesson11: Other Amendments to the Constitution of the United States

Other Amendments to the Constitution of the United States

The History*

The Document

Lesson12: The Civil Rights Act

Civil Rights Act

The History*

The Document

Lesson13: The Voting Rights Act

Voting Rights Act

The History*

The Document

The Future

The Future of Democracy

Appendices

A. Glossary of Terms

B. Local Government Historical Document

C. United States Voting Rights History

D. National Resource Directory

E. State Municipal League Directory

F. State Library Directory

G. Books by Roger L. Kemp

H. World Travels by Roge L. Kemp

I. Some Final Thoughts

Notes

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Kieran,

The best and the brightest

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Grateful acknowledgements are made to the elected officials, appointed

officials, and citizens, of those cities that I have worked and lived in

during my over a quarter-century public service career on both coasts of

the United States.

These states and cities include the following:

PREFACE

American citizens have a lot to be proud of! They live in one of the oldest democratic forms of government in the world, and this form of government has helped create a society in which citizens are free to get involved in the political process. Citizens can vote, run for political office, endorse incumbents, promote new public office seekers, or merely back other people who do so. Also, between elections citizens are free to attend public meetings, many of which are required by law, speak about their policy and program preferences at these meetings, write letters to the editor, and even organize others to get involved in their political agenda.

The involvement of citizens in the American political process has changed over the years. For many years, citizens believed in Jacksonian Democracy, whereby they would get directly involved in the political process by attending meetings, advocating for pieces of legislation, or trying to change or invalidate legislation that they did not like. This political activism on the part of citizens primarily took place before the era of two income families, before there came to be little time for this type of political involvement. Democracy in America was founded on the principle of active political involvement on the part of its citizens.

Most adult households now have both parents working, and family time is limited to a few hours in the evenings after work. Many citizens nowadays merely elect their political representatives, and hold them accountable at voting time from election to election. This evolving type of democratic involvement on the part of citizens is called Jeffersonian Democracy. Many citizens have justified this type of political involvement by acknowledging that elections and voting give the common person a chance to elect the uncommon person to represent them. Under this evolving practice, the typical involvement of many citizens in the political process is merely voting at election time.

The political involvement of many Americans in years past included picketing, protesting, marching, signing petitions, attending public meetings, and publicly debating the issues. Today Americans may wear a political button, display a bumper sticker on their car, or place a candidate’s sign in their front yard. Many citizens may also contribute financially to political campaigns. Because of other social and economic commitments, American citizens have evolved throughout history from engaging in very active political involvement to more passive political activities.

Everyone will agree that there is no perfect form of government, and the best form is one that has evolved and changed over time to best serve its citizens. Most citizens today take their form of government for granted. After all, it is the only form of government they have ever known. While history is provided to students in high school and college, little time is spent focusing on how our country’s democratic form of government was established and, most importantly, how it has evolved over time to become one of the most respected national governments in the world. Many history classes start with the landing of the Pilgrims, and never cover the background and mind-set of the early settlers from the Kingdom of England. They had a form of government that greatly influenced and impacted the early settlers in the New World.

This volume focuses on the basics of the formation of America’s democracy, and the changes that have taken place over the years through legislation, constitutional amendments, supreme court decisions, and the impact of the evolution of our culture over time on our political processes. Many of the political changes to our democracy, and its form of government, resulted over time in response to changing citizen values and expectations. As American society evolved, so did many aspects of its democracy. These changes have manifested themselves in every changing political process, new and revised laws and regulations, as well as the magnitude and type of services provided by its governments.

For ease of reference, this volume is divided into eleven sections. These sections introduce the reader to the subject of American democracy. Section three, this book contains the core documents that established our democratic form of government. The final section examines the future of democracy, as well as its worldwide implications. Several appendices are also included to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the complex and dynamic field of America’s democracy.

The Core Documents

Various documents helped form America’s democratic form of government, starting with those created by the Pilgrims soon after their landing in an unfamiliar part of the world far from their home. The original colonists were loyal to England, and it took a war to emancipate the colonies and their residents, the colonists, from the government of their homeland. During this time colonies emerged, citizens were elected to hold public office, wars were fought, treaties were negotiated, and even amendments were made to the basic documents of government over the years. The documents examined in this section include:

• The Mayflower Compact, which was signed by the Pilgrims of the New World on November 21, 1620. The first document in the New World was signed to preserve order and establish rules for self-governance.

• The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which were approved by the Colony Council on January 14, 1639. This document is considered the first written constitution establishing a formal government in the New World.

