Notes

In Holland, the Pilgrims were able to openly practice their faith without fear but
began losing their English Heritage, which was also important to them. They were also
foreigners who were considered outsiders and as a result, had limited economic
opportunities. The decision was made to look for a place where they could practice their
faith, preserve their heritage, and prosper financially. The New World could provide the
setting where the Pilgrims could establish the community and quality of life they had
been seeking.
In September of 1620, William Bradford led a group of 35 Pilgrims aboard a ship
called the Mayflower, along with 66 other individuals who were making their way to
Virginia as new settlers in America. The ship was plagued by storms and squalls for
most of the voyage and was blown off course by approx. 500 miles to the north, landing
off the coast of Cape Cod Bay. The passengers were weary from travel and had no
interest in sailing another 500 miles but they charter they carried did not give them the
legal right to stay in the area that later became known as New England. A meeting was
called aboard the Mayflower to try and resolve their geographic dilemma. A decision
was made by the Pilgrims and their accompanying passengers to ask the King for
permission to stay where they were currently located and start a new colony.
Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor / William Halsall 1882 / Pilgrim Hall Museum - Public Domain
The document they created known as the Mayflower Compact started off by
flattering the king and respecting his authority to rule over them. They then put into
writing the request to stay where they were but also cleverly included a small clause
within the document. Carefully tucked away, within the document’s language, a few
important sentences would change the course of American History. They boldly asked
the king for permission to solve their own problems and make their own decisions. When
King James I later signed the Mayflower Compact, he vaguely granted the freedom that
would slowly evolve into the idea of self-government. The concept would spread
throughout the colonies, and in time, plant the seed that would sprout into the American
Revolution 150 years later.