Important Documents essays

Important Documents essays Throughout history, there have been many important documents that have contributed to the development of the democratic society that the United States of America holds today. Early English settlers brought with them the knowledge of a political system that had been in the making for centuries. The type of political system that the settlers knew was from 17th-century England, but a lot of the ideas came from varying places like Africa, and India. and various times. Three important documents that played a role in the USs society would include The Mayflower Compact, The English Bill of Rights, and The English Petition of Rights. The Mayflower Compact of 1620, dealt with people called Pilgrims who wanted to escape the religious persecution that they were experiencing in England. A group of about 102 men, women, and children set sail from England on a small ship called the Mayflower. When the Pilgrims finally anchored off Cape Cod, they all knew that they needed a plan to start their colony. So, before all the Pilgrims left the ship, all of the 41 adult males signed what is known as today as the Mayflower Compact. It was an agreement that said the Pilgrims would govern themselves. The Mayflower Compact became one of the first forms of self-government in North America. Because of the Mayflower Compact, governments were now starting to be self-governed. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 dealt with English immigrants. When English immigrants came to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, most of them assumed that they would have the same protections against governmental abuses of power that they had in England. The most important protection was the right to trial by jury and the right of habeas corpus, which prevented the government from putting people in jail for no reason. Other personal liberties brought from England to America included the right of accused persons to have legal assistance at trials, and a ba...