Mayflowers

Why was the mayflowers journey to america important?

I need to write a paper about the mayflower and its journey and why it was important. Im not completely sure why it is and honestly i just need to write a paper so i can get a grade.

Public Comments

1. In a nutshell, the Mayflower (the ship's name) has a famous place in American history as a symbol of early European colonization of the future US. It was a group of English Separatists, also known as the Pilgrims.
2. Okay. I don't know how much information you need, since you don't specify how long the paper has to be or for what grade. But here's the lowdown on why it's such a big freaking deal. I'll link as we go, but I'll also put the links at the end. http://www.mayflowersteps.co.uk/mayflower/journey.html THat's a picture of the mayflower. It was TINY. You need to know that to know just how bad the voyage was, and just how miserable those settlers were as they came over. 102 of them, packed in that tiny ship, including 3 pregnant women. One passenger (and one crew member) died. You don't need that for the paper, but it lets you know how hard it was. The pilgrims themselves were coming to settle because as bad as the journey and their life would be at first here, they'd be free to settle their own little religious colony, able to follow their own rules. They were actually aiming for Virginia, but ended up a bit further north... and once they got here, THAT's where the important part happened. People will tell you it was religious freedom, but it wasn't, they were missionaries with a Christian agenda. What really made it important was how they chose to govern themselves when they got here, a couple of paragraphs signed by the men. Heh. Anyway, it was expedient for England to send these settlers from England- they'd already gone from England to Holland- because they'd been attracting followers in England and criticizing the Church, which was a real problem since the Church of England was connected to the government. They wanted to separate from the Church, but since the Church was connected to the King... that meant real trouble. What the Monarchy in England wasn't expecting was that once they got here, they'd brew up the Mayflower Compact. THIS is the part that is the big deal. Not the bit about religious freedom, because they had absolutely no intention of offering others religious freedom in their own community. It was the method of government, which was much more democratic, that served as an example of an alternate form for later generations than the traditional monarchy system. Here's a version, in modern readable text: http://www.pilgrimhall.org/compact.htm "...do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, 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 short, we promise to make rules, and follow them. This is a huge difference from England's version (or most versions at the time!) where a king or group of elites made the rules, and everyone else followed them. The women weren't allowed to sign, but all the men did, which meant that the whole group was represented. They weren't all pilgrims. A few were colonists who got brought on board by their financial backers, and for that matter, NONE of them called themselves pilgrims. They called themselves "first comers." http://www.pilgrimhall.org/whopilg.htm and there were three more ships after the Mayflower. But it was on the Mayflower that the compact was made. Here's a good bit about that, putting it in the context of the earlier Virginia colony and the ones immediately following, focusing on that compact (and it's pretty easy to read.) http://www.massnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52:the-truth-about-the-pilgrims&catid=25:national-news Good luck with your paper!!!!