House of Burgesses: Democracy Takes Root in Virginia
The first representative assembly in the Americas convened at a church in Jamestown, Virginia, on July 30, 1619, when 22 burgesses elected by the colony's male settlers gathered to pass laws and levy taxes. Governor George Yeardley had called the assembly under instructions from the Virginia Company of London, which hoped that self-governance would attract more settlers. The House of Burgesses established a precedent: English colonists expected to participate in making the laws that governed them. This principle, transplanted from Parliament's tradition, spread throughout the other colonies and became the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution 156 years later.
July 30, 1619
407 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on July 30
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