First, for those who are interested, the link below will take you to a web page where you can see a copy of the original Mayflower Compact, and listen to a reading of the Compact in “period dialect” (meaning you’ll hear how the settlers sounded when they spoke).
(Note that your machine will need Quicktime loaded on it in order to listen to the reading. If you don’t have Quicktime, it’s a free download from Apple.)
I’m not going to say much specific about the Mayflower Compact right now, since we’re going to discuss it next week, but I wanted to expand a bit on a comment I made at the end of my last post, when I called the Mayflower Compact a Creation Story—in this case, a Creation Story of what we would come to call America.
All cultures have creation stories, stories of their origins. The one most of us are likely most familiar with would be the Genesis story. Creation stories are told over and over again, and what’s important to keep in mind is that they are told to people who have no direct experience with the events being narrated. To put it more simply, no one who tells or hears the story was ever actually there to witness it. So the factuality of the story isn’t really what’s important—what’s important is that the story continues to remind those who hear it why they are here, what values brought them into being, what their relationship is to their higher power. A creation story reminds a people why they matter.
The Mayflower Compact
And thus it is with the Mayflower Compact. Now, there are a couple of differences to note here. First, while Bradford and others fully believed that the Mayflower Compact served God’s wishes, the Compact is a sociopolitical document, not a sacred document. It is about defining the purpose of a human community and the obligations of the members of that community to each other. Its sense of community would be central in developing our sense of this thing we call America
Second, while Bradford is addressing those who were not there for the sealing of the Mayflower Compact, Bradford himself was there. So this particular creation story is also history that the author witnessed. But the function of the creation story here is similar to that of other creation stories—to remind readers (in this case) who they are, why they are, and what their purpose is in this new land.
Next week we’ll start to talk about the Mayflower Compact, and I’ll give you some specific things to think about. I’ll also provide some background to Winthrop
I had heard of the Mayflower Compact but never actually read or listened to it. I did not realize it was a document that basically set up their rules and purpose for the new colony. I imagined it as something they signed after the maiden voyage here about their travels and that they had set up the new land in honor of the King.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that was established within the Mayflower Compact was a structured layout for a government because it provided a strong structure for the potential growth of a community and government. The type of laws that are established within a governing body can say a lot about what type of community it is and about the people as well. According to Bradford, the laws within the Mayflower Compact, indeed do prove to be moral and ethical. "That neither he nor any of his should injure or do hurt to any of their people". "That if any of his did hurt to any of theirs, he should send the offender, that they might punish him" (332). Just from the first two laws, there is clearly an established set of control over the community. I believe that the foundation for a government is indeed a strong set of laws simply because they are created to ensure the safety of everyone and keep everyone together and orderly.
ReplyDeleteAside from the establishment of a governing set of laws, another event that I thought was very important was the freedom that the colonists were allowing the Pilgrims to have. This is clarified with Bradford writing, "That when they came ashore they would use their own liberty, for none had power to command them" (329). I thought that was important, simply because of the fact that the Pilgrims were indeed trying to find land in order to have their own freedom.
With all of the difficulties that came with trying to establish a government, the voyage that they had to encounter while at sea was nothing short of miserable. Not only was there a time of starving, but there was also a time that was filled with sickness and disease. Aside from the sailors showing little to no remorse, there was compassion for the sailors that did become seriously sick. "They had compassion on him and help him; then he confessed he did not deserve it at their hands, he had abused them in word and deed" (331). He had earlier said, "if they die, let them die" (331).