How colonists began governing themselves: the Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Why a compact? Card A, the Mayflower Compact (1620; spelling modernized; cuts marked)

   "We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James … having undertaken a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia … covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic … and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws … as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." Card B, a summary in our words of William Bradford's history Of Plymouth Plantation (written years later by Bradford, who signed the compact and later served as governor): some passengers said that once ashore they would use their own liberty, because the ship's patent was for Virginia and nobody had power to command them in New England. Card C, a summary in our words: the Mayflower anchored at Cape Cod in November 1620, outside the area its patent covered; the 41 signers were all men.

2. 1.

   William Bradford signed the compact and wrote card B years later. What is a strength and a limit of card B, Ari asks?

   • He is unreliable, since a governor would not write history
   • He is neutral, since he signed the document himself
   • He is reliable, since he wrote on the day the compact was signed
   • He knew the events, but wrote from memory and for his own side
3. 2.

   Cards A and B together suggest which problem the compact tried to solve, Bo asks?

   • The passengers wanted a king to rule them directly from England
   • The patent gave the group no right to leave the ship in the first place
   • Passengers might not obey where the patent did not reach
   • The group needed to name its new colony after the king himself
4. 3.

   Card A begins 'the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James.' What does that show about the signers' aims, Esme asks?

   • They meant to found a new nation free of English rule
   • Their rule was meant to sit inside English authority
   • They had been banished by the king and had to start over
   • They expected King James to write laws for the colony
5. 4.

   Which statement is supported by card B but not by card A, Kira asks?

   • The signers called themselves loyal subjects of King James
   • Some passengers said they would use their own liberty
   • The signers promised obedience to the laws they would make
   • The voyage was meant for the northern parts of Virginia
6. 5.

   Why might historians call the compact an early step toward self-government despite the signers' loyalty to the king, Luz asks?

   • It ended the king's authority over the colony
   • It created rule by an agreement among those who signed
   • It gave each settler an equal vote on each law
   • It was the first law Parliament passed for the colonies

7. Use this

   Virginia's assembly and its limits (summaries in our words from the National Park Service, the Library of Congress and the Virginia General Assembly). Card A, a timeline. 1619: the first assembly meets, with elected burgesses, the governor and an appointed council; the Virginia Company in London must approve its laws. 1624: the king takes the colony from the Virginia Company and makes it a royal colony; the assembly keeps meeting, and the king appoints the governor. 1670: Virginia limits voting to men with property. Card B: in royal colonies such as Virginia, the governor, appointed by the king, could veto laws and dissolve the assembly, and the Privy Council in London could cancel colonial laws.

8. 6.

   Which limit on self-government stayed in place after 1624, Milo asks?

   • The colony became independent of the king in that year
   • Power over its laws still sat outside the colony
   • The assembly stopped meeting for many years after 1624
   • The Company in London kept approving each law passed
9. 7.

   What changed in 1624, and what stayed the same, Noah asks?

   • The colony became independent, and the assembly stayed on
   • The assembly ended, and the Company kept control of Virginia
   • The king ended elections, and the old governor stayed on
   • Control passed to the king; the assembly kept meeting
10. 8.

    Which claim do cards A and B best support, Ren asks?

    • The assembly alone chose Virginia's governor and its council
    • Virginians governed themselves completely, with no control from London
    • Self-government was real but limited by outside power and voters
    • Virginians had no self-government whatsoever, since a governor ruled
11. 9.

    Card A is a summary written long after. Which source would best check the 1624 change, Tala asks?

    • A poem about Jamestown written by a later author
    • A planter's diary written in about the year 1700
    • The royal order of 1624, kept in an archive
    • A modern map showing the colony's towns and rivers

12. Why a compact? Card A, the Mayflower Compact (1620; spelling modernized; cuts marked)

    "We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James … having undertaken a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia … covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic … and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws … as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." Card B, a summary in our words of William Bradford's history Of Plymouth Plantation (written years later by Bradford, who signed the compact and later served as governor): some passengers said that once ashore they would use their own liberty, because the ship's patent was for Virginia and nobody had power to command them in New England. Card C, a summary in our words: the Mayflower anchored at Cape Cod in November 1620, outside the area its patent covered; the 41 signers were all men. Virginia's assembly and its limits (summaries in our words from the National Park Service, the Library of Congress and the Virginia General Assembly). Card D, a timeline. 1619: the first assembly meets, with elected burgesses, the governor and an appointed council; the Virginia Company in London must approve its laws. 1624: the king takes the colony from the Virginia Company and makes it a royal colony; the assembly keeps meeting, and the king appoints the governor. 1670: Virginia limits voting to men with property. Card E: in royal colonies such as Virginia, the governor, appointed by the king, could veto laws and dissolve the assembly, and the Privy Council in London could cancel colonial laws.

13. 10.

    Compare the compact (1620) with the assembly (1619). Which comparison is best supported, Zee asks?

    • The compact rested on a promise; the assembly on a company, then the king
    • Both rested on the authority of the Privy Council in London, from the start
    • Both rested on the vote of each settler living in the colony
    • The compact rested on a company; the assembly rested on the signers' promise