The Pilgrims on the Mayflower intended to establish a colony near present-day New York City. Crammed in tight living quarters, their 66-day trip from England did not go as planned. Bad weather pushed the Mayflower to land farther north in Plymouth, Massachusetts, far away from any other British settlement. They landed in November at the start of a harsh winter and had a rapidly declining food supply. After a long trip and facing these severe conditions, some people on board grew restless and rebellious, noting that the crew was a long way from any government authority. In response, the people on the ship agreed to the Mayflower Compact.

---

In 1636, a group of men wanted to separate from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They received permission to found the towns of Windsor, Hethersford, and Hartford, which became the basis for a new colony called Connecticut. By 1638, disputes emerged among the settlers, and it was unclear who held the ultimate government authority. On May 31, 1638, one of the leaders of Connecticut, Rev. Thomas Hooker, delivered a sermon in which he outlined six basic principles of government with the first principle being that it is the people who must rule. The sermon became the inspiration for the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.

---

By 1610, the Jamestown colony was losing money for the Virginia Company of London. In order to generate more interest in the colony in England and get people to work harder in Virginia, it made some changes. The company allowed workers to purchase land in Virginia, so they actually felt ownership of the success of the colony. These new landowners would be eligible to participate in a new legislature for the colony, the House of Burgesses, which first met in Jamestown in 1619.

---