The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on January 24 1639. The Fundamental Orders describe the structure and powers of the government set up by the Connecticut River tow
Thomas Hooker, the minister who gave the sermon that inspired the creation of the Orders.
King James II, who approved of the Charter of 1662.
John Winthrop, the Connecticut governor who ran for multiple terms.
The Constitution of the United States, often said to have been inspired by the Fundamental Orders
Mayflower Compact
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The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the Mayflower, consisting
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
…John Fiske was the first to claim that the Fundamental Orders were the first written Constitution, a claim disputed by some modern historians. The Mayflower Compact has an equal claim 19 years before; however, the Orders gave men more voting rights and made more men eligible to run for elected positions. Karolina…
Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, an 1899 painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
Bradford's transcription of the Compact
Signing of the Mayflower Compact Bas-relief by Cyrus Dallin at the Pilgrim Monument Provincetown, Massachusetts
Commemoration of Mayflower Compact signing, 1920 issue