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The first government set up in the new world by European colonists was formed in a document written in 1620 by the Pilgrims. It was called the Mayflower Compact. Their idea of majority rule and self-government became a symbol of democracy. When the American Revolutionary War ended over 150 years later, the 13 colonies received their independence from Great Britain. They joined together and became the United States of America. They were now free to form their own government and make their own laws. The type of government they formed was called a democracy or democratic republic. That meant that all free men would be able to vote for representatives to run the country and make laws that were for the good of all. Voting for representatives in elections would become part of being a good citizen of the new nation.
Ideas like those expressed in the Declaration of Independence spread and grew in the new country. A belief in freedom is the heart of a democracy. Democracy gave men the feeling of "equality." When the British ruled the colonies only a few, the king and those he appointed, governed them. These rulers were usually from the rich upper-class. In the United States of America all free men would have the same rights and opportunities. Colonists from England, France, Holland, and other European countries had come to America for many different reasons. Many had come seeking religious freedom. In the United States they would be able to worship as they pleased without fearing arrest or punishment. Others came so that they might be able to own their own property. There would be many more opportunities in a free nation. Men and women from different countries were now citizens of the new nation. As citizens of the United States they would be free to express different ideas and opinions while working for a common goal.
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