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Tisch Library Undergraduate Research Award Winner, 2012. The galleries today hold a skewed legacy as a pioneering democratic institution. Prevalent claims that the Massachusetts House galleries were the first example of public legislative processes in the English speaking world are incorrect. These claims focus solely on the question of whether or not the Massachusetts legislature established ... read moregalleries first, a question which reveals little about the intentions behind or impacts of the opening of galleries. As the galleries were not unconditionally open, and as the galleries did not directly challenge existing political systems or contracts, the intentions of colonial leaders were not making any clear assertions of democratic values in opening the galleries. Through the galleries, we see how the colonial leaders of Massachusetts sought to uphold classical republicanism, virtual representation, and compact theory, at least de jure. In this way, the galleries offer one case study to de-mythologize the democratic legacies of our colonial leaders.read less
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