Paul Jones

Mrs. Quinn
G.A.L.R.E.
November 22, 2010
Lesson 5: Reviewing and Using the Lesson
1. What was the Mayflower Compact? Why was it drafted? How could it be said to reflect the idea
that government should be based on the consent of the governed?
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. Concerned
that some members might leave to form their own colonies, William Bradford and others
drafted the compact to bind the group into a political body and pledge members to abide by any
laws that would be established. It was signed by all of those on the Mayflower, thus getting the
consent of those who are to be governed.
2. In what ways were eighteenth-century American and British societies similar and different in
terms of the rights individual property, equality, opportunity, suffrage, and property?
The American colonies stressed the need for equality and liberalism more so than their British
rulers. Many American political systems had begun completely basing their government on the
votes of landowning white males. The idea of public education and the schoolhouse made for
increased equality and opportunity. The lack of an immediate monarch in America meant that
the individuals right to their property was stressed over the Kings need for power. America was
slightly more liberal and open on the notion of voting, have a wider range of possible electors.
3. How would you describe the economic, social, and political conditions of life in colonial
America? How did these conditions affect the development of American ideas about
government?
The economic life in colonial America was based on several trades such as the blacksmith,
cooper, printer, wheelwright, and tanners, among others. In the South, the economy was largely
based on agriculture. Social structure was based on what land one owned. Politics varied widely
from colony to colony, from theocracies to representative democracies. The Founding Fathers
observed the diversity among the colonies and picked the qualities they deemed most successful
and honorable.
4. How did the simple governing structure in colonial charters evolve into more comprehensive
systems of local government before the Revolution?
Naturally, over time, governments tend to evolve and expand into systems of more complex
government to respond to stimuli. Furthermore, being as the voting body was greater in the
 United States that it was in England, people had more of a say in what they wanted, and so
upper class conservatism and complacence with the status quo was not as prevelant.
5. What basic features of English constitutionalism were found in the governments of the
colonies?
One feature is the social contract as a trust established for limited purposes, and another is a
form of constitutionalism that it describes and prescribes both the source and the limits of
government power.
6. Why was the right to vote in the colonies limited to those who owned a certain amount of
property? Why were colonial governments more representative than British government?
The right to vote was limited to those who owned a certain amount of land as a means of social
control. Those who control land in an agricultural society control the means of production, and
thus the power. Being as they held great power, they excersized it by collectively choosing to
ignore the voices of those without land, knowing they vote for executives and legislators
favorable to the redistribution of the means of production. The English House of Lords system
is a non-elective system, and the monarchy is chosen by familial ties – the American system
allowed voting and rejected the concept of a monarchy.
7. Why were written guarantees of rights in colonial documents important to the development of
America's ideas about government?
The US Constitution reads like a complex written agreement between the governed and the
government. It outlines what both entities have the right to do or not to do, and it is agreed upon
by both entities. Colonial written agreements and contracts between the ruled and the ruler are
direct precursors to the US Constitution.
8. Are written guarantees of rights as important as the were in colonial times?
Written guarantees are as important as they were in colonial times. Even though the document
may be flawed, it is imperative that there is a document protecting people, empowring people,
limiting government, and empowering government. Should every agreement be implied, every
agreement can be explicitly ignored. Agreement need to be explicit for lucidity.