English Traditions of Government (US History EOC Review - USHC 1.2

Summary

This educational video explores the English traditions of government, starting with the Royal Wedding and touching on Prince Harry's readiness to settle down. It delves into the historical context of limited government, exemplified by the Magna Carta and its influence on taxation by consent. The video also covers the Glorious Revolution, the English Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Rights, highlighting their roles in shaping constitutional government. It discusses the philosophies of John Locke, including natural rights, religious toleration, and the consent of the governed, which laid the groundwork for American political traditions.

Takeaways

• 👑 The British monarchy has a limited role in governance due to historical precedents of abuse of power by monarchs.
• 🎥 The Royal Wedding and birth of royal children are significant cultural events but have little impact on governance.
• 🤴 Prince Harry's desire to settle down reflects a personal life that is separate from his limited public duties.
• 📜 Constitutional government, whether written or traditional, is about limiting government power, as seen in the British system.
• 🏰 The Magna Carta of 1215 established the tradition of limited government and individual rights, particularly in taxation by consent.
• 🛡 The concept of rule of law was solidified with the Magna Carta, ensuring government operates under law, not personal whims.
• 🏛 Parliament was established to check the monarch's power, particularly through control over taxation.
• ⚔ The English Civil War and the execution of King Charles I in 1649 rejected the divine right of kings and emphasized parliamentary authority.
• 🏺 The Glorious Revolution of 1688 further cemented the idea that a monarch must cooperate with Parliament or face consequences.
• 📜 The English Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Rights established parliamentary supremacy and protected individual liberties, influencing the U.S. Bill of Rights.
• 🌳 John Locke's philosophy on natural rights and the purpose of government to protect these rights greatly influenced English and later American political thought.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the English traditions of government, specifically focusing on the historical development of constitutional and limited government in England.

Why is USHC 1.2 divided into two parts in the video?

USHC 1.2 is divided into two parts because it covers a large amount of content, necessitating a breakdown to make the material more digestible.

What is the significance of the Royal Wedding mentioned in the script?

The Royal Wedding is mentioned to highlight the British monarchy's current role as a ceremonial institution with little governing power, contrasting with their historical significance.

What does the script imply about Prince Harry's public image?

The script suggests that Prince Harry is often in the tabloids and is looking to settle down, indicating a desire to move beyond his 'playboy' image.

What is the Magna Carta and why is it important?

The Magna Carta is a charter of rights signed in 1215 that established the tradition of limited government and individual rights, particularly in the area of taxation by consent.

How did the Magna Carta influence the formation of Parliament?

The Magna Carta influenced the formation of Parliament by instituting a system where the monarch's power was checked through a representative body, specifically in matters of taxation.

What is the significance of the English Bill of Rights in 1689?

The English Bill of Rights established parliamentary supremacy, limited the monarch's executive power, ensured free and frequent elections, and prohibited a Catholic monarch.

Who is John Locke and how did his ideas influence English political traditions?

John Locke was a philosopher who advocated for natural rights and the protection of life, liberty, and property by government. His ideas influenced the development of constitutional and representative government traditions in England.

What does the script mean by 'salutary neglect'?

Salutary neglect refers to the British policy of largely leaving the American colonies to govern themselves, allowing them to work out their own trade agreements and taxation structures with minimal interference.

How did the French and Indian War impact the relationship between the colonists and Britain?

The French and Indian War led to increased British control over the colonies, which disrupted the policy of salutary neglect and eventually contributed to tensions that led to the American Revolution.

What is the role of the House of Burgesses mentioned in the script?

The House of Burgesses was a colonial representative assembly in Virginia, responsible for deciding on matters of taxation and governance within the colony.

Outlines

00:00

👑 Introduction to English Traditions of Government

The script begins with a discussion on the English traditions of government, specifically focusing on the constitutional monarchy and its limitations. It references the Royal Wedding and the British royal family, highlighting their limited role in governance. The Magna Carta is introduced as a historical document that established the tradition of limited government and individual rights, particularly in the area of taxation by consent. The script also touches on the importance of the rule of law and the establishment of Parliament as a representative body to check the monarch's power.

