| A | B |
|---|
| Mayflower Compact | Agreement by the Pilgrims to establish a government governed by majority rule |
| Covenant | A binding agreement made by two or more persons |
| Primogeniture | The right of the eldest son to inherit all of his parents' estates |
| Established religion | An official, state-sponsored religion |
| Roger Williams | Puritan minister who fled Massachusetts to found Rhode Island because he believed in the separation of church and state |
| Anne Hutchinson | Thrown out of Massachusetts for preaching a theory of salvation contrary to official Puritan beliefs |
| Fundamental Orders of Connecticut | First Colonial Constitution in New World |
| Executive branch | Responsible for carrying out and enforcing the law |
| Legislative branch | Responsible for making laws |
| Judicial branch | Responsible for handling conflicts over the laws |
| Checks and balances | Separation of power among the branches of government with each government limited by the power of another branch |
| Suffrage | The right to vote |
| Massachusetts Body of Liberties | First Colonial charter of rights that secured the rule of law and protection of basic rights of persons living in that colony |
| Indentured Servants | People who sold their labor in exchange for passage to America |
| Sovereignty | The ultimate, supreme power in a state |
| Popular sovereignty | To concept that ultimate political authority rests with the people |
| Virginia Declaration of Rights | First state list of rights; it served as a model for other states and the Bill of Rights; written by George Mason |
| Massachusetts state constitution | Oldest written constitution still in effect in the world today. Written by John Adams it used separation of powers and checks and balances |
