HOUSE OF BURGESSES : In July 30, 1619, the first meeting of the House of Burgesses was held in Jamestown, Virginia. The Virginia Company wanted to create a local government for the colonists so they created the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses was basically modeled after the English Parliament with an assembly composed of a governor, who was elected by the company officials, the governor's council, (there were six of them elected by the governor), and the burgesses, who were representatives from around the area; and males over 17 ages of age were able to vote.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The House of Burgesses was a legislature that started out in Jamestown but was later moved to Williamsburg. There, the assembly met in the consecutive Capitol buildings. As you can see, our present-day government is very similar to the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses set a model of the first democratic government with a limited royal authority. It gave the colonists an idea of having its own government and being freed from the English. The House of Burgesses gave the Americans 157 years of head start in democracy. That's why when it got time to the Declaration of Independence, they were handling the democratic government quite well.
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In order to attract more settlers to Jamestown, the London Company made the decisions to allow Jamestown settlers to:
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Own land and have a voice in the government
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The company assumed the colonists would:
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Work harder if they owned their own land
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The company also adopted:
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English Common law
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The same laws that had governed the colonists in England would govern them in:
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Jamestown
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They wouldn't have to follow the whims of the:
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Royal Governor
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The Virginia House of Burgesses was:
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The first representative government in America
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The king selected a:
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Royal Governor
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The Royal Governor selected:
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6 men to serve the Governor's council
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Then representatives or burgesses would be:
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Elected by the people to represent them and help the royal governor and the governor's council make laws
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To be a burgess you had to be:
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Male, white, a landowner and 17 years of age
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Decisions by the burgess could be
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Overturned by the governor
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But it still represents:
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The frist time people were allowed a voice in making the laws under which they would live
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Famous Burgesses:
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George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry
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Decisions made by the house of Burgesses:
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Laws for price of tobacco
Laws governing masters and their indentured servants
Laws concerning taxes
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The colonists were used to being able to make their own decisions concerning the payment of:
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Taxes
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Nathanial Bacon is a poor farmer who opposed the royal governor b/c:
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The governor favors the rich and imposed heavy taxes on the poor
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Bacon demands that:
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The royal governor declare war on the local Indian tribe in order to obtain their land for the farmers of Jamestown
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The royal governor refuses so:
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Bacon and his men rebel, they seize control of the house of burgesses and burns Jamestown
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The king is not happy so:
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He removes the royal governor from assuming too much power
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The colonists have opposed:
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Tyranny and taken another step towards independence.
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