by Janet Dunn

Created on: November 22, 2010   Last Updated: November 23, 2010

On a November day in 1607 a group of protestants, (mostly persecuted Separatists), lead by William Bradford fled England in fear of persecution from the Anglican Church of England for denying the Anglican Church and forming their own church, the Puritan Church.  They sequestered themselves in Holland until 1620 when they decided to go to the New World and form their own colony.  

Securing a land patent from the Virginia Company they were ready to set sail.  In preparation for their venture they knew that they needed an established set of rules to govern them and hold them accountable.  So a group of forty-one adult men, (not all were part of the settlers that but also members of the ship’s crew), agreed to sign and abide by a written covenant named the Mayflower Compact.

They penned the first written document of laws for the New World. Those who went before them had failed at finding this life of freedom because they had not come together as a people.  The significance of this Compact was the foundation of a new life and the beginning of America.

It was near the Mayflower Steps of Plymouth, England that the Mayflower, a cargo ship, commanded by Christopher Jones and his crew of about 30 men set sail in September of 1620 along with 102 passengers on a tempestuous 66 day trip to the New World. They were plagued with disease and the deaths of two people.  Their original landing was to be in the Hudson River near the Virginia Jamestown Settlement established in 1607 at what we know today as New York; but because of the weather, their ship veered off course and anchored farther north to what is now known as Providencetown Harbor near Cape Cod.  They named their new colony Plymouth, after the name of the harbor from which they departed in England.  The harsh winter weather kept everyone aboard the ship until April 1621.  After the Mayflower was emptied of its passengers, it returned to England never to set sail again.  Captain Christopher Jones died in 1622.

This group of Settlers became known as the Pilgrims.  Their lives and their decisions were founded on their belief in God, the bible, independence and the right of religious freedom. These were the beliefs that were instrumental in structuring the Mayflower Compact allowing them to lead their lives honestly and reverently toward God and each other. 

One hundred and fifty years later President John Adams stated the Mayflower Compact was the beginning of America and this written covenant was instrumental in forming the U.S. constitution.      

Sources and Other Readings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact

http://www.allabouthistory.org/mayflower-compact.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower

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