After more than two horrendous months at sea, Cape Cod on the horizon must have been an extremely welcome sight for the men, women and children who had boarded the Mayflower on 16 September, 1620.
With many suffering from crippling seasickness - after battling strong winds and monstrous waves during their epic 66-day voyage across the Atlantic - few of the 102 on board would have cared about missing their planned destination of Northern Virginia, and the Hudson River (today New York).
But, with America almost close enough to touch, the battered and broken passengers knew their journey was far from over, for they had no right to settle on the land upon which they had unintentionally arrived.
Of the 50 men on board the Mayflower, only 41 were classed as “true” Pilgrims, religious separatists seeking freedom from the Church of England. The others, meanwhile, were considered common folk and included merchants, craftsmen, indentured servants and orphaned children. They were referred to by the Pilgrims as “strangers”.
The Pilgrims anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbour, Massachusetts, and decided to draw up an agreement that would give them some attempt at legal standing.
An illustration of the signing of the Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact - as it is known today - was signed by those 41 “true” Pilgrims on 11 November, 1620, and became the first governing document of Plymouth Colony.
It declared that the colonists were loyal to the King of England, that they were Christians who served God, that they would make fair and just laws, and that they would work together for the good of the Colony.
The men also chose John Carver as Plymouth Colony’s first governor. The women and “strangers” were not allowed to vote.
The 41 “true” Pilgrims who signed the Mayflower Compact
- John Carver
- William Bradford
- Edward Winslow
- William Brewster
- Isaac Allerton
- Myles Standish
- John Alden
- Samuel Fuller
- Christopher Martin
- William Mullins
- William White
- Richard Warren
- John Howland
- Stephen Hopkins
- Edward Tilley
- John Tilley
- Francis Cooke
- Thomas Rogers
- Thomas Tinker
- John Rigsdale
- Edward Fuller
- John Turner
- Francis Eaton
- James Chilton
- John Crackstone
- John Billington
- Moses Fletcher
- John Goodman
- Degory Priest
- Thomas Williams
- Gilbert Winslow
- Edmund Margesson
- Peter Browne
- Richard Britteridge
- George Soule
- Richard Clarke
- Richard Gardiner
- John Allerton
- Thomas English
- Edward Doty
- Edward Leister
The Mayflower Compact
The original Mayflower Compact has been lost, but three slightly different versions exist from the 17th century.
One was printed in ‘Mourt’s Relation’ in 1622, and was reprinted in ‘Purchas his Pilgrimes’ three years later, hand-written by William Bradford in his journal, ‘Of Plymouth Plantation’ in 1646 and printed by Bradford's nephew, Nathaniel Morton, in ‘New-Englands Memorial’ in 1669.
The document itself read:
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, 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 Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill body politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just and equall laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete and convenient for the generall good of the Colonie unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Codd the 11. of November, in the year of the raigne of our sovereigne lord, King James, of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fiftie-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.
The signing of the Mayflower Compact. Video courtesy of SmokeSygnals and DKR Films
A lasting legacy
The legacy of the Mayflower Compact lives on today and its significance has often been debated in the centuries since it was drawn up by the passengers of the ship.
It has often been cited as providing the basis for modern American democracy and, while its influence may have been overstated, there can be no denying its importance in establishing a social contract for the settlers to live by.
Its presence helped ensure order and survival in Plymouth Colony and the basis for self-governance which went on to inspire future generations.
By John R. Vile
he Mayflower Compact—once called the “Plymouth Combination”—is the first constitution known to have been written in the New World. Drafted aboard the Mayflower before the Pilgrims from Holland and their fellow travelers landed in North America, it was signed on November 11, 1620, by the 41 men on the ship. (Depiction of the signing of the Mayflower Compact via the Library of Congress, painted by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, public domain)
The Mayflower Compact—once called the “Plymouth Combination”—is the first constitution known to have been written in the New World. Drafted aboard the Mayflower before the Pilgrims from Holland and their fellow travelers landed in North America, it was signed on November 11, 1620, by the 41 men on the ship. Pilgrim leader William Bradford was worried that some of the settlers were planning to "use their owne libertie" to ignore common rules (Foner and Garraty 1991: 708).
The written constitution is one of America's most important contributions to the idea of government
Whereas England has an unwritten constitution that embodies the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, one of America’s most important contributions to the idea of government by law is that of the written constitution, unchangeable by ordinary legislative means. The roots of such constitutions, to which bills of rights were later added, can be traced to the biblical idea of a covenant between God and man, which more secular thinkers such as John Locke later portrayed as a social compact among individuals themselves.
After citing their common loyalty to King James I, the signatories to the Mayflower Compact pledged to “covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, 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.”
The Mayflower Compact was regarded as law until 1686. Colonies, states, and in time the nation as a whole continued to rely on written documents both to create their own identities and to limit government powers.
John Vile is a professor of political science and dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. He is co-editor of the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. This article was originally published in 2009.
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SEE ALSO
FURTHER READING
Foner, Eric, and John A. Garraty, eds. The Reader’s Companion to American History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
Frohnen, Bruce. The American Republic: Primary Sources. Indianapolis, Ind.: Liberty Fund, 2002
Lutz, Donald S. “From Covenant to Constitution in American Political Thought.” Publius 10 (1980): 1–34
Vile, John R. “Mayflower Compact.” In The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America’s Founding. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2006.
The Mayflower Compact
Jacoby, Jeff. "How the Mayflower compact sowed the seeds of American democracy." Boston Globe, Nov. 22, 2017.
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Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957) stands as the first U.S. Supreme Court case to expound upon the concept of academic freedom though some earlier cases mention it.
Most constitutional academic freedom issues today revolve around professors’ speech, students’ speech, faculty’s relations to government speech, and using affirmative action in student admissions.
Although academic freedom is regularly invoked as a constitutional right under the First Amendment, the Court has never specifically enumerated it as one, and judicial opinions have not developed a consistent interpretation of constitutional academic freedom or pronounced a consistent framework to analyze such claims.