Chapter 7: The Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries - Policies, Agreements, Court Ruling, etc.

Policies, Agreements, Court Ruling, etc.

      The first document that involved the freedom of religion was the Act of Toleration. This act was followed by the Maryland Toleration Act. These acts allowed anyone to join and be a Puritan as long as the rules were followed and sermons were attended. The partial church membership was granted to many other not eligible to participate in the church by the Half-Way Covenant, which was made in New England in 1662. The first notable change was the Maryland Compact that was during the sailing and settlements of today's North America. The French had also made an agreement that promoted civil unity, for example the rights to work in a field of State. This was the Edict of Nantes. F=

      The first agreement of colonies was the Dominion of New England, which connected the English colonies and New England, but the geography prevented from any governing of one person within these areas. Proposals for the government set ups in towns and cities were made by the Fundamental Order of Connecticut. The order has some writings that truly resemble the Constitution, however it was for the colonies only. More strict laws were made, like the Navigation Acts. This prevented foreign trade by the shipping from New England to its colonies and vice versa. This forcibly developed colonies that were favorable to England, or in other words, the most successful and bountiful.