LAD # 1: The Mayflower Compact and The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

1) What concepts are included in the Mayflower Compact?
The Mayflower Compact was signed in order to bring the traveling men together as one in an effort to create a set of rules and regulations to live by once they reached their destination. They agreed to have loyalty to both their home country of England as well as the New World, and to have a deep faith in God. This first written set of rules would later influence the American Constitution. 


2) How does the Mayflower Compact reflect an attachment to both the "Old" and "New" worlds? 
In regards to the Old world, the Compact shows that the colonists are willing to remain loyal to their mother country and it's leaders as they agree to continue practicing their own traditions in their new home. As for the New World, the fact that they are preparing to come together and form their own government in order to benefit the colony shows the attachment. 


3) How did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact?
While both "constitutions" are fairly similar, they ended up serving different purposes. While the Compact basically just provided a set of guidelines describing how the colony would be run, the Orders were a much more specific set of rules stating how they would rule the colony and giving them the ability to completely govern the towns and citizens. 


4) What prompted the colonists of Connecticut to take this approach to government, i.e.: use of a written Constitution?
After leaving England in part to escape certain injustices, the colonists decided to take matters into their own hands and create a government in which everyone (well, almost everyone) had a say in political matters; men were given more voting rights and more opportunity to run for elected positions. They also thought a known government system would reduce problems within the colony.


5) In what significant way(s) does the Fundamental Orders reflect a fear of and safeguard against the usurping of power by one person or a chosen few?
The colonists wanted to avoid the dominant power of a King, as it was in England, the laws specifically made ways so that this would not happen. They put strict limits on the amount of time people could hold positions of power, so as to avoid one person developing into a tyrant and gaining too much power. Also, policies such as creating two General Assemblies created an effective balance of power. Just as the Compact did, the Orders later had great influence on the American Constitution.