• The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, which were approved by the Continental Congress on October 14, 1774. This document was created to make the King and Parliament of England officially aware of the grievances of the colonies.

• The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, which was approved by the Continental Congress on July 6, 1775. This document was prepared to explain why the Thirteen Colonies had taken up arms against England in a battle that was later called the American Revolution.

• The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was approved by the House of Burgesses on June 12, 1776. This document reflects the first declaration of the rights of citizens by a colony in the New World.

• The Declaration of Independence, which was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. This document is the product of the early days of the Revolutionary War, and officially declared the independence of the American colonies from Great Britain.

• The Constitution of Massachusetts, which was approved by the State Constitutional Convention Representatives on June 15, 1780. This document is the oldest functioning written constitution in continuous use by any government in the world.

• The Articles of Confederation, which were approved by the Congress of the Confederation on March 1, 1781. This document is historically recognized as the first constitution of the United States of America.

• The Constitution of the United States, which was approved by the Congress of the Confederation on September 17, 1787. The original constitution is known as the supreme law of the United States. It provides the foundation, and source of legal authority, as well as built-in checks-and-balances, for the United States and its federal government.

• The Bill of Rights, which was approved by the United States Congress on December 15, 1791. This document reflects the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. While introduced by James Madison in the First United States Congress in 1789, they were not effective until approved by three-fourths of the states two years later.

• The Other Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, which were approved by the United States Congress between February 7, 1795 and May 7, 1992. The Constitution of the United States contains an amendment process. This document includes those amendments made to the Constitution since the passage of the Bill.

The Future

The final chapter of this volume, The Future of Democracy, examines the impact that democracy has had on the United States of America, as well as the goal of its government to advance freedom and democracy throughout the world over the years. The author discusses the history of America’s democracy, including past problems and threats, and goes on to examine international threats facing our nation and its citizens, as well as their form of government. The author states that the underlying theme of American history has been the willingness of our government, as influenced by its politicians, to defend our security and our interests in ways that, in the long run, have led to the expansion of democratic values and institutions. He concludes by stating that America, and its form of government, is looked upon as a model to emulate by citizens of other countries throughout the world.

Appendices

Many hours were spent researching the valuable resource materials contained in this volume. Since this volume focuses on documents, every effort was made to provide background information for the reader to become more familiar with the history of America’s democratic form of governance, and the various documents that created it.

Lastly, the appendices at the end of this volume include a glossary of government terms, a history of citizen voting rights in our nation, as well as state and natural government resource directories. Closing appendices include a listing of books by the author, the world travel during his public service career, and some important information.

Roger L. Kemp

LESSON ONE

THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT

Mayflower Compact

(November 21, 1620)

Pilgrims of the New World

The History

¹*

The settlers who came to the New World brought with them a great deal of baggage in the form of ideas and beliefs they had held dear in England. Indeed, many of them, such as the Puritans, came to America so they could live in stricter accord with those beliefs. The Pilgrims, a branch of the Puritans, arrived off the coast of Massachusetts in November 1620, determined to live sacred lives according to biblical commands, and in so doing to build a city upon a hill that would be a beacon to the rest of the world.

But aside from their religious enthusiasm, the Pilgrims also knew that the English settlement founded a few years earlier at Jamestown in Virginia had practically foundered because of the lack of a strong government and leadership. They would not make that mistake, and agreed that once a government had been established, they would obey the commands of its leaders.

In making this compact, the Pilgrims drew upon two strong traditions. One was the notion of a social contract, which dated back to biblical times and which would receive fuller expression in the works of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke later in the century. The other was the belief in covenants. Puritans believed that covenants existed not only between God and man, but also between man and man. The Pilgrims had used covenants in establishing their congregations in the Old World. The Mayflower Compact is such a covenant in that the settlers agreed to form a government and be bound by its rules.

The Compact is often described as America’s first constitution, but it is not a constitution in the sense of being a fundamental framework of government. Its importance lies in the belief that government is a form of covenant, and that for government to be legitimate, it must derive from the consent of the governed. The settlers recognized that individually they might not agree with all of the actions of the government they were creating; but they, and succeeding generations, understood that government could be legitimate only if it originated with the consent of those it claimed to govern.

On November 21, 1620, forty-one adult male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact. The compact served as a device to preserve order and establish rules for self-government. The signers agreed to combine themselves into a civil Body Politick that would enact and obey just and equal laws that were made for the general good of the colony. This commitment to justice and equality would be reiterated in many later documents, including the U.S. Constitution.

