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The Pilgrims were English men and women seeking freedom to practice their religion during the reign of King James I. Part of the Puritan reform movement, these Separatists left the Church of England to start a "purer" and simpler church. They first relocated their church from England to Holland and lived in the town of Leiden for about ten years.
As non-citizens unable to find decent jobs, and fearing their children were losing their English heritage and religious beliefs, a group from the Leiden church made plans to settle in Northern Virginia. In August 1620 they sailed to Southampton, England, where other people hoping to make a new life in America met up with them.
They planned to make the crossing to America in two ships, the Speedwell and Mayflower. However, the Speedwell leaked badly and was forced to return to England. In their second attempt, a smaller group boarded the Mayflower in September 1620.
The 102 passengers included two groups: one referred to as the religious “Saints,” the other called “Strangers” seeking a better life and financial rewards. Blown off course and out of food, they first dropped anchor off the tip of Cape Code near present day Provincetown.
Outside the reach of the king’s laws under far away Virginia’s charter, they needed to establish order and purpose among their “very mixed lot.” So the pilgrim leaders set quill to paper to “Covenant and Combine ourselves together in a Civil Body Politic.”
This agreement we call the Mayflower Compact established the first government by the people on American soil. They even extended the right to vote by letting their indentured servants sign the covenant. While remaining loyal to the king, Plymouth became the first community in America where people made their own rules to “enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices” as necessary. By forming a civil government with elected leaders to operate along side of their church with its own elders and ministers chosen by the congregation, they foreshadowed our U.S. Constitution's separation of church and state.
Early life in Plymouth was tough but surprisingly peaceful. Half died from disease during the first winter. The rest survived until the first Thanksgiving harvest only with help from Native Americans who taught them how to farm. In 1621 the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag “People of the First Light” formed a treaty for their mutual defense and benefit. It lasted fifty years, more than any U.S. government tribal treaty.
As the settlement expanded, Plymouth created the first public schools by taxing families twelve pounds a year to pay a teacher in each village. It established a social safety net for veterans’ widows and impoverished orphans, and required men’s wills to include their wives.
Justice in Plymouth was served at the first jury trials. Proceedings were held in a community building which served as courthouse, meeting hall, church and fort. There religious outcasts, fortune-seekers, and "late comers" worked together to create a community with liberty, justice, rights and responsibilities under law. A democratic model we still admire and learn from 400 years later.
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