5.8

<**Standard 5.7** ................................................................................................................................................. **Standard 5.9**> media type="custom" key="29529609" align="right" =Identify the links between the political principles and practices developed in ancient Greece and such political institutions and practices as written constitutions and town meetings of the Puritans.=

** Topics on the Page **

 * The Puritans and Ancient Greece **
 * Colonial Constitutions **
 * ** The Massachusetts Constitution **
 * ** Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy **
 * Town Meetings as a Form of Government **

**[[image:rotating gif.gif width="43" height="43"]]Related Standards**

 * **See @USI.2 for more information on the political heritage of ancient Greece.**
 * **See United States Government 2.3 for more on social contract theory and the rule of law.**
 * ** See United States Government 3.10 for more on town meetings **
 * ** See Grade 3.4 for more on the ** **Puritans.**
 * **See** ** Grade 7.26 ** **for the background on the development of democratic government in ancient Athens.**

Links between Puritans and Ancient Greece
===Top influential ancient [|Greeks], including [|Solon], [|Cleisthenes], [|Perciles], and [|Demosthenes].===

Take a look at this [|timeline] of Greek Politics

This [|video] explains the classical Greek society and culture. This[| video] explains the society and religion in the New England colonies.

-Both had a system of social hierarchy. -Only freemen (those were heads of families) could be part of church and town meetings and have any say in making laws. -Political power was held within a council -Puritan men in the council controlled taxes -When a woman married, she gave all her property to her husband -Puritans believed that a father’s more distant authority check on the mother’s tenderness once a male child reached the age of 6 or 7, similar to that of the Spartans; a child was taken away from its mother and put through a rigorous military training like his father. -Puritans found it important to be able to read the Bible in its original form; Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.


 * Background ** on Puritans in New England

Here is a link to an article which discusses whether or not there may have been a [|Black Pilgrim] in Plymouth Plantation in 1627.

=Colonial Constitutions=

The importance of a written constitution from Brian Risman, //The Law Journal UK//.
 * [|The Mayflower Compact] was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony. Note that all the signatories were male.
 * The first colonial constitution was the Fundamental Agreement, written in Connecticut in 1639.
 * [|Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents] from Avalon Project, Yale Law School.


 * Link to The Massachusetts Constitution as a model for the federal constitution **

Here is a lesson plan for building a constitution for your classroom!

Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy

 * [|The Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy]

Viral Meme Says Constitution Owes Its Nation of Democracy to the Iroquois, Politifact (December 2, 2014)


 * Link to the 1994 Constitution of the Wampanoag tribe of Gay Head (Martha's Vineyard).
 * ** In the constitutions of the 13 colonies Native American's rights were not included. **

=**Town Meetings**=


 * For more on town meeting as a democratic practice, see United States Government 3.10.**

Encyclopedia Britannica's definition of [|Town Meeting]
 * The first town meeting was held, October 8, 1633 in Dorchester, Massachusetts by citizens who wanted to address issues that affected the "common good."
 * America's oldest town hall in continuous use for town meetings is in Pelham, MA. Read about it here.

See page 3 of the Dorchester Town Records from the "Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners" (1880) for a record of the meeting. Video excerpt from the movie //The Patriot// on what a colonial "town meeting" could have looked like.
 * Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings from the Massachusetts Office of Secretary of State gives information about the town meeting form of government.
 * According to the [|New Rules Project (Institute for Local Self Reliance]), "the New England town meeting and the school district meeting are the only direct democracy institutions in the United States involving lawmaking by assembled voters."
 * Compare the Town Meeting to the Athenian Assembly by reading about the Assembly.




 * Ancient Greek Women**

This link includes[| ten]notable women of Ancient Greece This link explains the role of women in [|Puritan] society

Image IDs from left to right
1. Wikimedia Commons, "Puritan Gallery". 2. Wikipedia, "Lower Mills MA".