In 1620, Governor Bradford along with other settlers created and signed the Mayflower Compact which is considered to be the first evidence of government in the new world. The creators and signers of the Mayflower Compact list who they represent when they institute their form of government. They represent God, the Christian faith, and the rulers of England.
They had absolute loyalty to a monarch which on the surface does not seem conducive to a democratic government. Yet, within the language of this compact is found the basis of democracy. In order to have a functioning government, we need to be ruled by law. The Mayflower Compact expresses the idea that all will be equal before the law and will be subject to the law. In a democracy, if citizens know what to expect from their government and understand their rights, everyone knows his or her proper role in the society, and can make full use of their rights and privileges as citizens. All of this is embodied in the compact.
This great legacy of the compact has endured until the present-day. it has served as the glue that has kept our nation together. This thanksgiving holiday causes me to reflect on the gratitude I have for those who came before us and who left us a legacy of their accomplishments. I am thankful for those who immigrated from Europe and the pioneering spirit that encouraged them to make a better life for themselves and their families. I am thankful for their hard work and courage it took for them to settle an unknown world and later found a nation based on the democratic ideals from which we benefit so richly. I am thankful for the Mayflower compact and its contribution to the government in the new world.
As citizens, it is our duty to carry on the legacy of the Mayflower Compact by respecting and obeying the laws and taking advantage of our rights to change laws we oppose. This latter is what we hope to accomplish with Politivote. Our aim is to provide information to facilitate the involvement of the citizen in the process of making laws that will impact him or her.
Text of the Mayflower Compact:
THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT:
“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 England, France and Ireland, King, Defender `
of the Faith, e&.
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement
of the Christian Faith, and the 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 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.
In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names
at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our
Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland,
the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth.
Anno Domini, 1620.”