‘Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620’, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899.
Before they established their colony in Plymouth, the Mayflower Compact was signed aboard the Mayflower on November 11, 1620 by the Pilgrims. They used the Julian Calendar, which, at that time, was ten days behind the Gregorian Calendar. Signing the document were 41 of the ship’s 101 passengers, while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor within the hook at the northern tip of Cape Cod. They had planned to settle in Virginia but had reached America farther north.
Mayflower Compact (Modern Version)
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 Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and 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 another, covenant and combine ourselves 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 witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.
Wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!
Update:
On PBS Thanksgiving Day at 8:00 pm EST (check your local listings)
The story of the Pilgrims – who they were, what drove them on – their searing first years in America and pivotal interactions with Native Americans – how they succeeded and how they failed – and how and why we have come to remember them as we do – is a tale far more harrowing and strange – and far more revealing – than the Thanksgiving myth we think we know.
From acclaimed filmmaker Ric Burns, The Pilgrims uncovers the riveting story of the men and women of the Mayflower – exploring the historic forces and personalities that motivated their crossing – and the harrowing events that unfolded in their crucial first decade in Massachusetts.