The Body of Liberties is the first code of laws adopted in New England and one of the earliest bills of rights in the English-speaking world. The Puritan settlers of Massachusetts Bay had governed for a decade largely by the discretion of their magistrates.
The General Court of Massachusetts Bay (drafted chiefly by Nathaniel Ward) · CatalogThe General Court of Massachusetts Bay (drafted chiefly by Nathaniel Ward)The General Court of Massachusetts Bay (drafted chiefly by Nathaniel Ward) · CatalogThe Body of Liberties was adopted in 1641 by the General Court, the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.The Massachusetts Body of Liberties
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