Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!



In honor of Thanksgiving: The Mayflower Compact...

In November of 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at (modern day) Massachusetts. They made their historical landing at Plymouth Rock in December 1620. The Pilgrims had left England for religious freedom from that of the Church of England. They were Puritans who wished to worship God in the way that they saw fit.

Before leaving the Mayflower, the Pilgrims wrote (and signed) the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact provided the Pilgrims with a simple constitution. It declared the establishment of law, the idea that everyone was created equal, and the right to gather and vote. The Mayflower Compact is an inspiring piece of work that some see as a precursor to the United States Constitution.

Take a read…

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 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.


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