This week in history

October 4, 1636, the first written legal code to be instituted in what is now the United States, was done by the General Court of the Plymouth Colony. It guaranteed citizens a trial by jury, and further stated that all laws were to be made with the consent of the freemen of the colony.

The Plymouth Colony was founded by Pilgrims, Protestant dissenters from the Church of England. They fled their native country in search of religious freedom. They briefly stayed in Holland, then sailed for North America on the Mayflower and arrived at Plymouth Rock in December of 1620.

Source(s): Library of Congress

Compiled by Bob Valen