When discussing the Writs of Assistance, we must first understand why they were created and why James Otis believed they were infringing upon citizens’ basic rights. Writs of Assistance were first authorized by English Parliament and King Charles II in 1660, which later was issued by Exchequer of Pleas, a court in England that dealt with cases surrounding the principles of natural and common law. Writs of Assistance were used in both English and colonial governments at the time, and were created to grant law enforcement officials the right to search homes suspected of holding smuggled goods without the need for a warrant. A Writ of Assistance was commonly called a writ of restitution or a writ of possession depending on the need for the writ, whether it be a eviction or a search for goods. During the time that Charles II served as king of england, the legality of Writ of Assistance was questioned in 1761, during the attempted renewal of the law. Although the Revolutionary war did not start until 1775, the Writ of Assistance law that allowed general warrants in the colonies played a major role in the disagreements …show more content…
Although he allowed the search, they were not authorized to open a locked cellar in which they forcefully entered. A protest formed outside his home due to the unlawful forced entry which represented a clear example of the colonists beliefs of their rights contrary to the beliefs Great Britain accumulates on imperial law. The colonists believed that british policies enforced in Writ of assistance were violating basic principles that outlined constitutional government. The very definition of constitutional government is a government with a constitution. To have an adequate constitutional government the colonists believed in the distribution of power between the executive, judicial and legislative branch and maintaining
First of all, the colonist were in debt to them because of the French-Indian war. Britain believed that the colonist should aid in paying debts in turn for protecting them, disclosed in document 1. This is important because Britain thought taxing the colonist would benefit both of them. However, the colonist believed the taxes were unjust because it did not appeal to their standards. Secondly, A London newspaper declared the colonists behavior as futile. Document 3 states that the taxes would hardly affect most people. The Protests were unnecessary due to the fact that many taxes were imposed on rarely used goods. Finally, colonist unjustly diverted their anger towards British officials, creating a sympathetic tone. Officials were often tarred and feathers, as well as burnt, declared in document 5. This is also important because the protests were perceived to be an act of terrorism, making their actions unjustified. Although this may be true, the colonies were under oppression from the Quartering act and Townshend act. Some think the colonists actions were over exaggerated and
The colonists were in every right, aspect and mind, not only justified but also it was about time that they stood of and actually take action against the British. The choice of going to war with them, was the only choice that they had. All diplimatical options that they had ceased to stand a chance against the tyrant Britain. From the very beginning when the colonists felt upset against their mother country and the way that they went about the law making, up until the beginning of the war, they tried all diplimatical options that they had, by sending letters, you name it. When they didn’t work then they had no other means but to declare war.
In the early years of the eighteenth Century, the young United States of America were slowly adapting to the union and the way the country was governed. And just like the country, the governmental powers were starting to develop. Since the creation of the Constitution and due to the Connecticut Compromise, there is the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial Power. But the existence of those powers was not always that naturally. In these crucial times, the Judicial Power had problems controlling the other powers. It was a challenge for the Supreme Court to exercise the powers granted by the new Constitution. Federal Government was not generally appreciated and
In response to each grievance, together these documents form a harmony that suits and is for the people and government of the United States. In the Constitution, the first three articles create a separation of power and a system of checks and balances intended for the United States of America Federal Government. In doing so, the Constitution makes certain that no governmental power is dominant and, thereby, protects the freedoms and rights of the people. By discussing Congressional Provisions in Article I, Americans received representative government, a right that the colonists had continuously asked Great Britain for, in the form of both a Senate and a House of Representatives. While the number of representatives from each state in the House of Representatives would be calculated according to population of that state, the Senate was to have two representatives per state. This system guarantees impartial and balanced representation to each state. In Article II Executive Powers, the colonists were granted the right to suffrage. Article III discussed Judicial Powers of both Supreme and inferior courts ensuring that all Americans receive a fair trial. Articles IV, V, VI, and VII focus on Procedures for Amendments. By addressing grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence, America’s founding fathers were able to create a system of government “under God…of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln).
Instead, they decided that it would be better to draft a new document that would establish a new type of government. Many agreed to this new government, especially James Madison, author of the Virginia Plan and the Federalist Papers. To Madison, as addressed in Federalist No. 51 (Document I) the new government must give more power to the federal level, but also be able to check its “ambitions”. From this came the system of checks and balances, and a separation of powers. This new government was described in the Constitution of the United States of America. The federal government had three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Nevertheless, they still gave some power to the states. The Framers also added a Bill of Rights to dissuade Antifederalists that the new government gave too much power to the national government. This Bill of Rights protected American many civil liberties such as freedom of speech and assembly; right to bear arms and a fair trial; as well as freedom of religion. Pre-Revolution, England had imposed its religion on the colonies, however, after the war, states began to guarantee freedom of worship as evidenced by the “Statutes at Large of Virginia, 1786” (Document D). Therefore, the American Revolution fundamentally changed American politics by eliminating monarchy and embracing democracy.
