SETTLING NORTH AMERICA 1497 1732
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Only adults over the age of 21.
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Only white people who owned land.
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Only men over the age of 21 could vote.
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Only planters and white men who owned property.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Only the burgesses were elected by a vote of the people. Women had no right to vote. Only free and white men originally were given the right to vote, by 1670 only property owners were allowed to vote.
Detailed explanation-2: -The General Assembly first met on July 30, 1619, in the church at Jamestown. Present were Governor Yeardley, Council, and 22 burgesses representing 11 plantations (or settlements) Burgesses were elected representatives. Only white men who owned a specific amount of property were eligible to vote for Burgesses.
Detailed explanation-3: -Most importantly, the burgesses were elected by the eligible voters (free white males) in the colony, thus making this General Assembly the first elected representative legislature in British America.
Detailed explanation-4: -The House of Burgesses was important because it was the first legislative and democratic government in America. The House of Burgesses played a very important role in the American Revolutionary War, as well as in the creation of an organized, democratic government for the newly created America.