1. Government in the
AMERICAN COLONIES

2. Answer these questions in your notebook!!
Review questions
What did the Pilgrims agree to do in the Mayflower Compact?
Why did the Puritans leave England?
Who set up a colony with a more democratic rule than the Massachusetts colony?
What is a written plan for government called?
Which colony set up the first public school system?
Answer these questions in your notebook!!

3. Wrote his political thoughts in Two Treatises of Government
JOHN LOCKE ( )
English philosopher
Colonial leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison used many of his ideas
Wrote his political thoughts in Two Treatises of Government
Believed that people had certain rights and duties (natural rights)
Liberty (freedom)
Life
Property
To protect these rights, people agreed to form governments

4. Colony in Massachusetts
PILGRIMS
Didn’t want to belong to or pay taxes to the Church of England
Wrote a contract called the Mayflower Compact
They would write fair laws and choose leaders but remain loyal to the king
Each man had a vote

5. People elected the representatives
Colony in jamestown
First to have an assembly of representatives, called the House of Burgess
People elected the representatives
Plan for assembly came from England, not from colonists
England also sent a governor to rule Jamestown
Today we elect representatives at all levels of government: city, county, state, and national

6. Vocabulary checkpoint…
Contract: an agreement made by two or more people
Loyal: faithful; true to a country or belief
National: having to do with the whole country or nation

7. The first constitution
Some colonists in Massachusetts decided that the religious rules there were too strict
They moved and settled in Connecticut
Leader there was Thomas Hooker who believed in more democratic government that would give more control to the people
Hooker and his followers drew up a constitution
The first constitution

8. Vocabulary checkpoint…
Religious: having to do with church practices
Strict: stern; not changing
Constitution: a plan for government

9. Colonies and constitutions
A constitution lists the powers of the governments, as well as the rights of the people
CONNECTICUT
Agreed to create an assembly with elected representatives
Agreed to elect a governor and judges
MASSACHUSETTS
Set up a public school system paid for with tax money

10. This trial was a big step toward the idea of free press
Right to speech?
In colonial times, a law in New York said that no one could publish anything that spoke against the English government.
John Peter Zenger, a newspaper publisher, broke this law and was arrested, tried, and found innocent
This trial was a big step toward the idea of free press
In the U.S. today it is not against the law to criticize the government or its leaders in a newspaper or on radio or television

11. Right to Worship freely?
Some colonists came to America to worship as they pleased, such as the Puritans
The Puritans, however, would not allow this freedom to people living in their colony
As a result, many people were sent away or left the Puritan colony in Massachusetts
They set up colonies that allowed a few different religions
The idea of religious freedom led to our system today, which gives people the right to worship the way they please

12. Vocabulary checkpoint…
Publish: to print information, such as a newspaper, magazine, or book
Press: newspapers, magazines, and the people who work for them
Criticize: to put down or find fault with