Majority Rule In Colonial America

The establishment of colonies in America took place within distinct circumstances. Some colonies were founded for the purpose of political and religious havens and pursuit of individual freedom and happiness. People came to the New World expecting a place where the rules in the Old World, such as hereditary aristocracies and dominance of church and state, would not apply. Other colonies such as the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania were established by either proprietors, or individuals who had an ideal for a place that could embrace everyone with his/her own will. With people who sought liberty in believes and equality in rights and founders of colonies who were not under direct rule or servitude to the Kings and Queens in Europe, the English colonies

had democratic roots from the beginning; the rationale lied in the effort to include everyone regardless of identities and believes.
In 1620 when Mayflower arrived at Jamestown, the 41 colonists aboard signed the Mayflower Compact which indicated the agreement on majority will in the colony.

As people on the ship bore different ideals and purposes for their future settlements in America, survival was depending on the collaboration and coherence of these men and women. Nevertheless, the essence of this migration was to pay equal respect to each individual’s will, and thus the majority rule was the best choice to regulate the divergence of individuality and to form a sense of community. Although the final decision was determined by the majority of a group, everyone was given a chance to speak up their wish and it left space for people to define who the majority could consisted of. Therefore, the majority rule was a rudimentary form of democracy in which people were defining their own

government.
The House of Burgess founded in 1618 in Virginia was another step toward democracy in American History. Ordered by the King James I of England to summon an legislative assembly, the Virginia Company based the law on the English Common Law but decided to give the colonists the rights to choose their own government. In 1619, Sir George Yeardley called for the representatives elected by colonists as the General Assembly of Virginia to gather at Jamestown for the first meeting of the House of Burgess. The structure then is very similar to the political structure that modern day United States operate with: the House of Burgess as the House of Representatives and the council within as the Senate. Although the right to vote was limited to white male over 17 years old who owned lands and a certain amount of wealth, the established system then was an effort to create a government that was unique to any other country in the world and truly focused on people.
The government in Massachusetts, although much more religious than that of Virginia and other colonies, also contributed to the democratic America later on in history.

The founder and governor John Winthrop gave the famous sermon of “City on a Hill” and led the persecuted Puritans from England to this land and established the Massachusetts Bay. He hoped to build safe place as a Christina commonwealth as an example to show the world. He was a capable governor and a faithful follower of God. When Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson challenged his authority, they were both banished and went south to establish their own colonies. It might be that his exclusion of people with different believes made him a model of intolerant religious ruler, but at the same time his actions showed another form of democracy. He led the colonists who were Puritans and who shared the same belief of him onto a life of prosper and stability in their land, and he never prevented anyone who disagreed with him from leaving and establishing their ideal place somewhere else. However, living in Massachusetts meant that people should follow the local law. This shows another similarity in the situations today where people in a certain legal area could choose what they want separately from other parts of the country like only four states in te States now legalize marijuana for recreational use. In this way, John Winthrop made a colony bear a democratic spirit as opposed to people yelling for their individual

rights.
Regardless of the initial purposes of the founding of different colonies, America was settled by people who bore the dreams of being free, different, and equal. The early settlers of the New Land built a home for all kinds of people and started a journey to build the first democratic country in the world. The spirit of democracy was brought to America unconsciously oversea from everywhere