Government House

(noun)

The name of many of the residences of governors-general, governors, and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire.

Related Terms

Examples of Government House in the following topics:

  • Governors and Assemblies

    • The governor lived in an official residence, known in most of the colonies simply as Government House.
    • A governor's power could diminish as the colony gained more representative government.
    • The colonial assemblies had a variety of titles, such as House of Delegates, House of Burgesses, or Assembly of Freemen.
    • Government House is the official residence of the governor of Maryland and is located at State Circle in Annapolis, Maryland.
    • Jennings House was the residence of the governors of Maryland from 1777 until 1870.

  • The Acts of Parliament

    • The Quartering Acts ordered the local governments of the American colonies to provide housing and provisions for British soldiers.
    • Two 18th-century acts of the Parliament of Great Britain, known together as the Quartering Acts, ordered the local governments of the American colonies to provide housing and provisions for British soldiers.
    • This first Quartering Act was given royal assent in March of 1765 and provided that Great Britain would house its soldiers in American barracks and public houses, as by the Mutiny Act of 1765.
    • However, if soldiers outnumbered the housing available, they would be quartered "in inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualing houses, and the houses of sellers of wine and houses of persons selling of rum, brandy, strong water, cider, or metheglin."
    • If a colonial government had laws that provided troops with accommodations that were approved by the crown, the act was not applied.

  • Divided Government

    • The Tea Party, which was strongly opposed to abortion, gun control, and immigration, focused primarily on limiting government spending and the size of the federal government.
    • The Senate declined to pass the bill with measures to delay the Affordable Care Act, and the two legislative houses did not develop a compromise bill by the end of September 30, 2013, causing the federal government to shut down due to a lack of appropriated funds at the start of the new 2014 federal fiscal year.
    • The previous U.S. federal government shutdown occurred in 1995–96.
    • The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives.
    • Boehner found it increasingly difficult to manage House Republicans with the fierce opposition of the Freedom Caucus, and he sparred with them over their willingness to shut down the government in order to accomplish goals such as repealing the Affordable Care Act.

  • The Election of 1972

    • In 1972, Nixon beat George McGovern in a landslide reelection victory due to negative views on McGovern's campaign.
    • McGovern won only the state of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
    • Despite supporting Nixon over McGovern, many American voters split their tickets, returning a Democratic majority to both houses of Congress.
    • Eagleton accepted the nomination despite not personally knowing McGovern well and privately disagreeing with many of McGovern's policies.
    • This image of him in the White House bowling alley seems calculated to appeal to his core constituency (b).

  • The Branches of Government

    • The political doctrine of the separation of powers found in the Constitution originated in the writings of French intellectual Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws, wherein he urged for a constitutional government comprising three separate branches of government.
    • The United States has a bicameral (two-house) legislature composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
    • The President exercises a check over Congress through his or her power to veto bills; however, Congress may override any veto by a two-thirds majority in each house.
    • The Supreme Court – part of the judicial branch of the US government
    • Describe the primary function of each government branch under the Constitution

  • The Election of 1824

    • John Quincy Adams was elected president by the House of Representatives in 1824, despite not winning the popular vote.
    • He favored an active federal government committed to internal improvements, such as roads and canals, to bolster national economic development and settlement of the West.
    • House Speaker Clay did not want to see his rival, Jackson, become president and therefore worked within the House to secure the presidency for Adams, convincing many to cast their vote for the New Englander.
    • This map illustrates the voting for candidates by state in the House of Representatives election of 1824.
    • Adams, despite not winning the popular vote, won 54 percent of the House votes and was elected president in 1825.

  • Powers of the Assemblies

    • Assemblies were elected and were called the House of Delegates, House of Burgesses, or Assembly of Freemen.
    • The colonial Assemblies had a variety of titles, such as House of Delegates, House of Burgesses, or Assembly of Freemen.
    • Taxes and government budgets originated in the Assembly.
    • The House of Burgesses consisted of delegates elected by the colonists .
    • Patrick Henry in the House of Burgesses, by Peter F.

  • State Constitutions

    • Patriots, as they gained control of formerly Loyalist territories, devised constitutions to determine governance in these new states.
    • Bicameral legislatures, with the upper house serving as a check on the lower
    • Few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government
    • Despite its being the central government, it was a loose confederation, and the individual states help most significant power.
    • The Declaration of Rights and Plan of Government for the State of New Hampshire.

  • The Structure of the Government

    • To achieve this it was imperative that no one division of government achieve too much power or control over other branches.
    • Delegates largely accepted without dispute the need for a bicameral (two-house) legislature, similar to the British Parliament.
    • There were widely debated problems, such as how legislators were to be voted into office and what qualifications they needed to sit in a particular house
    • Larger state delegates favored a system whereby representation in both houses would be proportional.
    • In Sherman's plan a House of Representatives would be based on proportional representation and the Senate had representation fixed to two delegates per state.

  • The Rise of the Assemblies

    • Each colony had a system of governance including a governor, a council of officials appointed by the governor, and an elected assembly.
    • Prior to 1776 there were three forms of colonial government: provincial, proprietary, and charter.
    • Charter governments were political corporations created by letters patent which gave the grantees control of the land and the powers of legislative government.
    • Colonial government represented an extension of the English government.
    • The Assemblies had a variety of titles, such as House of Delegates, House of Burgesses, or Assembly of Freemen.