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Roots of Democracy in the Colonies • Where did ideas of democracy come from? Athens (Greece) The concept of democracy, or government by the people, began in the city-state of Athens (in what is now Greece) between 750 B.C. and 550 B.C. Athens had a direct democracy, one in which all eligible citizens participated in government. Ancient Rome The concept of republican government was established by the ancient Romans. In a republic, voters elect representatives who speak and act for other citizens in the business of government. Representatives are supposed to work for the common good; sometimes called representative democracy. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.” Influences on Colonial Governments (and ultimately U.S. Government) • The Magna Carta (1215): English document that placed limits on the power of the king to rule. • English Bill of Rights (1689): established that representative government and rule of law outweighed the power of any monarch (king). • The Enlightenment (17th and 18th centuries): Philosopher John Locke believed in natural rights, social contract (people agree to form a state and have a government that will protect their natural rights) with a government that exists only with the consent of the governed. • French philosophers Baron de Montesquieu and JeanJacques Rousseau also influenced ideas on government. Colonial Self-Government: Colonial Assemblies & Local Gov't • Mayflower Compact (1620): the first governing document of Plymouth colony. It was a contract in which the colonists consented to be governed by a government which they created. It was the first plan for self-government and majority rule in the colonies. • Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639): first developed by the Connecticut colony to describe the powers and structure of the government set up by the Connecticut River towns. • House of Burgesses (1619): first representative lawmaking body in Jamestown colony, Virginia. Led to the creation of a bicameral (two house) legislature. • New England Town Meetings: allowed citizens to govern themselves through direct democracy.