There were two other colonies in the New World prior to the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620. The first was the Roanoke Colony, which was located on Roanoke Island in the Virginia Colony and financed by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 16th century. Between 1585 and 1587, several groups attempted to establish this colony, but had abandoned the settlement. The final group of colonists disappeared after three years had elapsed without receiving supplies from the Kingdom of England during the Anglo-Spanish War, leading to the continuing mystery commonly known as The Lost Colony.

The second settlement was the first successful English settlement in the New World. Named after King James I of England, Jamestown was founded in the Virginia Colony in May of 1607. Jamestown was founded for the purpose of making a profit from gold mining for its investors, while also establishing a permanent foothold in the New World for England. These settlers were given a charter and funded by the Virginia Company, a private corporation. Other successful colonies in North America were in Spanish dominions such as New Spain, New Mexico, and Spanish Florida.

Because the first settlement at Roanoke did not materialize, and the second settlement at Jamestown was a private venture, the Pilgrims are recognized as the first group of emigrants to the New World to draft their own charter, or compact as they called it, and to establish their own civil society with a governmental structure.

The Document

Mayfower Compact

We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the end aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.

– Signed by forty-one (41) adult male passengers.

LESSON TWO

THE FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS OF CONNECTICUT

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

(January 14, 1639)

Colony Council

The History

²*

The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on January 14, 1639.[¹][²] The orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River towns, setting its structure and powers.

It has the features of a written constitution, and is considered by some as the first written Constitution in the Western tradition,[³] and thus earned Connecticut its nickname of The Constitution State. John Fiske, a Connecticut historian, was the first to claim that the Fundamental Orders were the first written Constitution, a claim disputed by some modern historians.[⁴] The orders were transcribed into the official colony records by the colony’s secretary Thomas Welles. It was a Constitution for the colonial government of Hartford and was similar to the government Massachusetts had set up. However, this Order gave men more voting rights and opened up more men to be able to run for office positions.

In 1635 a group of Massachusetts Puritans and Congregationalists who were dissatisfied with the rate of Anglican reforms, sought to establish an ecclesiastical society subject to their own rules and regulations. The Massachusetts General Court granted them permission to settle the cities of Springfield, Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford.[⁵] Ownership of the land was called into dispute by the English holders of the Warwick Patent of 1631. The Massachusetts General Court established the March Commission to mediate the dispute, and named Roger Ludlow as its head. The Commission named 8 magistrates from the Connecticut towns to implement a legal system. The March commission expired in March 1636, after which time the settlers continued to self-govern. On May 29, 1638 Ludlow wrote to Massachusetts Governor Winthrop that the colonists wanted to unite ourselves to walk and lie peaceably and lovingly together. Ludlow drafted the Fundamental Orders, which were adopted on January 14, 1639, which established Connecticut as a self-ruled entity.

There is no record of the debates or proceedings of the drafting or enactment of the Fundamental Orders. It is postulated that the farmers wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation by the English authorities. According to John Taylor:[⁶]

The men of the three towns were a law unto themselves. It is known that they were in earnest for the establishment of a government on broad lines; and it is certain that the ministers and captains, the magistrates and men of affairs, forceful in the settlements from the beginning, were the men who took the lead, guided the discussions, and found the root of the whole matter in the first written declaration of independence in these historical orders.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is a short document, but it contains some principles that were later applied in creating the United States government. Government is based in the rights of an individual, and the orders spell out some of those rights, as well as how they are ensured by the government. It provides that all free men share in electing their magistrates, and uses secret, paper ballots. It states the powers of the government, and some limits within which that power is exercised.

In one sense, the Fundamental Orders were replaced by a Royal Charter in 1662, but the major outline of the charter was written in Connecticut and embodied the Orders’ rights and mechanics. It was carried to England by Governor John Winthrop and basically approved by the British King, Charles II. The colonists generally viewed the charter as a continuation and surety for their Fundamental Orders; the Charter Oak got its name when that charter was supposedly hidden in it, rather than be surrendered to the King’s agents.

Today, the individual rights in the Orders, with others added over the years, are still included as a Declaration of Rights in the first article of the current Connecticut Constitution, adopted in 1965.

The Document

Fundamental Orders

For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God by the wise disposition of his divine providence so to order and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the River of Connectecotte and the lands thereunto adjoining; and well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of the people at all seasons as occasion shall require; do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one Public State or Commonwealth; and do for ourselves and our successors and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into Combination and Confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess, as also, the discipline of the Churches, which according to the truth of the said Gospel is now practiced amongst us; as