Isabella Carter
The Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, settled by the passengers of the Mayflower in 1620. The colony was established without a charter or patent from the British government, which would have given them the legal right to settle the area. Instead, the colonists agreed to the Mayflower Compact, a form of democracy that set down laws for all passengers to follow. The Mayflower Compact included a provision that the colonists would create and enact their own laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of government | A form of democracy |
| Separation of powers | Yes |
| Legal right to settle | No |
| Land patent | Yes |
| Control of government | Separatists |
| Mayflower Compact | Set down laws for all passengers to follow |
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What You'll Learn
- The Mayflower Compact set down laws for all passengers to follow
- The Compact included a provision that colonists would create and enact laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices
- The Compact was signed by John Carver, the colony's first governor, and others
- The Separatists were a minority in the group but they controlled the colony's government for the first 40 years
- The Compact established a form of democracy that wouldn't be practiced in England for several centuries
The Mayflower Compact set down laws for all passengers to follow
The Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, settled by the passengers of the Mayflower in 1620. It was the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony.
The Compact established a form of democracy that would not be practised in the homeland for several centuries. Although Bradford and his supporters had envisioned something close to a church-state, the large non-Separatist population prevented this from being fully implemented. As a result, Plymouth obtained a reputation for having a less rigid and more moderate government than the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The political system of the Plymouth Colony was divided between the General Court as the legislative and judicial bodies, and the Governor as the chief executive of the colony. This followed a recommendation in John Calvin's political theory to set up several institutions that complement and control each other in a system of checks and balances to minimise the misuse of political power.
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The Compact included a provision that colonists would create and enact laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices
The Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, settled by the passengers of the Mayflower in 1620. The colonists did not have a charter or patent to settle the area, which would have given them the legal right to establish local law. Instead, they used the Mayflower Compact, which set down laws for all passengers to follow.
The Mayflower Compact included a provision that colonists would create and enact "laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices" for the good of the colony. This meant that the colonists agreed to a form of democracy, which would not be practised in their homeland for several centuries. The Mayflower Compact also meant that Plymouth Colony had a more modern type of government that wasn't as intertwined with the colonists' religion.
The political system of the Plymouth Colony was made up of the General Court as the legislative and judicial bodies, and the Governor as the chief executive of the colony. This followed a recommendation in John Calvin's political theory to set up several institutions which complement and control each other in a system of checks and balances to minimise the misuse of political power.
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The Compact was signed by John Carver, the colony's first governor, and others
The Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, settled by passengers on the Mayflower in 1620. The Mayflower Compact set down laws for all passengers to follow and was signed by John Carver, the colony's first governor, as well as Myles Standish, an English military officer and military leader of the colony, and preacher William Brewster. The Compact included a provision that colonists would create and enact "laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices" for the good of the colony.
The Plymouth Colony had a political system of division of power, with the General Court as the legislative and judicial body, and the Governor as the chief executive of the colony. This followed a recommendation in John Calvin's political theory to set up several institutions which complement and control each other in a system of checks and balances to minimise the misuse of political power.
The pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony did not have a charter or patent to settle the area. A charter was a document from the British government that gave a colony the legal right to settle an area and establish local law there, while a land patent granted land to a colony but did not give permission to establish local law.
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The Separatists were a minority in the group but they controlled the colony's government for the first 40 years
The Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, settled by the passengers of the Mayflower in 1620. It was the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony.
The Mayflower Compact set down laws for all Mayflower passengers to follow. It included a provision that colonists would create and enact "laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices..." for the good of the colony. The Separatists were a minority in the group, but they formed its powerful centre and would entirely control the colony's government during its first 40 years.
The General Court, as the legislative and judicial body, and the Governor, as the chief executive of the colony, constituted a political system of division of power. This followed a recommendation in John Calvin's political theory to set up several institutions that complement and control each other in a system of checks and balances to minimise the misuse of political power.
The pilgrims of Plymouth Colony did not have a charter or patent to settle the area when they first arrived in the New World and landed at Cape Cod. A charter was a document from the British government that gave a colony the legal right to settle an area and establish local law there. A land patent was a document that granted land to a colony but did not give permission to establish local law there. The colonists had originally planned to land in Northern Virginia, where they did have a patent to settle, but they had drifted off course during the long voyage and ended up in Cape Cod.
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The Compact established a form of democracy that wouldn't be practiced in England for several centuries
The Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, settled by the passengers of the Mayflower in 1620. It was the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony.
The Mayflower Compact set down laws for all passengers to follow, and included a provision that colonists would create and enact 'laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices' for the good of the colony. The Compact established a form of democracy that wouldn't be practised in England for several centuries. The Plymouth Colony had a more modern type of government that wasn't as intertwined with the colonists' religion. Although Bradford and his supporters envisioned something close to a church-state, the large non-Separatist population prevented the full implementation of this idea. As a result, Plymouth obtained a reputation for having a less rigid and more moderate government.
The political system of the Plymouth Colony was divided between the General Court as the legislative and judicial bodies, and the Governor as the chief executive of the colony. This followed a recommendation in John Calvin's political theory to set up several institutions which complement and control each other in a system of checks and balances in order to minimise the misuse of political power.
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Frequently asked questions
The Mayflower Compact set down laws for all Mayflower passengers to follow, including a provision that colonists would create and enact "laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices..."
The Mayflower Compact was an agreement to a form of democracy that wouldn't be practised in the homeland of the colonists for several centuries.
Signees include John Carver, Plymouth Colony's first governor; Myles Standish, an English military officer and military leader of the colony; and preacher William Brewster.
The political system was a division of power between the General Court as the legislative and judicial bodies, and the Governor as the chief executive of the colony.
No, the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony did not have a charter or patent to settle the area. They had originally planned to land in Northern Virginia, where they did have a patent to settle, but they drifted off course and ended up in Cape Cod.
