house of burgesses
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The General Assembly
what was the first elected assembly in the new world
The House of Burgesses was the first elected assembly to govern in a British colony.
The House of Burgess was the first democratically elected governing body in the British American colonies. It was established at the Virginia General Assembly in 1619 and its electorate was confined to landholding males at least 21 years of age.
The House of Burgesses was created by the Virginia Company as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America and to make conditions in the colony more agreeable for its current inhabitants. The House of Burgesses was the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America.