Preview

Mayflower Compact

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
335 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mayflower Compact
THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT
The Pilgrims came to the New World seeking a refuge from Holland. They then obtained grants for land originally for land in northern part of Virginia and began their 3.000 mile journey toward the New World. They had landed on a coast of Massachusetts, which they had named Plymouth Plantation. The Mayflower Compact was drawn out by the Pilgrims in 1620. The Pilgrims knew the only way a new settlement would work is if they had a strong government. It was a "Civil Body Politick" (a temporary government) until one could be more permanently established.
"In the name of God, Amen," these are the very first words of the Mayflower Compact. You might ask why they felt they had to swear to God on this lawmaking document. It is simply because they came to the new World for religious freedom. This was their chance to build a town of the religious beliefs. God is first in the Pilgrims eyes. I believe that if God wasn't in this crucial document many would not agree with it.
The same applies today, on the one dollar bill it says, "In God we trust". Although we do not practice theocracy, reminisces of the church in a legislative document and self government stem from the Mayflower Compact.
In this document it gave everyone an equal say in the way things were done. It was a social contract and covenant. They would obey the commands of their leader set in the Mayflower Compact. William Bradford was elected Governor and supervised all of the pilgrims. He was elected thirty times between 1621-1656.
In conclusion, the Mayflower Compact integrated four key points. They were all equal in the sight of God. Secondly, it reflected deep loyalty to King James despite his behavior causing the pilgrims to come to the New World in exile. This document mirrors the Pilgrim's strong belief in God. Last but not least, equal laws that everyone in the colony agreed
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Dbq 25 Massachusetts Bay Colony Analysis
    • 3439 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Dbq 25 Massachusetts Bay Colony Analysis

    Plymouth: Plymouth was a colony settled by Pilgrims who were religious separatists. They migrated to America to maintain their English identity. Since they didn't have a royal charter, they created the Mayflower Compact. It was essentially the first American constitution. The Puritans created a political structure that highlighted their self-governing and religious attitudes. They were religiously tolerant, and they became a vibrant and healthy community. Over time, their colony grew, so they created a legal code, which formed a representative self-government, political rights, and religious freedom. This created a stable democratic political foundation for the colony.…

    • 3439 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Did The Mayflower Compact Establish The Idea Of Self-Government And Majority Rule?
    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page

    Did The Mayflower Compact Establish The Idea Of Self-Government And Majority Rule?

    In 1620, a ship called the Mayflower arrived off Cape Cod on the Massachusetts coast. The Mayflower was blown north of its course, the ship landed at a site that had been named Plymouth. Aboard the Mayflower signed an agreement called the Mayflower Compact. In it, they vowed to obey laws agreed upon for the good of the colony. The Mayflower Compact establish the idea of self-government and majority rule.…

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Written Analysis #2: to What Extent Did the Early New England Puritans Live Up to Their Idealized Vision of Community? Explain.
    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Written Analysis #2: to What Extent Did the Early New England Puritans Live Up to Their Idealized Vision of Community? Explain.

    The majority of explorers who took part in this great venture, were actually nobles. This means that most of the men on board the Mayflower had no previous experience with any expeditions of this kind, and as a matter of fact, they only came on board looking for power. The thing about nobles was they had seemingly endless supplies of wealth, but they were without land. While some men had dreams of religious freedom and fewer battles, nobles dreamed of acreage, a luxury they lacked. This is something they managed to find, although they were forced to attack the Natives to obtain this land. The New England Puritans lived up to their idealized vision of the New World on the grounds of power through land.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Smith Compare And Contrast Plymouth And Jamestown
    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Smith Compare And Contrast Plymouth And Jamestown

    In the early 1600's, 102 people called pilgrims left England for America because of religious reasons. During the journey across the ocean they all singed the Mayflower Compact, which…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Did The Mayflower Compact
    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page

    Why Did The Mayflower Compact

    Since the Pilgrims did not intend to settle at Cape Cod, they did not have a land patent, (a document that granted land to a colony, but didn't give permission to establish local law there), to settle in that area. The pilgrims worried that they did not have permission to settle there and they were concerned that without any social order, the colony would fail, much like earlier colonies did. Since some of the passengers on the ship were not separatists, they questioned the pilgrims’ authority. As a result the colonists wrote a social contract called The Mayflower Compact that established a local government and obliged the people to follow the rules of this government until they could obtain a new patent. The colony of Plymouth thus…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    THe Mayflower Compacts signifigance
    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages

    THe Mayflower Compacts signifigance

    The Mayflower Compact was the principle ideal of the Pilgrims and was also the government set type for them and future generations. The Compact was written on the ship named Mayflower, hence the name Mayflower Compact, and all of the people aboard were bound to it. Furthermore, it was only the second government system to be established by the Europeans in North America, with only Jamestown being established beforehand. As a result of this, the Mayflower Compact has a big significance in American History, because it established a government where religion was not a central factor in it.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Chesapeake Colonies vs. New England Colonies Frq
    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Chesapeake Colonies vs. New England Colonies Frq

    From the time each ship set off from England, both the New England and Chesapeake colonies were bound to be different. In the Chesapeake region, where Jamestown was founded, the people had unrealistic expectations. They hoped that gold would be plentiful and easy to find, while also expecting the Native Americans to bow to their wishes. Contrary to their wishes, there was no gold to be found, and the Native Americans became less pleasant as the English became lazier. Believing that they were superior to the Native Americans, the English refused to grow crops, and expected the Native Americans to supply it all, creating rising tensions among them. On the opposite view, the settlers of the New England region had no such hopes. They set out from England to practice their religion more freely. John Winthrop had this idea of a “City on a hill” believing that the people of New England should show England itself how they should live, surrounded by their religion. In fact, upon arriving in New England, the puritans made their Mayflower Compact which allowed them to create their own government. Coming from this compact, the puritans also created the Covenant of Grace, which was to live scandal free and prove scriptural knowledge, and the Social Covenant, which was amongst the people, requiring a mutual watchfulness and no privacy. Unlike the Chesapeake colonies, the New England colonies also came with a family basis, while the…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mayflower Compact
    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mayflower Compact

    |5. |Author (or creator) of Document: 41 passengers on the Mayflower (such as John Carver, William Brewster, John Alden, Isaac Allerton,|…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did The Mayflower Compact
    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Did The Mayflower Compact

