WAS COLONIAL AMERICA
A DEMOCRATIC
SOCIETY?
House of Burgesses
•  In April, 1619, Governor George Yeardley arrived in
Virginia from England and announced that the Virginia
Company had voted to abolish martial law and create a
legislative assembly. It became the House of Burgesses —
the first legislative assembly in the American colonies.
•  The first assembly met on July 30, 1619, in the church at
Jamestown. Present were Governor Yeardley, Council,
and 22 burgesses representing 11 plantations (or
settlements) Burgesses were elected representatives.
Only white men who owned a specific amount of
property were eligible to vote for Burgesses.
•  What does the House of Burgesses remind you of?
Mayflower Compact
•  An agreement reached by the Pilgrims on
the ship the Mayflower in 1620, just before
they landed at Plymouth Rock.
•  The Mayflower Compact bound them to live
in a civil society according to their own
laws. It remained the fundamental law of their
colony of Plymouth until the colony was
absorbed into Massachusetts in the late
seventeenth century.
•  What can we infer about the Mayflower
Compact?
Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut
•  The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were
adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on
January 24, 1639. 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, and thus
earned Connecticut its nickname of The
Constitution State
The Maryland Tolerance Act of 1649
•  The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, was a law
mandating religious tolerance for trinitarian Christians.
•  Passed on April 21, 1649 by the assembly of the Maryland
colony, it was the second law requiring religious
tolerance in the British North American colonies and
created the first legal limitations on hate speech in
the world
•  Doesn’t this sound like the 1st Amendment?
WAS COLONIAL AMERICA
A DEMOCRATIC
SOCIETY?
Do Now: Why am I displaying these photos? What do these photos
represent? Can you identify each photo (i.e. location)?
Was Colonial America a Democratic Society?
•  If, “we the people,” have representatives that represent our
interests in government, what type of democracy are we?
Representative or Direct Democracy?
•  Representative Democracy: is a form of democracy where
representatives form an independent ruling body charged
with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest.
Example: The United States
•  Compared to…
•  Direct Democracy: usually refers to citizens making policy
and law decisions in person, without going through
representatives and legislatures: Example New England
Town Meetings
•  Town meetings were a place in which most or all the members of
a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for
local government.
Puritans Undemocratic Ways:
•  Roger Williams: Thought it was senseless to require a
religious qualification for voting.
•  Called for the complete separation of church and state
•  Anne Hutchinson revealed her support of the efficacy of
faith alone as they key to salvation, as opposed to the
standard Puritan emphasis on good works.
•  Dissidents like Williams and Anne Hutchinson could be
quietly dealt with through exile.
•  If, however, they were imprisoned, executed or sent back to England,
questions would be raised about the conduct of affairs in the Bay
Colony…
•  Puritans established a theocracy
Another Black Eye on the Puritans: Salem Witch Trials
•  Mass Hysteria and rampant paranoia hit the New England
country side…people being blamed for being witches
•  The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial
Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200
people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the
Devil's magic—and 20 (men and women) were
executed.
•  Following the trials and executions, many involved, like
judge Samuel Sewall, publicly confessed error and guilt.
On January 14, 1697, the General Court ordered a day of
fasting and soul-searching for the tragedy of Salem.
What we know so far…
Democratic
Undemocratic
•  House of Burgesses
•  Representative Government
•  Institution of slavery
•  Mayflower Compact
•  Agreed to follow all laws
•  The Maryland Tolerance
to vote
•  Women: Status
determined by the men
Act
•  Religious tolerance
•  Limitations of hate speech
•  Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut
•  Set structures and powers
•  Town Meetings
•  White land owners eligible
•  Legally the dependents of
men
•  No legal or political standing
•  Could not own property
•  Theocracy
•  Exile of dissidents (nonconformists)
EXIT SLIP
Was Colonial America a Democratic Society?