They arrived in autumn. When they left the Old World, half of them had been pilgrims seeking religious freedom, and half of them had been strangers. Now they were all desperate.
The voyage had been long and difficult. They were low on supplies, and they must work together to survive the coming winter. Yet they had their differences. Who amongst them would lead? What rules would they live by? To settle their differences they signed a compact.
The Mayflower Compact
We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and 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 Politic, 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 hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.
Source: William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647 (Samuel Eliot Morison, ed., 1952), 75-76.
(copied from here) (list of the signers here)
The new arrivals could only guess what was in store for them. That winter was exceptionally cold, far colder than any they had seen in England. By its end, half of them would be dead.
Somehow those who survived their sorrows and struggles found hope. These were the people who celebrated the first Thanksgiving.
Remember the gifts of those who have passed before us. Remember the price they paid. Then do your duty to pass those gifts on to the next generation.
Don’t forget to vote the first Tuesday in November.
