LAD #1 Mayflower Compact & Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

(Drafting the Mayflower Compact, 1620)

1) What concepts are included in the Mayflower Compact?
 The document declares the colonists's arrival in Capecod and establishes a representative colonial government with the power to draft legislation for the betterment of the colony. Stressed in the Mayflower Compact is that the colonial government and its constituents are suberservient to King James. The Mayflower Compact also asserts the colonists's religious conviction. They state that they act to glorify God and spread the Christian religion as they build a colony for the royal crown.

2) How does the Mayflower Compact reflect an attachment to both the "Old" and "New" worlds?
 The colonists's attachment to the "Old" world can be seen as they promise to remain subservient to their king in England. However, their attachment to the "New" world is reflected in their enthusiasm to create a civil government. It is also obvious that the settlers, eager to escape religious prosecution and unemployment, believe their lives will be better in the "New" world and that they are excited to act in the name of God.



3) How did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact?
  Both documents highlight the importance of God in colonial life and government and state that the colonists act for Him. However, only the Mayflower Compact emphasizes that the colonists also act under the English crown. The jurisdiction of the English king seems to have been deliberately ommitted from the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. In both documents, the settlers establish their own governments. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut lays out an explicit plan for government, including voting procedures (private, paper ballots) and the role of General Assemblies. The Mayflower Compact is extremely vague and open to interpretation.

4) What prompted the colonists of Connecticut to take this approach to government, i.e.: use of a written Constitution?
   The colony, which included the colonial cities of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford, was growing to be quite large and needed a system to effectively manage its affairs. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was also necessary to officially unite the three cities into a Commonwealth. Use of a written Constitution futher allowed the colonists to state their individual rights and lay out policies to be used in the years to come. And, seeing as the people of this Commonwealth aimed to build a society centered around their religion, use of a Constitution clearly defined the role that religion was to play in the government of their society.

5) In what significant way(s) does the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut reflect a fear of and safeguard against the usurping of power by one person or a chosen few?
   The fact that seizure of government power is so carefully safeguarded against reflects the colonial fear of one man or group usurping power. The settlers clearly lay out a plan for their representative government in this document. Though there is only one Governor, his power is checked by six other elected persons. Those holding power must be elected, by paper ballot, by "qualified" colonists and the the Governor may not be elected more than once in two years. The colonists hoped that these, and similar measures, would prevent one man from becoming too powerful like the king they had left behind.