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, having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor 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."

There followed the signatures of 41 of the 102 passengers, 37 of whom were Separatists fleeing religious persecution in Europe.

Cultural Focus: Thanksgiving Day

After the Pilgrims spent a very harsh winter in the New World and planted unknown to them crops in spring, they had much to thank the God for by autumn. With the help of Squanto they discovered which plants were poisonous and which had medical powers, he also taught them how to plant the Indian corn. The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires. The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate.

The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October.

The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as they were still unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food. The 3^rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate November 29 of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present-day Thanksgiving Day.

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770s) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817, New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19^th century, many other states also celebrated Thanksgiving Day. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

The Middle Colonies

The 17^th century witnessed tremendous events in Britain – the English Civil War, the fall and restoration of the Stuart monarchy. In 1660, when Charles II assumed the English throne, after many years of exile, this event had a great effect both on Britain and its colonies in North America. During Charles II's reign (1660–1685) six of the thirteen colonies were founded or came under the English rule: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (including Delaware), North and South Carolinas. All these colonies were proprietorships – they were granted to one man or a group of men, who controlled the government. Usually these were people, who supported Charles Stuart during his years of exile.

In March 1664, Charles granted to his brother James, the Duke of York, the territory of New Netherland – the Dutch colony. New Neth-erland, a trading outpost of the Dutch West Indian Company, had not developed as quickly as English colonies, chiefly because in Holland there were no such religious and economic pressures that caused English people to migrate to the New World. So the territory of New Netherland was sparsely populated by people of different nationalities – Germans, Scandinavians, French-speaking Walloons and Africans. Recognizing the diversity of the population, special forms of government and laws were established – Dutch forms of local government were maintained, though the Duke's Laws, a legal code, was applied for practice. The laws of New York guaranteed religious toleration – each town could decide which church to support.

Very soon the Duke of York re-granted part of his colony to his friends Sir George Carteret and John Lord Berkeley, who created a colony between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers named New Jersey. The laws of the colony attracted new settlers promising generous land grants, freedom of religion and a representative assembly. New Jersey grew quickly – by the time of the first census in 1726 there were more than 32,000 inhabitants.

In 1681, the most prominent of the Middle Colonies the colony of Pennsylvania was established. The land was granted by Charles II to William Penn, a young Quaker, whose father supported Charles during his years of exile. Besides that, Charles and William Penn were close friends, otherwise the Quakers would never have a charter for a settlement in the New World.

William Perm considered new colony not only a source of profit, but also a place for religions persecuted in England. He named the colony Pennsylvania – "Penn's woods", as it was a beautiful land of thick forests, rich soil and clean rivers. Penn guaranteed to settlers religious toleration and such English liberties as the right to bail and trial by jury. These guarantees plus land attractiveness soon made Pennsylvania a successful colony with diverse population.

The capital city of the colony was named Philadelphia – "a city brotherly love". It was carefully planned by Penn and developed quickly - by the end of the 17^th century Philadelphia already challenged Boston's commercial pre-eminence.

Penn also established good relations with the Delaware Indians, who lived in the area. He paid for their land, made regulations for the Indian trade and sale of alcohol to tribesmen. During Penn's life these good relations between the settlers and Native Americans were preserved.

In contrast to New England inhabitants of the Middle Colonies demonstrated heterogeneous religious beliefs and pluralism. In New York and New Jersey Swedish and Dutch population successfully integrated into colonial life, forms of government were diversified. There was no church supported at the government level – Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware refused to require residents to pay support to any official church. All Middle Colonies preserved ethnic and religious pluralism.