Jamestown, Virginia

Although Jamestown was an English colony (that means the King of England was still their ruler), England was a LONG way away.

• Today you are going to learn about the government of the early colonies and how they settled disputes and decided upon laws.
• As a class, you will vote for 12 'Counsel Men', the rest of you will be colonists. The two groups will need to review the information in the websites listed below. The colonists have a problem. They are worried that they do not have enough food for the winter. They are looking to the counsel for answers. How will the counsel handle the colonists that are near panic? Will the colonists like/accept what the counsel decides? Will there be an uprising? You decide.
  
• As a class, you will act out this process in a 'Town Meeting'. Then, individually, you will need to write a paragraph telling whether you think the rule was fair or not and why.