05:01

🏛️ The Rejection of Absolute Monarchy

This section delves into the English monarchs' attempts to impose absolute rule and the subsequent rejection of the divine right of kings by the English people. It discusses the English Civil War, the execution of King Charles I, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which led to the establishment of parliamentary supremacy. The English Bill of Rights is highlighted as a significant document that limited the monarch's executive power, ensured free and frequent elections, and established taxation by consent. The influence of philosopher John Locke and his ideas on natural rights and the purpose of government are also mentioned.

10:04

🌐 The Influence of English Political Traditions on Colonists

The final paragraph explores how English political traditions, particularly those of constitutional and representative government, influenced the American colonies. It mentions the role of colonial assemblies in deciding on taxation and other matters, reflecting the idea of self-governance. The concept of 'salutary neglect' is introduced, describing how the colonies were largely left to govern themselves. The paragraph concludes by setting the stage for the next segment, which will discuss the conflict between the colonists and the British, likely referring to the events leading up to the American Revolution.

Keywords

💡Constitutional Government

Constitutional government refers to a system where power is limited by a constitution, which is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. In the video, this concept is discussed in the context of how the British monarchy has evolved to have limited power, with the Magna Carta being an early example of such limitation. It is tied to the video's theme by illustrating the historical development of government structures that limit the power of a single ruler.

💡Magna Carta

The Magna Carta is a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede in 1215. It was the first document to put into writing the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. In the video, the Magna Carta is highlighted as a foundational document that established the tradition of limited government and individual rights, particularly in the area of taxation by consent.

💡Parliament

Parliament is a legislative body of a government, often contrasted with the executive and judicial branches. In the script, Parliament is mentioned as a representative body that checks the monarch's power, especially with the power of the purse, which means the monarch could not levy taxes without Parliament's permission. This is a key part of the video's narrative on the evolution of English government traditions.

💡Divine Right of Kings

The divine right of kings is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch derives their right to rule directly from the will of God, as opposed to gaining authority through an election or other democratic process. The video discusses how this concept was advocated by the Stuart monarchs and was ultimately rejected by the English, leading to the execution of King Charles I.

💡Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution refers to the events of 1688 in the Kingdom of England, which culminated in the overthrow of King James II by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau. The video mentions this event as a pivotal moment where the English sought a monarch who would not govern but would allow Parliament to take care of governing.

💡English Bill of Rights

The English Bill of Rights is an act signed into law in 1689 by William III and Mary II, which established certain rights for individuals and set limits on the power of the monarch. The video explains that this act set the precedent of parliamentary supremacy and limited the king's executive power, including ensuring free and frequent elections and taxation by consent.

💡Salutary Neglect

Salutary neglect is a term used to describe the British government's policy of not interfering too closely with the American colonies' affairs, allowing them to govern themselves. The video discusses this policy as a factor that allowed the colonies to develop their own systems of governance and trade, which eventually became a point of contention leading up to the American Revolution.

💡John Locke

John Locke was an English philosopher whose ideas had a profound influence on the development of the British and American political systems. In the video, Locke's philosophy is mentioned as the inspiration behind the English Bill of Rights, particularly his ideas about natural rights, the purpose of government, and the consent of the governed.

💡Natural Rights

Natural rights are rights that are not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of particular cultures or governments, and therefore are universal and inalienable. The video explains that John Locke argued these rights are given by God to every human being and that the role of government is to protect these rights, such as life, liberty, and property.

💡Town Meetings

Town meetings are public gatherings where citizens discuss and make decisions about local issues. The video mentions town meetings as an example of how the English tradition of representative government was adopted in the American colonies, where decisions, including those on taxation, were made by elected representatives.

💡House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the elected lower house of the legislature of the Colony of Virginia, which existed from 1619 until 1776. The video uses the House of Burgesses as an example of a colonial representative assembly that played a role in deciding on matters of taxation and governance within the colony.

