Putnam patriot., 1920-12-17
History Stories of
 Connecticut
Th. Fir., writlen con..i.a.ion

1f tle uEs- AMeElcakn c9aslA1&i0a- .-a can realize what 6 significant sfet this wss only when We remem-
 Ter that before this date no ssate. no
 -dom, ID government of any kina 4nya here had ever been formed CT -ar4leI oa aecoraing to a written con
 titaticn arawa up by the people
 themselves In the old world states
 land nations grew slowly by the union
 families ineo clans, clans into
 .i1es. and tes into larger and Iarg-
 or 5zat3aHz until they fgrme j great Kingdoms and empires In these
 es the rgieFs themselves deter
 ei the form of government. If
 people were dissatisfied they usu- zliy had to fight and thus force theiE rulers to give them the government which they desirei
 How did t happen that the people 0ho came from the old world to the new and settled in Connecticut adopt ed new plan for forming their gov ernment7
 h the first place these people had ] left England because they thought the l English king, the English government, and the English church did not give ]. them sufficient liberty of action DOT enough voice in the infringement 6f affairs Their leaders wersfwise and ] learned men who had studied and thought great deal about laws and i the government of England. Thomas Hooker, the leader of the company that settled Hartford, had been edu- cated at Cambridge University. For several years he had been clergyman ] in England, where his eloquence and ability had made him popular with his congregation. During this period he said many things that displeased the i king. As q result he was forbidden to preach and eventually fled to Hol- land to escape punishment. From Hol- land he came to America, joined his English congregation in Massachusetts and moved with them to Hartford. ] His experience had proved to him that the people ought to make their own ] laws and elect their own officers. He taught his people in Hartford this new belief.
 For one year the three settlements of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethers- 1 field were governed by a committee of men called commissioners. These commissioners were appointed by the Massachusetts government at the time Thomas Hooker and his congregation came to Hartford Massachusetts at that time claimed Connecticut and wished to add the new settlements to those that had already been made near Boston.
 At first the Connecticut settlements were named Dorchester, Newtown, and Watertown, to show that they were parts of the settlements having the same names in Massachusetts. At the ct of the year the Connecticut people paid no more attention to the commissioners but began to govern themselves as three separate towns and soon changed the names to Wind sor, Hartford, and W ethersfeld. They selected some of the wisest men from each town to hold meetings and settle questions of importance. Wher !. these men met they were called the General Court.
 This court decided upon many i'm : portant questions, one of which was te make war upon the Pequot Indians The next year Thomas Hooker
 preached sermon that made his name renowned both in America anc in Europe. It was May 31, 163S, anc : the General Court was in session al Hartford. The subject of Mir. Hook
 CTS address was, "The Fundamenta Principles of Civil Government" H. said
 That the people have the divine right to appoint their own public off
 eers.
 That the people ought to exercise . this right thoughtfully and in the feal
 of God
 That the people who appoint thu officers also have the right to sa.
 what shall be the powers and dutie
 of the officers that they choose. ' Thomas Hooker gave two good req sons for the statements he had made The true authority for govern ' . ment is the free consent of the peo pie.
 . When the people choose their ow' z rulers they will be more likely to low
 the persons chosen and more ready t v obey them.
 Where could the Connecticut peo = pie find lawyer qualified to fram . these great principles into laws?
 They had him in their very midst
 He was the president of their owl
 General Court. He had been educat ed at Oxford University in Englan'
 and like Thomas Hooker had bee
 driven to America because of his lov
 of civil and religious liberty. He wa n the leading man in the Windsor set T. clement and had been chief legal ad visor of the Connecticut settlers eve T since they came into the Connection IT Valley. His name was Roger Lud e low.
 ! Hooker and Ludlow had other learn ' cd and able men to give them advic l. and assistance. Among them wer j. John Haynes, Governor of Massaehu Ef. ! e !.