The Mayflower compact

How did the Mayflower Compact establish the idea of self government in the United States? Do Now: Copy Vocabulary Mayflower Compact- the first governing document of Plymouth Colony Charter- a document which outlines the conditions under which a colony is organized Legislation- the act of making or enacting laws, a law or a body of laws enacted. Representative Assembly- composed of persons duly authorized, as by election, to act and speak for others Covenant- sacred pact “Civil body politic”- one body or unit of representation

The Pilgrims A pilgrim is a person who makes a journey for a religious reason. In 1608 a group of religious farmers tried to start their own church in England. The Church of England would not allow this to happen. The pilgrims moved to Holland to find religious freedom

The Pilgrims became homesick and were missing their way of life in England. In 1616 they sent men to England to ask the Virginia Company for a charter to start a colony in North America. The Virginia Company agreed and the Pilgrims returned to England on the Mayflower and the Speedwell

After returning to England for supplies, these ships were going to take the Pilgrims to America. The Speedwell proved to be unseaworthy. All the Pilgrims crowded onto the Mayflower and set out from Plymouth, England in September Crowded on the Mayflower, 101 men, women, and children headed to the lands governed by the Virginia Company. The Pilgrims were given free passage to America. They agreed to work for the Virginia Company. The Pilgrims would send them furs, fish, and lumber.

The Mayflower was blown off course by storms and reached the coast of what today is Massachusetts in December 1620.

The Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock

“civil body politic” "just and equal laws 41 Male passengers on the Mayflower formed into a “civil body politic”, signed a compact promising to write and obey "just and equal laws... for the general good of the colony."

Mayflower Compact self- government self- governmentThe compact brought an element of democracy to America and was an example of the practice of self- government in the colonies. All the colonies practiced some form of self- government……… …

In making this compact, the Pilgrims drew upon two strong traditions. One was the notion of a social contract, which dated back to biblical times and which would receive fuller expression in the works of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke later in the century. The other was the belief in covenants. Puritans believed that covenants existed not only between God and man, but also between man and man.

The Compact is often described as America's first constitution, but it is not a constitution in the sense of being a fundamental framework of government. Its importance lies in the belief that government is a form of covenant, and that for government to be legitimate, it must derive from the consent of the governed. The settlers recognized that individually they might not agree with all of the actions of the government they were creating; but they, and succeeding generations, understood that government could be legitimate only if it originated with the consent of those it claimed to govern.

Document Vocabulary Preview Amen: Used to express agreement at the end of a prayer Sovereign: ruler Dread: fear or terror Mutually: Held in common by two or more parties Voyage: trip Preservation: protect Virtue: the quality of doing what is right Enact: pass a law ordinances: laws Anno Domini (A.D.): In the year of our Lord

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