HW - February 2, the Mayflower Compact (anthology p. 40) and "A Model of Christian Charity" by John Winthrop (anthology, p. 43-4)
Answer either:
1, State the importance of the Mayflower Compact. Relate the writing with this visual representation and / or speculate on how you interpret this picture.
1, State the importance of the Mayflower Compact. Relate the writing with this visual representation and / or speculate on how you interpret this picture.
2. Compare the Mayflower Compact with the social organization suggested by John Winthrop in "A Model of Christian Charity" (1630)
Both John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity" and the Mayflower Compact are pivotal works in early American history, encapsulating the aspirations and principles of the English Pilgrims who immigrated to the New World. However, they serve distinct purposes and address various aspects of communal life and governance. The Mayflower Compact predates John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity" by ten years, dating back to 1620. It stands as the original constitution of Plymouth Colony, written by the men aboard the Mayflower ship. Its primary objective was to establish a self-governance framework and maintain order among the Pilgrims settling beyond the jurisdiction of the Virginia Company. Considered an early expression of democratic principles, the Mayflower Compact asserts that government should derive from the consent of the governed, with individuals agreeing to adhere to rules for the common good.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, John Winthrop’s "A Model of Christian Charity" dates 1630 and unlike the legal and political nature of the Mayflower Compact, Winthrop's sermon provides a moral and religious foundation for the Puritan community, emphasizing the concept of a covenant and the communal responsibilities of the settlers. The phrase "City upon a hill" suggests Winthrop's vision of the colony as an exemplary Christian society, with a moral and religious obligation to live virtuously and support one another. In a contemporary context, there could be an implication that this document served as a pretext for colonization, suggesting that the notion of building a city upon a hill was a way of asserting dominance and staking a claim to the American landscape. Comparing the Mayflower Compact with Winthrop's document reveals their distinct purposes – the former as a legal document outlining a basic form of government and the latter as a moral and religious exhortation emphasizing communal values and responsibilities. The Mayflower Compact addresses the immediate need for governance, while Winthrop's sermon provides a long-term vision for the Puritan/Pilgrim community and its role in the world–both in England and the New World– “Whatsoever we did, or ought to have done, when we lived in England, the same must we do, and more also, where we go…”
The lingering question pertains to the intended audience of these documents – were they solely for the Pilgrims or inclusive of all people in Plymouth's Rock? Both were primarily crafted for and by English Puritan colonists aboard the Mayflower, establishing the Plymouth Colony. However, these documents were not explicitly inclusive of other groups, such as slaves and Native Americans, focusing on providing a framework for self-governance and promoting a specific religious and social order among Puritan settlers.
While both the Mayflower Compact and Winthrop's sermon reflect the values of early American colonists, they differ in nature, purpose, and focus – one being a legal compact for immediate governance and the other a moral and religious vision for the community's long-term development and future conversion.
(Margarida Barreiros nº161012)
2) The “Mayflower Compact” was a document signed by the passengers of the Mayflower, in November of 1620, in order to establish a set of rules of self-governance. The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia. However, because of intense storms, they were not able to reach the area of the Hudson River and had to stop near Cape Cod (Massachusetts). The Mayflower passengers had obtained a patent, a document that authorized companies to settle at a specific place, for Virginia. However, because they landed in the Plymouth area instead, this patent was no longer valid. This made some passengers threaten to refuse to recognize the authority of the Pilgrims, which could put at risk the success of the colony (“when they came ashore they would use their own liberty, for none had power to command them, the patent they had being for Virginia and not for New England”) (Bradford). So, the Pilgrims persuaded some of the passengers to sign the “Mayflower Compact”.
ReplyDelete“A Model of Christianity Charity” (1630) was a sermon written by John Winthrop, in order to ensure the survival of the settlement.