    The Pilgrims of Leiden, Holland were separatist (those who separated from The Church of England) who came to America in search of "a better life."…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Was The Mayflower Compact And Its Significance In American History
    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What Was The Mayflower Compact And Its Significance In American History

    The Mayflower Compact did, however, embody the guiding and lasting principles of the Pilgrims as expressed by their pastor John Robinson: separation of Church and state in a "civil body politic" and the rule of "just and equal laws."…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Plymouth Colony Research Paper
    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Plymouth Colony Research Paper

    At that time, Virginia was from Jamestown to the mouth of the Hudson River, so they traveled to present-day New York. There they hoped to live under the English government, but be able to have a free religion. Founded by a group of Separatists at first known as the Brownist Emigration and Anglicans, who later on became known as the Pilgrims, the Plymouth Colony was one of the most successful colonies. Sadly, they did not have the money to start their own village. The pilgrims were desperate. They entered an agreement with financial investors. The company of investors would allow the colonists to sail to North America and give them much-needed supplies. To pay back, the colonists would have to work for the company and send resources back to England. All assets, including the land and the Pilgrims’ houses, would belong to the company until the end of seven years. After that, all of the assets would be divided among each of the investors and colonists. The colonists and investors had many quarrels amongst each other, but eventually the Pilgrims were able to leave Europe to go to…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jamestown Dbq
    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Jamestown Dbq

    These people were the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims formed an agreement before setting foot in America called the “Mayflower Compact.” This accord became the foundation for the Pilgrims’ eventual success and impact on the future of the colonies. Like Jamestown, the colony of Plymouth was ravaged by death in the early months of its founding. Why? One difference between their plights, however, situations, though, was the time of year in which they arrived in the New World. that Tthe men of Jamestown had arrived in the summer and had to strugglebear with working in the the heat during their work, while the Pilgrims were tortured suffered the hardship ofby the frosts of winter. upon their arrival. The Pilgrims, despite their early misfortunes, managed to establish a colony that sought to give glory to God in their…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    New England and the Chesapeake Region Before 1700
    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    New England and the Chesapeake Region Before 1700

    Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by the people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The reasons for this distinct development were mostly based on the type on people from England who chose to settle in the two areas, and on the manner in which the areas were settled. <br><br>New England was a refuge for religious separatists leaving England, while people who immigrated to the Chesapeake region had no religious motives. As a result, New England formed a much more religious society then the Chesapeake region. John Winthrop states that their goal was to form "a city upon a hill", which represented a "pure" community, where Christianity would be pursued in the most correct manner. Both the Pilgrims and the Puritans were very religious people. In both cases, the local government was controlled by the same people who controlled the church, and the bible was the basis for all laws and regulations. From the Article of Agreement, Springfield, Massachusetts it is clear that religion was the basis for general laws. It uses the phrase "being by God's providence engaged together to make a plantation", showing that everything was done in God's name. The Wage and Price Regulations in Connecticut is an example of common laws being justified by the bible. Also in this document the word "community " is emphasized, just as Winthrop emphasizes it saying: "we must be knit together in this work as one man". The immigrants to New England formed very family and religiously oriented communities. Looking at the emigrant lists of people bound for New England it is easy to observe that most people came in large families, and large families support the community atmosphere. There were many children among the emigrants, and those children were taught religion from their early childhood, and therefore grew up loyal to the church, and easily controllable by the same. Any deviants from the regime were silenced or…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    compare and contrast the predominant cultural characteristics of the U.S. with those of the European Union
    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages

    compare and contrast the predominant cultural characteristics of the U.S. with those of the European Union

    Searching for a new beginning and seeking religious freedom, early Pilgrims travelled to the New World (America) and fleeing religious oppression of the Old World (Europe). The Pilgrims believe “they were carrying out God’s Will and, as a result, they would become a shining example for the rest of humanity” . This new land free from persecution, subjection, tyranny, and oppression were thought to be a God sent example for all of humanity to follow. In America, the importance of separating church and state was the Pilgrims method of being cautious not to duplicate the problems that religion caused in Europe. This was apparent in the development of Article VI of the Constitution that stated “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States”. There was also language to be found in the Bill of Rights that prohibits officially sanctioned U.S. religion—“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” . America was formed out of the migration of people coming from all over the world and was a country where participation in any religious group was strictly voluntary. With religion being an individual choice of each and ever America, it is not surprising “religion is held in high regard in the United States, …. More than half the U.S. population attends church regularly” (Martin & Rajnandini, 2012, 52). This is an individualistic right that allows Americans to put their own needs and interest ahead of the collective group. As Dr. Seymour Lipset writes, “Americans are…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Constitutional Timeline
    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Constitutional Timeline

    The second document was the Mayflower Compact (1620), and it was the “scaffold to the Plymouth colony. Being that this document was convenient where by the settlers would subordinate their rights to follow laws passed by the government to ensure protection and survival made it a unique document,” (Martin, 2012). The Mayflower Compact helped the founding fathers while they created the U.S. Constitution. The colonies had to find some way to break from the hold that King George III had on them because he was still in control of everything.…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics