Foundations and Government
The Pilgrims wrote this agreement when they arrived at Plymouth, to create a self-governing community that was based on direct democracy.
What is The Mayflower Compact?
This religious group in New England was strict about their faith, influenced the government, and did not tolerate other religions.
Who are the Puritans?
This general term describes a system of government where citizens elect leaders to make laws and decisions on their behalf
What is a representative government?
This representative colonial assembly in Virginia served as an early form of self-government.
What is the Virginia House of Burgesses?
This major religious revival swept through the American colonies in the 1700s, inspiring new churches, emphasizing personal faith, and reshaping colonial religious life.
In the colonies, this was an elected group of lawmakers—such as the Virginia House of Burgesses—that represented local citizens.
What is a colonial assembly?
This frequent political gathering in New England was considered the most direct form of democracy in the colonies.
What are Town Meetings?
This type of colony was ruled or administered directly by officials appointed by the British crown.
What is a Royal Colony?
Ex.: New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia
Rather than choosing representatives to vote for them, citizens in a direct democracy participate in government by doing this themselves.
What is voting?
Known as the very first written constitution in the American colonies.
This type of colony was a territory granted by the King to individuals who had full governing rights.
What are Proprietary Colonies?
Ex.: Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
This written agreement between a government and its people lays out the basic rules, structures, and rights that govern a society.
What is a constitution?
Voters in colonial assemblies held control over local economy by having the special power to do this.
What is voting on taxes?
This type of colony was governed under written contracts between the King and colonists, which could not be changed without mutual consent.
What are Charter Colonies?
Ex.: Connecticut, Massachusetts (Charter then Royal), and Rhode Island
This system ensures that no single person or branch of government gets too much power by giving other parts the ability to limit them.
What are Checks and Balances?