Both texts give importance to religion, emphasizing how they are pursuing a bigger purpose and how their deeds are done in the name of God (“In the name of God, amen”) (Mayflower Compact). However, even though both texts show the importance of Christianity, in the text “A Model of Christian Charity”, Winthrop, being a devout Puritan, focuses even more on the love of God and how He is always observing our actions (“bond of love, and, live in the exercise of it, if we would have comfort of our being in Christ.”) (“to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God”).
Moreover, both the “Mayflower Compact” and Winthrop’s text were written in order to maintain and to preserve the settlement, although in different occasions, and with the intention of preserving the United States’ position as a leading nation. Both texts are trying to preserve the power of the United States.
Furthermore, the idea of unity and community is present in both texts (“combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation”) (Mayflower Compact). However, in “A Model of Christian Charity” a bigger emphasis is given to the ideas of patience and affection (“We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality. We must delight in each other; make other's conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body”).
- Beatriz Bicudo Cunha
“On November 21, the colony's leaders assembled in the main cabin and drew up a social compact, designed to secure unity and provide for future government. In effect it created a civil body politic to provide `just and equal laws,' founded upon church teaching, the religious and secular governance of the colony to be in effect indistinguishable. This contract was based upon the original Biblical covenant between God and the Israelites. (…) It is an amazing document for these earnest men (and women) to have agreed and drawn up, signed by all forty-one `heads of households' aboard the tiny vessel in the midst of the troubled Atlantic, and it testified to the profound earnestness and high-purpose with which they viewed their venture.” (Johnson, 1997). This document is called the Mayflower Compact.
ReplyDeleteThe Mayflower Compact was a short document signed by a few of the men aboard the Mayflower vessel that arrived in 1620. It was signed it order to avoid unrest and discord that was stirring among some of the passengers due to the fact that the crew had no patent for the land they reached.
It had a profound impact on history as it was the first document to establish self-government in the New World. It was an early and successful attempt at democracy, which spread from this colony to the others.
The painting above is a visual representation of the signing of the Mayflower Compact aboard the Mayflower vessel. Through the background a viewer can understand that the scene is taking place in a compartment bellow deck. The men surround the table where a piece of paper is and one man is writing something. The painting demonstrates how few men out of the whole crew were involved in this signing. Moreover, all signers were men, no women were involved in the making of this document. In fact, the one woman in the room is not involved in the discussions happening around the table but instead is knitting.
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Sources
Johnson, Paul (1997). A History of the American People. Harper Perennial
Lepore, Jill (2018). These Truths. A History of the United States. W. W. Norton & Company.
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower
The Mayflower Compact is often described as the first constitution of the New World. Not like other constitutions that dictate specific laws and the overall structure of the government, but because it established a way of thinking that would be applied in the writing of the actual constitution of the United States. By definition, it is a religious document, but brings so much more to the understanding of the foundation of the USA’s government. That way of thinking was the belief in a self-governed independent body, pushing forth the importance of law made for the people and by the people. Said idea is the basis of the concept of democracy and contributed to the creation of the US’ democratic government. We can see this in the painting, with the same people who live in said government and have to follow its rules being the ones to debate them with their fellow men, with every single one of those men being able to contribute and decide how they would like to live. One can even see this as the crude beginnings of something like the US Congress today, where representatives of the people are, in theory, meant to argue for their constituents. (post by Mason)
ReplyDeleteIn essence, the Mayflower Compact settles a consent for the sake of order and survival according to its rules, since previously some “strangers”, as its related by Bradford, caused a stir against King James’s loyalties.
ReplyDeleteThe painting centers the act of signing the Mayflower Compact, focusing thus on the figures engaged in the signing process. Each Pilgrim is very distinct and detailed, with great emphasis on the gestures, facial expressions and clothing, which conveys individuality, even within a “collective” matter, an unity, the establishment of democratic principles. The Mayflower Compact marks the beginning of Plymouth Colony, a beginning for the USA of today. Although one woman is portrayed in the painting, it’s important to remind that no woman signed the document (which is relevant for the understanding Women Rights in such era), but in fact 41 men (though in the painting the number of figures is reduced).
(Again, I’m very sorry for the delay)
Carla Alves