part 2
America’s First Constitutions
and Declarations of Rights
points to remember
1. Beginning with the founding of Jamestown in 1607, Englishmen in
the American colonies were entitled to the same rights as their countrymen at home. Not all inhabitants, including indentured servants and
slaves, enjoyed these rights, however. As in England, there were also
property qualifications for voting. The principles of republicanism and
representative government were introduced into the colonies with the
establishment of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619.
2. The Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, by virtue of
their Mayflower Compact, brought a contractual theory of government
to the colonies. This later served as the basis for popularly based constitutions. All of the colonies, however, carried on the constitutional
and legal customs of Great Britain. The American colonists were familiar with the idea of a written constitution as a result of their experience with colonial charters, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
(1639) being the most famous.
3. The colonists adopted the English theory of representation, which
included the principle of geographical representation, or the representation of localities as well as people. The Americans modified the English system of representation, however, by introducing a residency
requirement for elected representatives. The most significant colonial
departure from the English system was the absence of an aristocratically
based upper chamber.
4. Colonial assemblies enjoyed considerable but not complete independence. Their most important and decisive victory was their control
of the purse strings. This gave them financial independence and eventually undermined British control of the colonies.
5. Local self-government, based on counties or townships, became
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