Highlights

Introduction to USHC 1.2 on English traditions of government

Division of USHC 1.2 into two parts due to its size

Discussion of the Royal Wedding and the British monarchy

Mention of Prince Harry's readiness to settle down

Explanation of the limited role of the British monarchy

Historical context of constitutional government in England

Importance of the Magna Carta in establishing limited government

The concept of taxation by consent and its origin in the Magna Carta

The establishment of Parliament as a check on the Monarch's power

The death of Queen Elizabeth and the rise of the Stewarts

Rejection of the divine right of kings by the English

Execution of King Charles I and its impact on future monarchs

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its significance

The English Bill of Rights and its limitations on the monarchy

The influence of John Locke's philosophy on English political traditions

The concept of natural rights and the purpose of government

The idea of the consent of the governed and the right of revolution

The role of colonial representative assemblies in self-governance

The concept of salutary neglect and its effect on colonial governance

Anticipation of the next segment on the conflict between the colonists and the British

Transcripts

[Music]

hey there students welcome to another

round of intensive review we are going

to go into ushc 1.2 which is addressing

English traditions of government first

of all now this is going to be divided

into two parts because 1.2 is really big

so we're going to do one part and then

we're going to do another part so just

hold on and we'll uh we'll have two

parts so here we go so ushc 1.2 as you

can tell it's pretty big and we're going

to deal with the first part dealing with

English traditions of government in this

segment now first of all I want to look

at the Royal Wedding here now of course

there's been another baby the other baby

Charlotte was it okay so charlot and

George George and Charlotte however you

want to want to do that but anyway how

many of y'all watch The Royal Wedding

all right you should be raising hands in

the online audience as well okay some of

y'all you're all familiar with the royal

wedding right okay we're a wedding we're

wedding and now they've got two kids I

mean just like wow all right now what

about this

guy all right now we all we all know

this guy we all know who Harry Prince

Harry we all know Prince Harry and we

all know Prince Harry because he is

present on tabloids now I saw an

interview that he did he was actually

saying that he's about ready to settle

down he's just got to find the right

woman all right and it looks like looks

like Haley's very hopeful about that all

right so we just very eagerly nodding

her head but he says you know just I'm

tired of being the taid guy that's not

really kind of what I want to do I want

somebody to travel around with settle

down with have kids think he just turned

30 or something like that but the thing

is we see that the British Royals really

have very little to do like you when you

think about a king or a queen or

something like that you don't really

think of this it's it's just really one

of those things that why don't they do

do anything why don't they govern well

there's a reason for that because other

monarchs in British history have had a

chance and they screwed it up pretty bad

all right so let's keep in mind first of

all that constitutional government is

limited government all right so we say a

constitution that we have one we mean

that we have a document that outlines a

plan for government and limits the

government now it doesn't have to be

written the British don't have a written

Constitution but at the same time they

do have a tradition of limited

government and Thomas Jefferson in

talking about the Constitution when he

was writing his Kentucky Resolution he

said in questions of power then let no

more be heard of confidence in man but

bind him down with the chains of the

Constitution bind him down with the

chains of the Constitution and this is

how Jefferson saw Constitution that we

are binding the government and this is a

tradition that comes from England now

when you look at Robin Hood okay now

we've all heard the Robin Hood story

we've either seen the Russell Crow

version or else maybe we've seen the

cartoon version any of you watch the

cartoon with the fox and all that kind

of stuff oh it was so fun I used to

watch that all the time when I was

little now roben hood is set during the

reign of King John who was a notoriously

bad king and the king who signed the

Magna Carta in 1215 now the Magna Carta

is Latin for great Charter and what this

did is it put forward this tradition of

limited government and expressed

individual rights now specifically in

the area of taxation by consent which

meant that the king couldn't just say

that okay I'm going to tax you that he

had to get permission from the Nobles

and the church

and this kind of sets forth the rule of

law bless you that we have a government

of law not a government by a king who

does whatever he wants and also

guaranteed jury trials so there are a

lot of things that we have in the United

States today that have their Source in

the Magna Carta 800 years ago at the

time of this recording and then the

Magna Carta is eventually

institutionalized in the form of

Parliament and the Parliament is a

representative body and checking the

Monarch's power really with the power of

the purse that anytime the Monarch wants

to tax he would have to get the

permission of

parliament yeah a little bad clip art

animation there don't do that but this

one this one's a few years old now Queen

Elizabeth the died in 16003 she died

without an air and the stewards came in

all right the stewards came in James

