"In the name of God, Amen. We,
whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign
Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland,
King, Defender of the Faith, e&.
Having undertaken for the Glory of God,
and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and
Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia;
do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and
one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body
Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of
the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame,
such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices,
from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the
General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and
obedience.
In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed
our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign
Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of
Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."
There followed the signatures of
41 of the 102 passengers, 37 of whom were members of the "Separatists"
who were fleeing religious persecution in Europe. This compact established
the first basis in the new world for written laws. Half the colony failed
to survive the first winter, but the remainder lived on and prospered.
Prepared by Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland
Free-Net - aa300), NPTN.
About them Pilgrims...
Excerpts from a speech
given by Robert C. Notson at the Oregon
Mayflower Society
Spring luncheon. Mr. Notson is the retired
Executive Editor
and Publisher of the Portland Oregonian and
co-author of Stepping
Stones, The Pilgrims' Own Story. Furnished by Margaret Hyre of the Society
of Mayflower Descendants.
Confusing the Pilgrims and
the Puritans has been a chronic popular error for many years. The more
recent association of John Winthrop with the Pilgrims has been a novel
expression of that mistake. Both Presidents Reagan and Bush referred to
John Winthrop as a Pilgrim.
Of course, John Winthrop
had nothing to do with the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were not his people.
Winthrop's policies were so severe that he admonished the settlers to do
as they were told. He was an
authoritarian. The Mayflower Compact,
in contrast, was based on
consent of the governed, the very cornerstone
of democratic process.
The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
in 1620. John Winthrop and the Puritans founded a colony in the Boston
area in 1630.
The story of the first Thanksgiving
is intriguing and worthwhile. The Pilgrims had just completed harvest of
what they thought was a bountiful crop --- and this despite an earlier
threat of drought. They had toiled long and hard, and now they desired
to celebrate and give thanks to God. They did not forget the aid they had
received from the Indians. They invited Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag
tribe to join them.
But the communications were
not too good. Massasoit misunderstood and brought the entire tribe. The
coloninsts felt they could not afford to disappoint the Indians. They had
some turkeys and some water fowl and now they sought to scrounge for more.
The Indians, grasping the situation, sent hunters into the woods to return
with four deer.
The logistics of the situation
must have been enormous --- cleaning, dressing and skinning deer, building
huge spits, gathering wood, turning the roasting meat, making corn bread
and other dishes.
While this was proceeding,
the men also had to keep the Indians
entertained with games of skill, races,
drills, marksmanship. The Indians liked the cooking so much
they stayed around for the better part of three days, until the food was
utterly exhausted.
Relations of the Pilgrims
with the Indians were exemplary. They lived more than 40 years in peace
and cooperation with their neighbors. It was not until the surge of new
settlers began crowding the Indians that hostilities developed.
The Pilgrims adopted the
Mayflower Compact, the first written democratic constitution.
The Compact formed "a civil body politic" to enact "just and equal laws"
for the common good. This was followed by the popular election of officers
and subsequently by declaration of government by consent of the governed,
the very cornerstone of the American democratic system. The Pilgrims initiated
the New England town meeting, the most democratic institution ever conceived.
The Pilgrims had strong
religious beliefs and they were determined to worship according to their
own consciences.
[Copyright 1996 by
the Society of Mayflower Descendants. For more information, write to the
Society at P.O. Box 3297, Plymouth, MA 02361.]
