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

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Two beginnings, 1619 and 1620. Card A, the Mayflower Compact (November 11, 1620, by the calendar then used; the Mayflower had reached Cape Cod, outside the area its patent covered; 41 men signed and about 102 people were aboard; written for the passengers and the colony; spelling as in an 1841 printing): "…covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic [a group that governs itself], for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet [fitting] and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." Words in brackets are ours. Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: On July 30, 1619, a representative assembly met in the church at Jamestown, Virginia. Two burgesses (elected representatives) came from each of 11 settlements, 22 in all. The governor and an appointed council sat with them. The Virginia Company in London had to approve the laws they made.

2. 1.

   Card A notes the Mayflower landed outside its patent's area. Why did an agreement among the settlers help, Ari asks?

   • They wanted to declare themselves free of England at once
   • The patent had made them the rulers of Cape Cod, so they recorded it
   • It gave them agreed rules where the patent gave none
   • King James had ordered them to write a compact on landing
3. 2.

   Card B calls the 1619 assembly 'representative.' What makes it so, Jun asks?

   • The king sent men to represent his wishes there
   • Each settler voted on each law in person at Jamestown
   • The Company drew names by lot to fill the seats
   • Settlements sent chosen men to speak for them
4. 3.

   What limit on the 1619 assembly does card B show, Kira asks?

   • The Virginia Company in London had to approve its laws
   • It could make laws for Jamestown itself and no other place
   • It could meet inside the church just once each decade
   • The governor and council were not allowed to sit with it
5. 4.

   How do cards A and B differ in who made the laws, Luz asks?

   • In A the king's council made the laws; in B the settlers did
   • In A the signers made laws; in B burgesses did, with a governor
   • In A burgesses were elected by settlers; in B the signers voted together
   • In both, the Company in London wrote the laws itself, not the colonists

6. Use this

   Who took part? Four bodies, 1620 to the 1700s (summaries in our words from the National Park Service, the Library of Congress and Massachusetts records). Mayflower Compact (1620): the 41 signers were all men. Virginia assembly (from 1619): burgesses were elected by men of the settlements, and the governor and an appointed council also sat. In 1670 Virginia limited voting to men with property. Massachusetts Bay (1631): the General Court ruled that only church members could become freemen, the men who could vote. Boston town meeting (1700s): usually white men who owned property could attend and vote. None of the four lists women, enslaved Africans or Native peoples as taking part.

7. 5.

   What do all four bodies on the card have in common, Milo asks?

   • Each was run by the Virginia Company, whose court sat in London
   • Women, enslaved Africans and Native peoples are left out
   • Each let any free person who lived in the colony cast a vote
   • Each was formed in the same year, 1620, by the same people
8. 6.

   Which body added a religious test for voting, Noah asks?

   • Virginia's assembly, in 1670
   • Boston's town meeting, in the 1700s
   • The Mayflower Compact, in 1620
   • Massachusetts Bay, in 1631
9. 7.

   In 1670 Virginia limited voting to men with property. What happened to participation, Pia asks?

   • It narrowed, because fewer men could vote
   • It stayed the same, because voting had long needed property
   • It grew, because women gained the vote
   • It widened, because more men could vote
10. 8.

    The card says only church members could become 'freemen' in Massachusetts Bay. What is a freeman here, Ren asks?

    • A man who served as a soldier
    • A man who owned a ship
    • A man who could vote in the colony
    • A man who had been freed from service
11. 9.

    Boston's town meetings were usually for white men who owned property. Which statement fits, Tala asks?

    • Self-government was real but open to few people
    • Voting did not take place at town meetings
    • Just the wealthiest merchants were ever allowed in
    • Each Boston resident took an equal part in the meetings
12. 10.

    Which question would best help Zee learn whether people left out had their own ways of governing?

    • Who signed the Mayflower Compact in 1620?
    • How did Native nations such as the Wampanoag govern?
    • In what year did Virginia limit voting to men with property?
    • How many burgesses sat in the 1619 assembly?