first Charles first Charles second James

second unlikely to appear by name on the

EOC but you want to keep in mind that

this was a period where the English

monarchs tried to impose absolute

government on them and they didn't have

traditions of absolute government they

had traditions of constitutional

government and the stewards advocated

the divine right of kings this kind of

top down idea that God

puts Kings over people and your job is

to listen to your divinely appointed

King who God Meant To Rule and the

English eventually reject this and they

cut off the head of their King Charles I

in 1649 this sets a pretty strong

message all right sends a strong message

to Future monarchs that if you don't

cooperate with Parliament and you try to

rule without Parliament we'll cut your

head off serious seriously true

story and so the divine right of kings

this is something that is going to be

thoroughly rejected by the English and

the Glorious Revolution happens in 1688

now this one within about 30 to 40 years

James II who was Charles the first son

he is run off by Parliament now he was

an unpopular papist as they said the

English had a tradition of anti-catholic

bigotry which of course we see in the

United States as we go through this

review we'll see in the form of the Klux

clan in the 1920s and a lot of nativist

sentiment anti-irish sentiment in the

annabellum period but he's run off by

Parliament and he leaves with minimal

Bloodshed this says no Bloodshed but

it's kind of comparatively little they

call it the Glorious and bloodless

Revolution not quite bloodless but at

least in England it was bloodless all

right so keep that in mind the Glorious

Revolution happened and the English want

a monarch who will sit down down shut up

let Parliament take care of the

governing all right go get married go

have babies one after another go be in a

tabloid or something like that go to

Vegas and then go be a military hero or

something like that we don't care what

you do just don't govern all right leave

that to Parliament and the English Bill

of Rights is signed by William and Mary

it's very easy to remember because

you've got a college in Virginia named

for William and Mary William of Orange

and Mary Stewart who was James II's

daughter and the English Bill of Rights

sets the precedent of parliamentary

Supremacy where the king's executive

power was limited that there would be

free and frequent elections keep in mind

before the English Bill of Rights the

Monarch decided when there would be

elections to Parliament when Parliament

would convene but this said that there

will be frequent and regular elections

and they will be free election S without

the meddling of the Monarch taxation by

consent now it also said that there will

never be a Catholic Monarch in

England and then you proceed to the

Declaration of Rights where we see a lot

of things appear here that also appear

in our Bill of Rights such as the

guarantee of freedom of speech and the

right to petition your basic First

Amendment rights arms for your defense

kind of like our Second Amendment except

theirs has a lot of qualifications for

Protestants suitable to their conditions

as Allowed by law whereas the second

amendment in the United States is a bit

more absolute protections against cruel

and unusual punishment which we find in

the eth amendment and then the Third

Amendment which says that quartering

soldiers during peace time is a no no

this is another thing in the English

Bill of Rights that there is a

Prohibition of standing armies in peace

time and the English Bill of Rights the

ideas are inspired by John Lock who was

a philosopher who put forward the idea

of natural rights and the point of

government is to protect our natural

rights of life liberty and property

because these rights are given to every

human being by God and no government can

take those away so the point of

government to John Lock is to protect

these basic rights and that is another

thing that we have imported from the

English

and keep in mind there this idea of the

creation of Adam that these rights are

given to Adam and through Adam these

rights are bestowed upon every human

being and lo had other values as well

the value of religious toleration which

we will see enshrined in American

culture in the wake of the American

Revolution also the idea of the consent

of the Govern that government is only

legitimate if it has the consent of the

people and then that implies the right

of Revolution that if a government

ceases to have the consent of the people

then the people have a right to as

Jefferson will say alter or abolish that

government and keep in mind these

English political traditions of

constitutional government and

representative government that a

government should be first of all

limited and also representative of the

people that decisions should be made by

elected

representatives and of course as we said

earlier this takes the form of town

meetings in New England and also the

House of Burgesses in Virginia that

every colony is going to have its own

Colonial representative

assembly and it was the role of these

assemblies to decide on matters of

Taxation and especially if the taxes are

going to be internal

and keep in mind this idea of salutary

neglect that the colonies are being left

to themselves largely to govern

themselves largely to work out their own

trade agreements largely to work out

their own taxation structures and to be

self-supporting for the most part of

course the French and Indian war is

going to change that and that is going

to lead us to our next segment on the

conflict between the colonist and the

British see you in a bit

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

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