Why did the founding fathers create a constitution based on the ideas of separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism and the bill of rights?
When the Framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia, they came together with one common purpose in mind. They needed to form a fair and solid system of government that would stand the test of time; one that was both fair for the people and would not involve a monarchy. Each of these men had their own ideas on what would constitute this system, however, so many compromises had to be made. Together, the men gathered in Philadelphia created a federal system of government and drafted a constitution outlining this government. They took care in developing three branches of federal government with a system of checks and balances so that no one branch would gain too much power, thus avoiding any
The use of the Writs of Assistance was thrown away by many custom officers. They used the writs to harass the colonists. With these writs in hand, the officers were allowed to enter the home of any colonist and turn the place upside down; breaking many parts of the home in
When the colonists first arrived to the New World there were very few obligations and rules that the British government had set for them and they were on their own to live their life in the way they saw fit. Throughout the years, England realized how much of an asset the New World was to their economy. Due to the American colonies great advantages to their economy and their everyday lives, Great Britain became greedy and decided that only they should be able to exploit from the colonies. This greed prompted the Crown to implement new taxes and regulations in order to obtain a larger profit. After many attempts to work with Great Britain and being dismissed, the colonist declared independence from England. This caused the Revolutionary War and in 1783 the colonists were finally free from Great Britain. The colonists drew from the positive and negative experiences from the Crown's rule when writing their own country's government. The crown's supreme rule over all aspects of the colonists life compelled the colonists to incorporate a limited government into the Constitution. Because of the lack of representation that the colonists possessed during during colonial times, when making the constitution they secured the idea of popular sovereignty as an effort to make sure that all citizens could have an opinion in their ruling. Separation of power was implemented into the Constitution for the purpose of denying one person excessive power. Checks and balances fall under
The Patriots desired to have a central government with limited powers. The Articles of Confederation, a written document defining the structure of the government from 1781 to 1788, only had powers to declare war, make treaties, borrow and print money; however, it lacked the power to tax either the states or the people.
The Constitution that was created had a strong central government and weaker state governments. Under the Constitution, Congress was given the power to levy taxes, regulate trade between the states, raise an army, control interstate commerce, and more. A three-branch government was established in which a judicial branch handled disputes in a federal court system, a President headed an executive branch, and a legislative branch. Conversely, the anti-federalists believed in weak central and strong state governments, as the way it was in The Articles of Confederation and believed in strict adherence to the writings of the constitution.
The United States would lose its name and stand divided if the Constitution did not bring the thirteen colonies into one body. Within this governing body, fears arise from the difficulty of controlling power in a central government, while still trying to keep unity between the states. Understanding that the United States was formed based on the people’s irritation with the corruption of the control of power in England, the Constitution reassured the people that their freedoms were going to be kept, but it required their trust. The founders of the United States Constitution established a just government through encompassing equal representation, with the people as the foundation, and protecting the injustices that could arise with the misuse of power.
The Framers of the US Constitution wanted to prevent the concentration of power into the hands of one individual, or even one group of individuals, within the national government. Thus, they reduced all governmental functions to essentially three:legislative, executive, and judicial. Because they believed that the very root of tyranny was to allow these three essential governmental functions to be exercised by one person or group.1 Consequently, they deliberately set out to devide the three functions into three separate and distinct institutions under the principle of separaton of powers, so as to gform a more perfect Union h.
When the Founding Fathers wrote the U.S. Constitution, they had just got out of a government they did not care for- a monarchy. The Founding Fathers decided that a government that would allow the people to "rule" would be the best. They came up with a democracy, and three branches to ensure that no one person or group of people can rule over the land. They came up with the legislature, executive, and judicial branches of government.
This group consisted of lawyers, merchants, politicians, and artisans who were all there to protest the stamp act. The Sons of Liberty usually relied petitions, public meetings, and pamphlets to rally support, but they would also get violent if necessary. The Stamp Act congress came together in 1765 to repeal the stamp act and deny the Parliament’s of its right to tax the colonies. British merchants who profited form colonial trade joined in the protest, fearing financial ruin. When the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 people on both sides of the Atlantic rejoiced. While many were busy celebrating they ignored the passage of the Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act gave the Parliament full power and authority over the colonies. The Declaratory Act also gave the Parliament the right to make laws. The Townshend Acts of 1767 placed import duties on common items such as tea, lead, glass, and dyes for paint. British customs officials used special search warrants called writs of assistance to enforce the law. Writs of assistance were much different than the modern day search warrants, because they did not specify the item sought and specific location to be searched. A customs officer with a writ and a suspicion had the right to search any where he pleased. Colonist hated these writs very much so they stopped housing the British soldiers as the quartering act of 1765 had called them to do. On the evening of March 5, 1770 a crowd of 50 or 60 angry